tender mercies. Why not tender jus tice? For after all, we deserve that. Mercy, however, implies failure. This is exactly the picture for we have all fallen short of God’s grace. If we were to receive what we so justly de serve, we wouldn’t stand a chance. But instead of justice, He extends to us His hand of loving and tender mercy. My wife was doing some shopping in a supermarket one evening. Want ing to get home in time to fix dinner for the family, she made a “U” turn on the boulevard. As she headed down to our home, her mind on the activi ties ahead, do you know what hap pened? A black and white car was following her. It had a red light on top which was flashing on and off. She pulled to the side of the road. She had no choice. When the officer got up to the driver’s side, he began explaining why he had stopped her. She learned that she had broken the law of our city in making an illegal U-turn. Having broken the law, she would have to pay the penalty. When she got home, she was quite excited. I don’t know whether it was because she had looked so desperate and pathetic when she received the news or was so tired at the end of the day. In any case, I’m glad to report that the officer, instead of giving her a ticket, extended mercy to her and she was let off with just a warning. Now, Margaret had violated the law. She deserved justice for her uninten tional failure. But failure brought grace. This is what God does for us in extending His tender mercies. The Lord exhibits to us His grace which is sufficient for every need. Now in verse five we read, “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things so . that thy youth is renewed as the eagle’s.” The use of the word “mouth” here actually symbolizes our desires. He brings us satisfaction and contentment. Surely we don’t know what’s best for us, but God does.
When we were growing up, one of the favorite books we loved to read as boys, especially on a rainy day, was the Sears Roebuck catalog. Do any of you have similar memories? Do you recall how the catalog was set up? It had each product in three categories: “good,” “better,” and “best.” As you looked at the publi cation, the item which was least ex pensive, and sometimes rather in ferior, was described as “good.” The next best item cost a little more and was “better.” Finally, the finest ob tainable was listed as “best” and al ways cost more, too. Now, you see, when God satisfies our desires, He gives us the very best. Keep in mind, however, that it is what He knows as the best, not necessarily always what in our opinion might seem best, but which ultimately we would see as the proper choice. Think how many dissatisfied people there are in the world! Just take a look at the suicide rate as an example. There are those who wrongly feel that because their lives are in such agony, because they are wretched within their spirits that the only way to be able to get rid of all of the frustrations they experi ence is to end their physical life. Here is a clever lie of Satan. These poor people have not realized that it’s not the body which experiences these agonizing pressures but also the soul. When an individual kills his body in suicide, he has not done away with his soul. That part of man is in destructible. It is immortal as far as time is concerned. Without Christ, a suicide has merely consigned his soul to eternal separation from God in Hell where the frustration will be intensified throughout eternity. No, suicide is never the answer. The word “satisfy” is described by Webster as “fully gratifying the de sire and making content.” What a beautiful and perfect definition. This is exactly what God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, does. There used to be a cigarette company which adver-
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