“For the Lord will not cast away His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for Himself.” (I Sam. 12:22, NKJV)
A few months before his death in 1747 at age 29, David Brainerd, the missionary to the Indians in New England, wrote to a young ministerial candidate, “Give yourself to prayer, to reading and meditation on Divine truths: strive to penetrate to the bottom of them and never be content with superficial knowledge – in this you will find your worth.” It was good advice. And not just for ministers – but for us all because at the bottom of this pursuit (that Brainerd spoke of) you will find a granite foundation of hope for victory in the mission of the Church. You will also find an affirmation of grace by a God whose commitment to the cause of His people is grounded not in His people but in Himself. His passion to save, heal and bless feeds itself not from the shallow soil of our value, but from the infinite depth of His.
This truth is captured in the verse printed above: God's mercy is grounded in His allegiance to His own name. Mercy is not receiving what I do deserve. When I was 14 years old I recall a hot summer day spent at the pool side. I had two sisters (I have one now), both younger than I, and I was having a great time pushing them into the pool and then walking around the pool and pushing them back in each time they attempted to emerge. My Dad saw this happening and decided he would correct this injustice by sneaking up behind me and giving me a piece of my own medicine. The problem for him was that I saw him out of the corner of my eye, and at the last minute I ‘dodged’ away and he went crashing head-long into the pool with a mighty splash. I didn’t get what I deserved! Neither did he!
Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t just destroy His enemies? Those who hate His Name and despise His truth? Has it ever bothered you that evil seems to be allowed to exist…and sometimes thrive? If God is so powerful why does He not just end all injustice? But I must respond to these often asked questions with two more: Which one of us would dare say we have been ‘good enough’ to please God? Which of us would say someone else does not deserve mercy when we are in need of it ourselves? Our verse above captures a truthful answer to these puzzles – God does not cast His people off…no matter how broken we are. The reason for this is because He is committed to the glory of His name. The deepest reason given for God’s commitment to His own people is His prior commitment to His own great name. First, He is committed to act for His own name’s sake. And then, for that reason, He is committed to act for His people. “Because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for Himself.” It was God’s pleasure to join you to Himself in such a way that His name is at stake in your destiny and care! Therefore, for His name’s sake he will not cast you away – if you are His!
The Psalmists often lamented the seeming prosperity and arrogance of the wicked – Consider Psalm 73:2, ‘But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled…for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked’. But then in v.17, ‘...until I went into the sanctuary of God; and then I discerned their end...(v.25), whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.’ May we find solace and hope in this truth of God that the Psalmist did.
‘For the Lord will not cast away His people...’ – in the midst of present abounding evil, trial and temptation...what wonderful news.
