More thoughts on Psalm 86:15, “you are a God who is full of compassion, gracious, long suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth.”

You, Lord God, are rich in mercy and truth—mercy and truth for us are opposites: one soft and pleasant, the other hard and unyielding. Only you, Lord, could put these two together!

You don’t shy away from pointing out our sins (truth) and at the same time do not give us what we deserve (mercy)

As it says earlier in Psalm 86, “Among the gods there is none like you, neither are there any works like yours…. You are great and do wonderous things.” You are, in a sense, too good to be true, but you are more than true, for you are Truth itself: immutable, unwavering, solid and eternal.

I praise you that you are full of compassion, gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and truth. Help us all to live in the light of that Truth!

This picture shows  Jesus combining Truth (sin requires a sacrifice) with Mercy (redeeming his enemies).