HAVE MERCY ON ME MY LORD

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in You I take refuge.  I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed.”  Psalm 57:1 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  When he is in the midst of trouble, David prays to The Lord God for help, protection, and deliverance. (Psalm 57:4)  He knows that The Most High God will hear him, vindicate him, and rebuke those who pursue him. (Psalm 57:2-3)  This psalm is a song and he repeats a stanza, or refrain, in the middle and at the end of it.  “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth.” (Psalm 57:5 and 11)  David’s faith and trust in God is steadfast, fixed, and unshakable. (Psalm 57:7)  He states that he will praise The Lord in the congregation of believers and in public for the whole world to see and hear. (Psalm 57:9)

Application:

When we say, “Lord, have mercy” we need to remember that it is not just some cute, catchy phrase, we are actually praying to The Lord God.  We are appealing to His goodness and kindness to withhold the punishment that we deserve, to deliver us from the pain and suffering that we endure, or to protect us from hurt, harm, and danger.  Like a mother hen protects her chicks, we seek the protection, refuge, and safety under His wings from whatever calamity, situation, or circumstance we face.  Because we are the children of God we know that He will protect us. (John 1:12 and Galatians 3:26)  We should praise Him for what He has done, is doing, and will do, because He is worthy to be praised.

A BELIEVER'S PRAYER FOR MERCY AND FORGIVENESS

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; so You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge.”  Psalm 51:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the prophet Nathan came to him after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, who was Uriah’s wife. (2 Samuel 11:1-12:24)  David admitted and confessed his sins to The Lord and asked to be forgiven.  He knew that his sin was a sin against God.  He asked The Lord God to have mercy upon him and cleanse him from his sins.

Application:

This psalm is a prayer which all believers should pray.  When we sin we may do wrong against our fellow man but ultimately our sin is against God by neglect, disobedience, or contempt for His commandments.  Even when we think that we have sinned in private, it is still done in the presence of God, who is always with us and sees all that we do. (2 Samuel 3:25)  We need to humbly pray to The Lord God and honestly confess our sins, and sincerely ask Him to be forgiven. (2 Chronicles 7:14 and 1 John 1:9) 

PLEASE LORD HAVE MERCY ON US

Proclamation:

“Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.  Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.  My soul is in deep anguish … Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of Your unfailing love.”  Psalm 6:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This psalm is a plea for mercy and David begins this psalm by asking The Lord God not to punish him when He is angry.  He is suffering and he asks The Lord to have mercy upon him.  David also asks The Lord God to heal him, deliver him, and to save him because of God’s unfailing love.

Application:

We all know that we have sinned and done wrong repeatedly.  We know that we deserve to be punished for our sins, however, we do not want The Lord God to punish us when He is angry or upset.  We want Him to have mercy on us, to withhold our deserved punishment and grant us unmerited favor.  We want The Lord God to heal our bodies from our afflictions, to save our souls from our sins, and to deliver us from our troublesome situations.  We ask this of Him because of His endless, steadfast, and unfailing love because we ourselves are unworthy.  Because we are believers, we can be confident and know that when we pray this prayer that The Lord hears us and will intervene on our behalf. (Psalm 6:9)

HAVE MERCY ON ME AND GIVE ME STRENGTH

Proclamation:

“But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.  Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant Your strength to Your servant and save the son of Your maidservant."  Psalms 86:15-16 (NIV)

Explanation:
Because his enemies have gathered together and are after him, King David knows that God is compassionate, gracious, full of love, and full of faithfulness, so he asks The Lord to have mercy on him, and to grant him His strength.  He wants God's attention, salvation, and protection because of his special relationship with Him.

Application:
As believers we also have a special relationship with The Lord, and we know that He will never leave us or forsake us, regardless of the situation or circumstance. (Deuteronomy 31:6)  We know that if we call on Him, He will hear us and answer us. (Psalms 34:17 and Proverbs 15:29)  We want God's salvation, deliverance, and protection from whatever negative position that we find ourselves in, and He will help us.  All He asks of us is that we would humble ourselves, and pray, and seek Him, and turn from our sinful ways, then He will hear us, answer us, and help us. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

We Have Sinned Against God

"I said, 'O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against You."  Psalms 41:4 (NIV)

King David uttered and recorded this brief prayer to The Lord God.  David knew that he was a sinner, although he did not identify exactly which of his sins he was referring to in this case.  However, he admitted that he had sinned, and he knew that the sin was a sin against God.  He asked for God's help to heal his sin sick soul, and he asked God to have mercy on him, and not to give him the punishment that he deserved.

As believers, we need to understand that we are still sinners. (Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:10)  All unrighteousness is sin. (1 John 5:17)  If whatever we did or said did not give God glory, then it was a sin.  It is also important for us to realize that we may do wrong to our brother, but all sin is a sin against God. (Psalms 51:4 and 1 Corinthians 8:12)  The penalty for sin is death. (Romans 6:23)  However, Christ took our place and died for our sins. (John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 15:3, Galatians 1:4, and 1 John 2:2)  And, if we confess our sins, The Lord God will forgive us of our sins. (1 John 1:9)  If we want God's mercy and forgiveness, we have to ask for it.

Lift Us Up And Restore Our Joy

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."  Psalms 51:12 (NIV)  In the King James Version of the Bible this verse reads: "Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit."

This psalm of King David is thought to have been penned when he was distraught after being confronted by the prophet Nathan regarding his sin with Bathsheba.  David knows that he still has a relationship with The Lord, but he has lost the joy of the fellowship.  He is emotionally down in the dumps, and here he is asking God to pick him up and restore his joy.

Believers are not immune to the full range of emotions which all human beings have to deal with, both the good and the bad.  We can be sad, sick, mourn, and weep, as well as be depressed. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)  However, when we come to ourselves, we recognize that God is in control of things.  We should count everything as joy, (James 1:2), because we know that it will all work out for our good. (Romans 8:28)  It may be difficult for us while we are in the midst of our storm, but The Lord God is always there with us, and He will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  He may not calm the storm or remove the thorn that caused our pain and suffering, but His grace is sufficient to see us through every situation. (2 Corinthians 12:8-9)  So, when we are sad, down, depressed, or whatever, we just need to pray and ask Him to lift us up and to restore our joy.  We all want to be sustained by God.