We turn in God's Word this morning to Psalm 136. Psalm 136. We're going to read this in connection with Matthew 5, verse 7, the next Beatitude. We return to our series to the Beatitudes after having taken a break for the holidays. Psalm 136, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of gods, for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his mercy endureth forever. To him who alone doeth great wonders, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that made great lights, for his mercy endureth forever. The sun to rule by day, for his mercy endureth forever. The moon and stars to rule by night, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn, for his mercy endureth forever and brought out Israel from among them for his mercy endureth forever with a strong hand and with a stretched out arm for his mercy endureth forever. to him which divided the Red Sea in parts, for his mercy endureth forever, and made Israel to pass through the midst of it, for his mercy endureth forever, but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his mercy endureth forever. To him which led his people through the wilderness, for his mercy endureth forever. To him which smoked great kings, for his mercy endureth forever, and slew famous kings, for his mercy endureth forever. Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his mercy endureth forever, and Og, the king of Bashan, for his mercy endureth forever, and gave their land for an heritage, for his mercy endureth forever, even an heritage unto Israel, his servant, for his mercy endureth forever, who remembered us. in our lowest state, for his mercy endureth forever, and hath redeemed us from our enemies, for his mercy endureth forever. Who giveth food to all flesh, for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of heaven, for his mercy endureth forever. Thus far we read God's holy and inspired word. May he bless the reading of the holy scriptures unto your hearts. The text for the sermon this morning is Matthew 5 verse 7. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Beloved congregation in the Lord Jesus Christ, this text presents to us a difficulty in interpretation. And the difficulty that we are confronted with here is the fact that the promise, the promised reward that Jesus gives unto the faithful in this text seems to be the same as the virtue that that individual already possesses. Jesus Christ speaks unto the merciful and he tells the merciful that they will obtain mercy. It almost seems to us as if there is no advancement, no development in the promise that Jesus gives here. How is it encouraging to one who already possesses mercy to know that he's going to receive something that already he has? In the prior Beatitudes, there is a distinction between the virtue that Jesus Christ commended and pronounced his blessing upon and the reward that he promised to give unto them. Verse three, blessed are the poor in spirit. And he doesn't promise the poor in spirit that their reward is you will be poor in spirit, but he promises the poor in spirit that their reward is the kingdom of heaven. Verse five, blessed are the meek. He doesn't say for they shall be meek, but the meek shall inherit the earth. But now here in Matthew 5 verse 7, the promise that Jesus Christ will give unto the merciful is they shall obtain mercy. So how then does that motivate us? How then does that encourage us to strive to be merciful if the reward that he gives unto us seems to be precisely the same as what already we have? Let's consider this text this morning under the theme, a blessing for the merciful, a blessing for the merciful. I intended to point this out earlier. The reason we don't have a Heidelberg Catechism sermon this morning is that text fits with the preparatory service for the Lord's Supper next week. So we'll have a Heidelberg Catechism service this afternoon. This morning, though, a blessing for the merciful. First, who? Who are the merciful? Second, to whom? Who are the objects or recipients of mercy? And then third, when? When is it that they shall obtain mercy? We begin by considering briefly, what is it generally to be merciful? When we think of mercy, we think of compassion, we think of an individual who has the ability to understand what others are going through, to have pity unto a person who is going through a period of distress in his or her life. And that's a good beginning for understanding the biblical idea of mercy. As Jesus Christ walked along the road, the blind man along the road pleaded unto him, thou son of David, have mercy on us. And so mercy is compassion upon those who are in a low estate. Psalm 41 verse one, describing the merciful person states, blessed is he that considereth the poor. The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. But for us to stop at that point and say that mercy is limited to having compassion or pity upon one in a low estate would not do justice to the biblical teaching of mercy. Sometimes in our heads, perhaps without even consciously realizing this, we equate mercy with weakness. Yes, a merciful person is one who feels sorry for others, one who has compassion for others, perhaps even his or her own heart is broken for others as he understands something of the burden that the neighbor bears up under. But even though that person has empathy, yet that merciful person is powerless to do anything about the situation. And that doesn't do justice to the biblical idea of mercy. Mercy not only feels compassion for the neighbor in distress, but mercy also is able to assist the person in distress. Mercy is not lethargic, but mercy is dynamic and powerful. Jeremiah the prophet confessed in Lamentations chapter three, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. And so there Jeremiah speaks of mercy, not as being this weak and helpless feeling of compassion, but mercy is described as something that is powerful to protect the people of God. Mercy is like a wall, a thick wall that surrounds the people of God and protects them from anything or anyone that would destroy them. We see an example of mercy in David and his treatment of Jonathan's lame son, Mephibosheth. David not only had a heart of compassion and understanding for Mephibosheth, but David also was powerful to invite Mephibosheth into the king's house and give unto him a place around the king's table and provide for him there. And so there we have the biblical idea of mercy, both compassion and understanding and power to assist the distressed. Who then has mercy? Who has a merciful heart? Do you? Does your unbelieving neighbor have a merciful heart? It is certainly true that the unbelieving man at times does perform acts of kindness. The unregenerate man may look upon the lowest state of his neighbor and being moved with a certain measure of compassion for him, perform a deed of charity for him. But Matthew five makes seven, Matthew five verse seven makes clear that the merciful heart spoken of here in the word of God is limited unto those who have a regenerated heart. And the proof is they're blessed. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Jesus Christ pronounces a divine and heavenly blessing upon those who truly are merciful. Heavenly blessings are reserved for the citizens of the kingdom of heaven. And so it would be impossible then for Jesus Christ to pronounce divine blessing upon the unbelieving individual. Mercy is a Christian virtue unique to those who are God's children. Yes, it is true that the unregenerate man can feel bad for his neighbor and even pity his neighbor. We read an example of that in Acts chapter 28. The apostle Paul in Acts had been traveling on a ship that he was then shipwrecked and stranded on this island called Melita. We read then in Acts 28 verse two, and the barbarous people showed us no little kindness for they kindled a fire and received us every one because of the present rain and because of the cold. And so here we have an example of barbarous people who show acts of kindness unto Paul and those who are shipwrecked because it was cold and raining there. And there are other times where it almost appears as though unregenerate individuals show compassion and mercy unto even the people of God. Consider Pharaoh. Initially, Pharaoh did not let God's people go, but eventually he did. And then when at last he sent them forth, the Egyptians showered the Israelites with gold and with silver. And that act of generosity was repeated after the second return from captivity, when the Israelites returned from Babylon. The scriptures tell us that Cyrus, king at that time, gave commandment that the hands of the Israelites were to be strengthened with gold and with silver as they began their return journey unto the land of Canaan. But are these then acts of mercy that are being performed unto the people of God? Was Pharaoh merciful to the Israelites as gold and silver was given unto them before they began their journey in the wilderness? Subsequent history makes abundantly clear Pharaoh had no mercy in his heart toward God's people. He chased them down with his chariots and with his horsemen in a last ditch effort to destroy the people of God. And so as we consider this idea of who it is that is merciful and who has a merciful heart, we always must bear in mind that those who are merciful are limited unto the children of God. This is not to brag. This is not to give us an excuse to become puffed up in pride. But this is important for the maintenance of the antithesis. For the devil always seeks to destroy that separation that God commands that there be between the church and the world. And one of the ways in which the devil seeks to destroy the antithesis is by presenting the world as if the world is kind and benevolent and perhaps even merciful unto the church. Instead of the world being merciful unto the church, it is the case that at times God restrains the wickedness of the world. This is not a gracious restraint, but it is a sovereign restraint. At times God holds back the depravity of the world so that the evil intentions that the world has within their hearts unto the church are not always brought to pass. God makes it possible for the church to have a place in this world and holds back the wickedness of this world so that the world does not consume and destroy the church. But then the devil would try to have us understand that restraint of the wickedness of this world by having us believe that the world is being merciful unto the church. You see, the world isn't that bad after all, the devil would say. Look, the world cares about you. Look at what Cyrus did. He strengthened the hands of the Israelites as they began their return journey unto Canaan. And look now at the government. See, the government cares for you, do they not? They give tax exemptions to religious organizations. Look, the world cares for you. Does not the government give unto you help even with paying tuition for those enrolled in a private school? Look, the world is merciful unto you. The world is benevolent. unto you. You see how subtle the devil is in trying to reframe the world and our relationship to the world. If God in his providence uses the government for a season or two to protect the church and even financially to help the church, then thanks be to God for that. But let us never forget Israel's relationship with Egypt. Egypt gave them gold and silver, and then shortly thereafter, chased them down with the chariots and the horsemen. Proverbs 12, verse 10, The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. Who then shows mercy? God. God is the merciful God. He is merciful within himself. Not that he pities himself. In the deepest sense, mercy is the desire to bless someone. And in that respect, God is merciful toward himself. He desires to bless himself as the highest good. Who is merciful? God's children. Those who have tasted of the mercy of the Lord. Mercy arises out of a heart of gratitude. Mercy understands that God has dealt with me in a way that I do not deserve to be dealt with. Mercy acknowledges that God sent his son to make the payment that you could not make of yourselves. Those who show mercy are those who have received mercy. And that leads us then to the next point. Who receives mercy? Who is the object, the recipient of mercy? To whom must you show mercy? If Jesus Christ says, blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy, then who should you have it as your desire to bless? Who do you have compassion upon? Sometimes as we consider this idea about whom we ought to show kindness unto, we focus upon individuals who have great needs, someone who has gone through a tragic event, someone who has experienced a loss, a loss that is publicly known, maybe a loss of home through a fire, through flooding, someone who has had loss of health with sickness or diagnosis of a disease, or someone who has even experienced the loss of a loved one, the death of a family member. And it is true, it is certainly true. that when others have experienced those sorts of great losses in their lives, as God gives unto us ability, we who are God's children ought to come alongside of them and show mercy and kindness to them and help them as we are able. But this morning, beloved, I want to call you to think more broadly and more deeply about who is the one who experiences need. Yes, it is true that those who have gone through great and tragic events need help. But consider that even the barbarous people of Acts 28 verse two showed kindness and provided shelter and warmth to the apostle Paul and those who had been shipwrecked on the island of Melita. Even the world in moments of loss will step up and provide help for the neighbor. But what about lesser known, lesser publicized needs? To use the phrase of another individual, do you have ears that are sensitive enough to hear the silent cries of God's people. From a certain perspective, it's relatively easy to provide help in these great moments of loss, but it's a far more difficult thing to provide help to the people right around you. Where is there a need for mercy to be displayed? It starts right in your own home. The wife is created by God to be a help, meat for her husband. The husband needs mercy. The husband is created by God to provide for, protect and cherish his wife. Wives need mercy. Where is there a need for mercy to be shown? Children. The children yearn for the compassion, the understanding of mom and dad, and then the help that mom and dad are powerful to provide. Where else is there a need for mercy? In the church. The people sitting next to you or across from you in the pews. Galatians 6 teaches us that first we must show mercy to those who are of the household of faith and then show mercy to all men. To whom does God show mercy? Psalm 136 helps us see who it is to whom God shows mercy. Notice that every verse is punctuated with the explanation of why God does what he does. And at the conclusion of every verse it is stated the reason for his work, namely, for his mercy endureth forever. And God does great things and even things that we would describe as terrible things. For his mercy endureth forever. Verse 10. God smoked Egypt in their firstborn. He sent forth that angel of death throughout the land of Egypt. And anyone that did not have blood sprinkled over the doorposts, the angel of death destroyed the firstborn. Why? Because God is merciful. For his mercy endureth forever. Verse 15. God overthrew Pharaoh and his host, his army, in the Red Sea. Why did God cause Pharaoh to be destroyed in the Red Sea? Because he's merciful. Verse 17 and following, he smote great kings, he slew famous kings, including Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. And why did God kill these famous kings? Because he's merciful. Now at first glance, that might not seem to make sense to us. It seems contradictory that mercy would motivate God to drown Pharaoh and kill famous kings. But God is teaching us something here, is he not? He is showing us that his mercy stands in the service of his church. And anyone or anything that gets in the way of the growth, development, and blessing of God's church, at last, God smites, destroys, consumes them. Pharaoh tried to pursue the Israelites, and so God smoked Pharaoh in his mercy toward his covenant people. These famous kings would have prevented Israel from receiving the inheritance of the land of Canaan. They wanted to inhabit that land, but that land was not for them. It was for God's covenant nation. And so God destroyed famous kings so that the land could be given unto the people of God. God's mercy is not given as a universal mercy. but his mercy is limited unto those who are upright. That's what mercy is. We said it's God's desire to bless. We can add to that, it's God's desire to bless the upright. And that's why ultimately God is the merciful God, for God blesses himself as the upright and holy God. But how then is it ever possible for God to bless us? For we acknowledge that we are not upright, but are crooked and have strayed from that holy law of God. The only way that God is merciful unto us and blesses us is through the faithful and merciful high priest, Jesus Christ. It is through this priest that reconciliation is made for the sins of God's people. It is through Jesus Christ that we are made upright and righteous and God is merciful to us. When can we expect to receive this? Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. How can it be, as we noted in the introduction, how can it be that there's even any encouragement to us? If we already have mercy, then when are we going to obtain mercy? The future tense, the verb is used, they shall obtain it, something that will happen in the future. And we have to be consistent in our interpretation of this verse. This isn't the first time that the present or excuse me, the future tense has been used. The prior verses also use the future. Verse six, blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. And we noted in the interpretation of that verse and other prior ones that God is setting forth the order in which he works. At first, God gives unto us to hunger and thirst, and then God satisfies that hungering and that thirsting. And the rules of biblical interpretation demand that you have to interpret verses the same way as you would interpret them in a context, unless there is some reason, some compelling reason, that demands that it be interpreted differently. And I do not believe that there is a compelling reason here to interpret this verse in a different way than the prior verses. So the future tense is this, that first God gives us to be merciful, and then following that, God gives to us mercy. So how does that encourage us then? How does that motivate us to want to show mercy if already we have, it seems, the promised reward? The explanation is this, beloved, that God gives us the same blessing, but in greater amount. We go from one level of mercy onto a greater level of mercy. The scriptures speak of that. We go from faith to faith. We go from hope to hope. And according to this verse, we go from mercy unto mercy. There is advancement and there is development and there is something that you can look forward to with the eyes of faith and long for, namely, a greater measure of the mercy of God. might be illustrated for us by considering water levels on the earth before the flood as compared to water levels on the earth after the flood. Prior to Noah's Ark, there was moisture on the earth. It never rained, but there was moisture. In fact, there was sufficient moisture on this earth through the dew that came down to sustain life here below. And yet up until the ark, it never had rained, nor were the people even able to comprehend what rain looked like. They knew what moisture was. They could see the dew. They could be thankful for the dew. But when Noah came and said that there's going to be a flood, that the heavens are going to be opened up and the shower of waters comes down, the world responded to that by scoffing and mocking Noah. And I believe that helps us, beloved, in understanding here our relationship with mercy. As it were, we are in the pre-flood state of mercy. God gives unto us mercy in due form. We can understand mercy, something of it at least. we can begin to show mercy unto the neighbor and have some measure of compassion and kindness unto the neighbor. And yet, God has not yet opened up the heavens in showering down mercies upon us. We wait until the return of Jesus Christ when we will obtain mercy in perfection. And so this verse grants unto us something to understand about the kingdom of heaven. After all, this is the sermon in the mount where Jesus Christ is addressing citizens of the kingdom of heaven, and he's teaching them something about what they're going to receive after God takes them off this earth into heaven. And what is it that God promises us we will receive in heaven? Mercy. In principle, it's the same thing that God gives unto us already now on this earth. Already now, he gives unto us mercy. For Jesus Christ says, blessed are the merciful. And yet we who are God's people look forward unto and long for that day when, as it were, the heavens will be opened up and mercy will be showered down upon us in perfection. Because of our sinfulness, it is hard for us even to comprehend the abundance of the mercy of God. Just as the people who lived before the flood had a very hard time understanding what it meant that rain was going to fall down upon this earth. But by faith, we believe it. The promise is certain. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. The certainty of this reward is not found in ourselves. We are passive. They shall receive it. Not we earn it, not we work for it, but we obtain it. Someone else gives it to us. The certainty in the ground of this promise is found in the cross of Jesus Christ. God spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Amen. Let us pray unto God. Our Father and our God in heaven, we are thankful that we are thy people, and that because of thy mercy we are not consumed. Will thou, Father, supply us with grace day by day, grant unto us the ability to understand the burdens that others bear up under, May we with kind hearts encourage and edify each other as we go through this veil of tears together. Thou preserve us by thy spirit. For Jesus' sake we pray this, amen.