The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy
Maybe you feel the need for God’s compassion today. Indeed, any time I am in the pulpit, I know that in my audience that there is at least one person whose sin he or she thinks God will not forgive. If you feel that way or if you know someone that does, this sermon is for you.
Over the many decades studying the scriptures, I have come to see the Bible not as an Old Testament and New Testament but as one book affirming the story of God’s desire for the salvation of humankind. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are One as scriptures like John 8:58 attest. “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’”
“Before Abraham”, this scripture indicates Jesus divine nature, His eternal existence and His authority. The phrase “I am” is a direct reference to God’s self-identification in Exodus 3:14 further affirming Christ divine nature. It is a declaration of Christ sovereignty and authority over creation and the significance of His presence in the world. Seven times Jesus refers to Himself as “I Am.” 1. "I Am the Bread of Life" (John 6:35). 2. "I Am the Light of the World" (John 8:12). 3. "I Am the Gate for the Sheep" (John 10:7). 4. "I Am the Good Shepherd" (John 10:14). 5. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25). 6. "I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). 7. "I Am the True Vine” (John 15:5). The Nicene Creed states: “Lord Jesus Christ … begotten, not made, substantial with the Father, through Him all things were made.” Christ and God the Father and the Holy Spirit are indeed One.
We see this relationship plainly after the grave sin of the golden calf. There, Moses ascended Mt. Sinai and pleaded with God to forgive the Israelites. After God accepted his supplications, Moses felt it was a good time to ask God to give the Israelites a way to obtain mercy should they fail again in the future. God agreed with Moses and told him to wait on a mountain where God would show him His glory. Then God passed before Moses and proclaimed God’s Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, a Mercy that would become clean, more obvious, with the coming of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount.
It is often difficult for us humans to understand God; the Bibles descriptions of God are far from concrete. The name of God is not a name, as we understand the expression; rather it is a number of portrayals of His nature by means of a series of nicknames, for example, Father, The Rock, The Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings. At the burning bush, God had revealed His eternal, self-existent character. With the ten plagues and the parting of the sea, God had revealed His power. Here in the “cleft of the rock”, God reveals His attributes of mercy. The words in Exodus that God taught Moses are for the people to use whenever they needed to beg for divine compassion, when they need to feel forgiveness.
We find Christ in God’s promise in Exodus 34:6-7, “6 And the LORD passed by before him [Moses], and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’”
I am going to go through these thirteen attributes one by one. The first two words (2 of 13) In Hebrew, Adonai, Adonai. In English “The LORD, The LORD.” There are many words used in our Bibles that refer to God. Each of the Hebrew words for God are unique reflecting some special characteristic of God. For example, at the burning bush, Moses asked who shall I say you are and God said, say “I am.” We also see God referred to as El Shaddi, Yahweh, Elohim. By some counts there are 35 difference names used for God in the Bible. The best translation of Adonai too English would not be Lord. Adonai is a friendly warm name best translated in English as Daddy or Poppa or Dad. Adonai is whatever you call whatever you call your Father at home. So, this scripture starts off on a very friend first name basis.
It repeats this Adonai. “The LORD, The LORD God.” By repeating His name meaning, ‘I am the merciful God before you sin, and I am the same God of mercy after you sin.’ Whatever change you make in yourself is up to you, God is still there with you. ‘I, God, was with you before you sinned and I will stand with you after you sin.’ I am the All-mighty Lord of the Universe. I am ruler of Nature and all humankind. Go and know that I am with you through the changes you must make in your life that will make you more Christ like.
It then says, El in Hebrew, God Almighty in English. We go from God as our Dad to God the Creator and Ruler on the Universe, all things seen and unseen. He is everything in between the two meanings.
(3 of the 13) The next word is “merciful.” ‘I, God, am full of affectionate sympathy for your suffering and miseries of your human frailties.’ ‘I created you; I have watched you throughout your life; I understand your weaknesses.’ He knows that you sometimes break. His mercy stands with you in your good and bad times. He is forgiving.
(4 of 13) Next, God is also “gracious.” ‘I, God, want to assist you, to help you.’ Consoling the affected and raising the oppressed is His mission. With God, you will find empathy and grace; they are inherent and necessary emanating from His nature. Worry not, for He stands with you in your fight with sin.
(5 of 13) God is “longsuffering”, slow to anger. ‘I, God, am patient with you.’ In fact, He does not want to punish you. He wants to afford you every opportunity to retrace your sinful ways. He wants to forgive you. He is full of second chances.
(6 of 13) God is “abundant in goodness.” He has plenty of mercy granting His gifts and blessings far beyond what you deserve. He is a cornucopia of gifts that help you throughout your years.
(7 of 13) God is also abundant in “truth.” Eternally true to Himself, pursuing His inscrutable plans for the salvation of humankind, and rewarding those who are obedient to His will, helping those that fail. He is truth itself knowing all things seen and unseen. He understands all for He made all and manages all. He wants to share that truth with you through the scriptures.
(8 of 13) “Keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation”, He remembers the good deed of all the people that came before you to the thousandth generation, and reserves recompense to your remotest descendants. He gave your ancestors mercy, and He shall give you mercy and He will give your descendants mercy.
(9 of 13) “Forgiving iniquity”, means bearing with you and your human failings, by forgiveness He restores each to the original purity of their soul. God wants you to succeed should it take a thousand failures to get you well. You may give up, but God does not give up. He comes again and again offering forgiveness and help.
(10 of 13) “Transgression” is any evil deed that springs from malice and rebellion against the Him or any human including yourself. He covers all with His love and forgiveness.
(11 of 13) “Sin” is any shortcoming due to heedlessness or error; all of your transgression against His divine Law, all of the acts that you regret due to their offensiveness.
(12 of 13) "Will by no means clear the guilty”, God will not allow the guilty to pass unpunished. He is merciful and gracious and forgiving; but He will never obliterate the eternal and unbridgeable distinction between light and darkness, between good and evil. God cannot leave repeated wickedness and obstinate persistence in evil entirely unpunished. His goodness cannot destroy His justice. The unfailing and impartial consequences of sin help us perceive that there is no change in morals. The punishments of sin are thus not vindictive but remedial. Forgiveness awaits the repentant sinner if he or she shall confess his or her sin and ask Christ his or her life.
(13 of the 13) “Visiting … upon the children”, this law relates only to the consequences of sin. Pardon is not the remission of the penalty, but the forgiveness of guilt and the removal of sinfulness. The misdeeds of those who are God’s enemies are visited only to the third and fourth generation, whereas His mercy to those who love Him is unto a thousand generations.
What does all of this mean? It means that day, in the “cleft of the rock”, God was there, the Holy Spirit was there, and Christ was there announcing the Good News there. God loves you knowing your fallen nature. God still loves you after we have sinned. God is merciful beyond your human comprehension. God is merciful so you should not over stress about your flaws but put your faith in Christ. God is good to you, even when you are undeserving. God gives you greater blessings than you deserve. God never goes back on His word. Through Christ, God forgives us, even when you openly rebel against Him if you will return to Him. God longs for your return home (think of the story of the prodigal son). Through Christ, God will wash away your sins, you will be clean as if they never happened; however, if you do not repent there will be consequences.
No matter your current situation, when you are going through a trying time, the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are yours for the asking. They were gifts for the Israelites and for all people then and now. The first step is confessing your sins. Then ask Christ into your life and thus receive His eternal mercy. That is salvation, the assurance that you are saved.
Some present being saved as the end, enough, all is okay. I say that there is more, much more that is wonderful. Salvation enables you to put away your selfish desires and grow in Christ likeness. Christ then asks you to imitate His actions: just as He is merciful, so too should you be merciful, just as He is kind, so too you are to be kind, as He is forgiving, so too are you. Further, to the extent that you are willing to sacrifice your life for Christ through works and deeds, that Divine spark grows into a raging fire. Then God responds in kind, measure for measure, and gives you His inner light. You become a beacon to all. We worship a Mighty God.
