Saturday

Related Verses
Eph. 2:4-5
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

Rom. 11:32
32 For God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all.

Matt. 9:13
13 But go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,” for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

Mark 5:19
19 And He did not allow him, but said to him, Go to your house, to your own people, and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.

Titus 3:5
5 Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Isa. 45:8
8 Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds flow down righteousness; Let the earth open And bring forth salvation and righteousness; Let them spring forth together; I, Jehovah, have created it.

Related Reading
[Romans 9] reveals the principle that everything depends on God’s mercy. The apostle applies this principle to the Israelites. He shows us that everything that happened to the Israelites was of God’s mercy.

Zeal and pursuit are of no use. Neither is the absence of zeal and pursuit of any use. Waiting too long, not waiting long enough, being too quick, or not being too quick—none of these is of any use…Everything depends on the mercy of God. Only the Holy Spirit is able to lead men to a proper standing. There must be at least one time that a person sees God’s mercy…Whether we see this matter all at once or realize it through a process, the minute we touch this matter, we touch the fact—not a feeling but the fact—that everything depends on God’s mercy. (CWWN, vol. 57, “The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry,” p. 3)

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God’s mercy is a fact. A fact is not dependent on feeling. Take the matter of regeneration as an example. We often tell sinners that they must have a one-time definite experience of repentance and believing in the Lord…It is the same in principle in regard to man’s understanding of God’s mercy. There must be at least one time when a person definitely touches God’s mercy.

Three kinds of people need God’s dealings: those who are strong in their will, those who are strong in their emotion, and those who are strong in their mind…[The will, the emotion, and the mind] must experience God’s breaking. God deals with man’s strong points more than He deals with his weak points. Man’s strong points often hinder him from spiritual progress even more than his weak points. Unless a man is dealt with in these three areas, he cannot know God’s mercy.

After a man has been dealt with by God, he will be tempered in his spiritual life…Some people wait too long, and others do not wait long enough…Some people are not strong enough in their inner man; their outer man is too strong…Some people are too strong in their mind. Others are too strong in their emotion or their will…These conditions require tempering.

If we want our spiritual life to be well tempered, we need to attune our condition to a proper balance. We must neither be too much nor be too little. This can be compared to shooting on a pinball machine; there are pins to the left and to the right, and the balls must be directed at the optimum angle before they can score. There are many pitfalls in our spiritual journey; our mind, emotion, and will can all become hindrances to us. If we are too much or too little, we fall into danger.

Everything depends on God’s mercy. Before I was saved, I planned to go to America. If I had left two months earlier, I would not have met Sister Dora Yu, and I might never have been saved. Even if I had been given the chance later, I might not have believed. It was God’s mercy that I met Miss Dora Yu at that time. It was neither too early nor too late.

Only God can do things in just the right proportion. We are prone to speak either too much or not enough. No one can preach a message that will meet everyone’s need. Even the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter faced the same problem. When words come out of a person’s mouth, it is difficult for the words to come out just right. This is why it is easy for people to misunderstand.

The way of the church during the past two thousand years is a way of looking to the mercy of God. Only God’s mercy can temper us. I have often told the young people that they may have to wait for five years before they will realize that everything is of God’s mercy. (CWWN, vol. 57, “The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry,” pp. 3-6)

Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 57, “The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry,” ch. 1

Further Reading:
Life-study of Romans, msg 58

Hymn: #26
1 God, we praise Thee for Thy mercy,
’Tis so great and so profound!
In our weakness and our failures;
With its greatness it abounds.
We adore Thee! we adore Thee!
With such mercy we’ve been crowned!

2 How we marvel at this mercy
So far-reaching and so vast!
It has reached us, e’en the sinners,
And will ever hold us fast.
From this mercy, from this mercy,
What can cause us to be cast?

3 For Thy mercy we are grateful,
’Tis so rich, so plenteous!
Thru Thy mercy in redemption,
Thou hast richly favored us.
If without this, if without this,
How could we be favored thus?

4 Oh, Thy mercy, so inspiring!
Gentle, tender, dear and sweet!
With Thy patience and Thy kindness,
Us in all our need it meets.
It we treasure, it we treasure,
Nothing can with it compete.

5 Father, we enjoy Thy mercy,
Ever fresh and ever new;
Every morning shed upon us,
It refreshes as the dew.
How we taste it! how we taste it!
Giving Thee the praises due.

6 We can never cease to praise Thee,
As Thy mercy e’er endures;
All Thy grace and all Thy favor,
Ever for us it secures.
Trusting in it, trusting in it,
Thy sure mercy us assures.