“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18).
Someone told me after the morning service last Sunday that they enjoyed the message, but it lacked a quote from Thomas Watson. I’ll try to make up for lost ground with this article.
In commenting on the petition “Forgive us our debts” Watson notes how the pardoned sinner is made an ardent admirer of God. “Oh, that God should ever look upon me! I was a sinner, and nothing but a sinner, yet I obtained mercy!…. This causes admiration.”
Watson then offers this illustration:
A man that goes over a narrow bridge in the night and next morning sees the danger he was in, how miraculously he escaped, is filled with admiration; so when God shows a man how near he was falling into hell, how that gulf is passed, and all his sins are pardoned, he is amazed, and cries out, ‘Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity?’ That God should pardon one and pass by another—one should be taken and another left—fills the soul with wonder and astonishment.
Are you like a man who marvels at the gulf he has safely passed over? Does this not fill your heart with admiration and fuel your passion to love and serve this merciful Savior?
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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