The lovingkindness of the LORD

Photo Design by Becky Pliego

I recently bought “The Lamb” to read with Harry, my 5 year old, having read a wonderful review by Christine Blackerby Pack of Sola Sisters. Having now read it myself, I have to say I think every Christian family should own this book and read it with their children! I’ve never come across a book which explains so clearly the gospel message, which lays such a good foundation for understanding exactly what Christ accomplished on our behalf by laying down His life for us on the cross, and the repetition used throughout the book together with the questions at the end of each chapter are an ideal teaching tool for young children.

As we came to the end of the book we were recapping on the questions. “If we try to be very good and not do or think bad things, will we be perfect enough to go to Heaven?” “Yes!” declared Harry triumphantly! I inwardly sighed. Then I realised that I was expecting rather too much of my 5-year old to have grasped the truth of our complete inability to help ourselves when I continue to struggle with this myself! As Diane said in a comment to a post by Persis over at Doctrines in the Kitchen this week about the great doctrine of Imputation, “You know, no matter how much we "get" the doctrines of grace, we're always so prone to drift back into works righteousness. We are so dense.”

I’ve been camped out in Psalm 107 the last week or so. The last verse had grabbed my attention: “Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD” (v43). Lovingkindness. What a beautiful word. I want to understand more of this, so I’ve been thinking and meditating on this Psalm.

This Psalm is a call for the redeemed to give thanks to the LORD for His goodness! Amen! The redemption of four groups of people is then described. Those wandering in the wilderness, hungry and thirsty; those imprisoned by their rebellion against the words of God; the foolish who abhorred all food; those going about their daily business suddenly laid low by the awesome power of God revealed through His acts of nature. I’m sure you, like me, can relate to some, if not all, of the groups of people outlined here. In each case, through the circumstances in which they find themselves, “they cried out to the LORD in their trouble”. They realised they were unable to help themselves. They realised their need for a Saviour. They saw their moral bankruptcy before a Holy God, the inability of the world to provide any hope, their weakness and insignificance before a God whose voice both causes and calms the storm. And without fail, each time they cried out to God, “He saved them out of their distresses”. For He is a faithful God, who esteems those who are humble and contrite of heart. How are they saved? The hungry and thirsty are satisfied and provided with a city of promise to journey towards; those imprisoned have their chains broken and are brought out of darkness; the foolish are healed; and those reeling around in the storm see the waves stilled, and all is calm – and I believe that not only does this apply when the storms are calmed, but surely this also refers to that perfect peace which the LORD provides to those who are His in the very eye of the storm.

This, then, is the lovingkindness of God – a God who is just longing to show us the height, depth, breadth and length of His love for us if we would but die to self and abandon ourselves to Him and the salvation He provides, this salvation which is all of the LORD, from first to last. In His great mercy and compassion He provides those circumstances in our lives where He leads us to lean on Him as our only source of comfort and hope, that He might be our Redeemer, that He might receive the Glory due His Name. And because we are so dense, this seems to be an ongoing process in our lives.

I look at Harry and my heart aches for him. For I know that this process of dying to self is one that can’t be learnt simply by listening to the words of those who have been through it – this is a process he will have to own himself, he will have to bear his own load and wrestle with God as he works it out, as he comes to see that truly none of us is good enough to enter the presence of God without the mediation of the Lamb of God. The ache in my heart is surely nothing compared with the ache in his Heavenly Father’s heart. And I am confident to entrust my precious son to the lovingkindness of my God for I know whom I have believed, and I know that He is good.