Living Mercy by George Ide Butler

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 25, 1871

Living Mercy.

By George Ide Butler

The prophet Micah says, “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” chap. 6: 8; thus plainly intimating that the requirements of God are summed up in these three particulars. In a former article we have noticed the importance of doing justly, and have seen that it lies at the very foundation of Bible religion. The prophet next speaks of “loving mercy” as one of those things he requires in all who please him. I believe there is a natural order here that is suggestive. To love mercy is a higher attainment even than to do justly. It is a step further in the direction toward holiness and perfection. It could not for a moment be supposed that a person too selfish to act honestly with his fellow-men would from a settled principle advantage him at his own expense.

Mercy is defined to be “a disposition to overlook injuries or to treat an offender better than he deserves, to forgive obligation out of compassion for the offender; an act of favor, pity, compassion, or tenderness.”—Webster. It relates to the feelings we should permit ourselves to cherish toward those who have injured us, or are under obligation to us, and to the course we should pursue toward those more needy than ourselves. There is no attribute of Deity that should more interest mortals than mercy; for it is through this alone they can be saved. So there is none they should strive harder to imitate toward those less favored than themselves. Those will go to Heaven who form a character here in accordance with the principles of Heaven. To such, God will intrust a never-ending life in which to carry them out. Those who do not, God will cut off as unfit to be trusted with such a valuable boon.

The Lord in proclaiming his own character on a most solemn occasion does it as follows: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” Ex. 34: 6, 7. How prominently the Lord sets forth those traits of his character pertaining to this grace we are considering, as though he ever desired his creatures to think of him in that light. We hope to live in the presence of this God, to share his loving favor. Can we hope to do it with a character contrary to his? Oh! how surpassingly great God’s mercy is! waiting so many years for men to turn from sin, sending his Holy Spirit to gently call after them in tenderness to come back to receive his forgiveness, having provided a full and complete plan of salvation even by the death of his own beloved Son!

God simply desires us to appreciate these principles by which he is actuated, and to form characters after such a glorious model. Doing so, we shall be received into his loving, happy presence; failing to do so, we shall be forever shut out from it, among those who have misspent their probation, as worthless and lost.

We find ourselves in this world descended from selfish beings, and consequently selfish ourselves. We are exposed to the temptations of an artful foe of great power, who, because he could not rule, determined to ruin, as far as possible, God’s work. Selfishness in its varied forms is perhaps the most potent foe we have to contend with. That love so beautifully manifested by our Saviour in all his life on earth is almost a stranger to our selfish human nature. Without it as the ruling principle of our hearts we never can reign with him in the future glorious life. How shall we obtain it? We must be first convinced of our lack of it, and then of its great importance to our well-being; in short, look at it like sensible men and women, and determine to make it henceforth our rule of life; and having seen our selfishness in the past, and by hearty repentance turned from it, we should cry to God earnestly for the transforming power of his Spirit to enable us to discern the proper course and impart strength to follow it, and then above all begin to act upon the principle of “loving mercy.” Be honestly looking for chances to do good, and then doing it. Do others injure us? Let us ask ourselves, How has God done by us when we were in sin? Do others speak harshly of us? Let us think how many times we have erred in the same way, always remembering the great thing for us to attend to is to be sure we form our own characters after the heavenly model.

We are principally interested in that, so that when the judgment sits and that searching Eye examines every case, ours may be found of the right character. Our characters are formed by habits of thought carried into action. We cannot form a character of righteousness without habitually doing right. We cannot form a merciful character without being habitually merciful. Here many err. They attend meeting and hear right principles proclaimed, and do not carry them out. The light is given; but they do not walk in the light, so darkness comes upon them. They become hardened, and are the worse for the light they have had. The most hopeless condition in the world is to be hardened by truth, hearing much of it and not obeying. It shows a radical love of error and wrong. Many will assent that principles of mercy are all important.

In the nature of things, it is impossible but that it should appear lovely in others. We all love to have it manifested toward ourselves, and therefore think we “love mercy.” But actions speak louder than words. What we do shows what we love. We must practice mercy to meet God’s requirements. But says one, “When the cause of God requires help, or the poor are to be cared for, I try to do something, many times at a great sacrifice of my feelings. I know I have such a duty to do, and if it is unpleasant I mean to do it, for I want to be saved.” Our text says God requires us to “love mercy.” The man who tries to be merciful from a sense of duty has made some advancement perhaps, but has not fully come up to God’s requirements yet. When we do a thing we love to do, we can accomplish far more than we can when we do it from a sense of duty. What the Lord wants is, that every one of us should be merciful because the principle is one of such intrinsic value in itself. “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” says Christ. It is a principle that will make us happier here and hereafter. It is the true principle of life. Our failing to believe this is only the result of our selfish character and ignorance. I firmly believe a man will spend a happier life in this world, who lives out this principle than if he does its opposite. Was Howard the philanthropist an unhappy man? Was Paul an unhappy man? He and Silas could sing, with their feet fast in the stocks and their backs covered with bloody stripes, till the old jail rang again. Granted that a man may not lay up as many dollars, granted that a man may find the lack of many things he would like, yet I don’t believe the Rothschilds, the Astors, the Girards, with their supreme love of self, have given us the true aim of life, even for this world. But how is it when we come down to that point where we can take perhaps the truest view of this short existence? when the current of life seems ebbing away forever, and the bustling throng chasing after earthly vanity are receding from view, and the portals of the tomb are opening before us? What then seems the true principle to us? Was ever a man known to be sorry for a noble act done in the past? Did he regret that he had helped the poor, assisted the oppressed, aided the cause of God? How many of the great and rich who left noble opportunities neglected have mourned over it then. Why then cannot we be wise, and “love mercy” because of its value?

We must love the principles of Heaven. Would to God our eyes might be opened to see the beauty of this principle, and the baseness of selfishness; that our aim in life might be noble and generous; that we might truly follow Christ. Then the people of God would be like a city set on a hill. Then our prayers would be heard. Then the love of God would fill our souls, and we might benefit the world. Then we might at last hear those sweet and soul-cheering words, Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. GEO. I. BUTLER.