- Kindness and Truth
Psalm 117:2
For his merciful kindness is great toward us:
and the truth of the Lord endureth forever.
Praise ye the Lord.
Mercy and Truth from God are spoken of together often in the Psalms. Each quality of God is sometimes seen as two “angels, or messengers” coming to people from the Lord, but here mercy and truth are simply attributes of God out of which God acts toward us. God is always merciful and His kindness is great. The truth of the Lord is the ground and stable basis on which all things are built and by which all living things operate. If it were not for truth we could have no way of trusting anything on which to base a life or make decisions. But there is predictability to the universe and to the promises of God.
Truth is easily known and can be followed by us all the time. Truth is in and comes to us from God’s Word. Part of God’s Truth is the plain fact that we are guilty sinners who have broken the Law of God. The Word cannot be broken, but we sinners will be broken upon it and certain punishments, like death, result from breaking the Truth of the Law.
But there is another Truth: and that is that God is full of merciful kindness, and therefore He forgives our sins and declares us righteous by grace. Forgiveness of sins is as much Truth as Sin itself. Both Truth and Mercy are combined in Christ Jesus inasmuch as He has swallowed both the Law and Sin into Himself in order that He might justly show merciful kindness to all people whom God loves. Truth convicts us of sin; Mercy convicts us of forgiveness of sin.
The Promises of both Mercy and Truth endure forever, so that we can count of the promises of God for eternity.