The Merciful Obtain Mercy
By Rufus A. Underwood
Must Forgive if We Would Be Forgiven This is the fifth of several short articles by Elder Underwood on the fundamentals of the gospel as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount. The article next week will dwell upon the blessing of the Master on heart purity. “BLESSED are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” Matt. 5:7. To be merciful is to treat the offender better than he deserves. The sinful heart is not so inclined. It demands an eye for an eye, or to return a little heavier blow than is received. The world’s policy is to win by might, rather than by the rule of Christ’s gospel. Christ places before all men a settled rule of action, by which He seeks to win His enemies to accept the principles that will govern the eternal kingdom of peace; and those only who choose to act upon the principles, can be admitted into that everlasting kingdom. Those who choose to show no mercy to others, decide their own destiny, and can receive no mercy at the hands of the Judge in the final assize of all men. This principle is made clear in the Scriptures. Christ says: “When ye stand praying,325forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:25, 26. Again in James 2:13: “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” No man can expect that God can forgive him or answer his prayers while he holds the spirit of hatred in his heart against any man. We must forgive if Heaven forgives us. How often, in repeating the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” men pray for their own condemnation in the Judgment! But says one, “That is a dangerous prayer, and I never pray it.” It matters not whether we repeat the words or not, so long as in our hearts we refuse to forgive those who may have trespassed against us. However, it is vain to think that the unregenerated heart will carry out this divine principle of mercy, unless the individual has taken the steps that antedate the experiences brought to view in the forgiveness of our enemies. And why?—“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Rom. 8:7, 8. However, if the four steps preceding this requirement have been taken, as set forth in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, the way is easy, and divine love implanted in the soul makes it possible for an individual to forgive another, no matter what the personal wrong has been which he has committed. None but a regenerated heart can understand this divine principle. If bitterness and hatred, in the form of grudges and enmity toward our fellow beings, still linger in our hearts, we have need to seek God earnestly, that the work of regeneration may be made complete and thorough in our souls; for these are the conditions upon which the Saviour of the world has made it possible for us to share in the kingdom of eternal glory.