MERCY
Today's reading: Psalm 9-11

"Lord, have mercy on me.." Psalm 9:13 NLT

Growing up, my favorite thing to do in school was vocabulary.

Most every year, teachers would assign us a list of words which we were to look up and write out the definition.

Some years we got to use the gradiose dictionary sitting in a prime area of the classroom. The pages yellowed. The weight enormous. The words vast.

Other times, the dictionaries in the back of what ever book we were using would work just fine.

I'm still like that.

I want to know if what I think the word means and how it is defined are the same. Online dictionaries help, lexicons prove useful, the old Dollar Tree dictionary I keep for purposes just like this.

Like today.

I paused on the word 'mercy'.

Here is what I have found among my references...

mercy-be gracious, show favor, pity, show consideration

Yes, just what I thought. How very nice. But those definitions didn't strike at my heart, so I read on...

mercy-compassion shown to an offender

Oh yes, that's getting a lot more personal. This word truly is speaking to my heart. My long list of offenses quickly crossed my mind, But I continued...

mercy-to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior

That's it! That's why 'mercy' stopped me in my tracks this morning and gave me time to pause and consider how enormous this word truly is. An inferior, that is truly me in regards to my Savior! Knowing what He did knowing who I am--amazing!

I'm not one to change the words of the Bible, but here is my prayer this morning based upon this portion of Scripture...

Lord, continue to have mercy on me.