Mercy and Judgment (Part 3)

In Psalm 101:1 David declared that he would sing of mercy and judgment. In that declaration, this was the thing that David discovered: Judgment mingled with mercy produces the sweet sound of praise. I’m no musician, but I know that Harmony is created in music when treble mingles with bass. When high mixes with low, it produces the sweet sound of harmony.
 David, in this moment of reflection, looked back upon his life and recognized the sweet harmony produced by the intermingled threads of mercy and judgment.
 David had learned that no praise is so sweet as the praise of the one that has encountered both judgment and mercy in his life. The sweetest praise is the praise of one that can sing of judgment and mercy together.


No doubt, We are all familiar with the story of Esther, perhaps one of the greatest love stories of all time.
 However, one, often overlooked detail of that story is the process of preparation that Esther endured before her night with the King.
 Twelve months were required in preperation before she was ready for her date with the king. There were six full months of bitter, where she was soaked in and saturated by the pungent bitterness of the oil of myrrh.
 However, during the second six months of her preparation, Esther soaked with sweet odors. She was lavished with exotic perfumes composed of the sweet odors of cinnamon, aloes, cassia and calamus.

The incredible thing about this lengthy process is that the Persians had discovered that the bitter blended with the sweet produced the loveliest of aromas.
 However, while it may have been a breakthrough discovery for the Persians, it was part of the prescribed formula, given by God for the oil of anointing.
 In the oil of anointing, Myrrh was blended with Cinnamon and Cassia, along with other ingredients, to produce the substance that was the vehicle of God’s anointing.
 God has long recognized the irresistible attraction of the mingled aroma of bitter and sweet.
 Even in the Jewish Passover celebration the Bitter herbs that cause them to remember the years of bondage and pain are dipped in the sweet mixture of fruits and nuts that reminds them of the goodness of God.


Bitter and sweet blended together is a theme that echoes through the scriptures.
 Revealed within it is the tremendous truth that Judgment and Mercy mingled together give birth to the sweetest praise.
 This is the wonder of a life lived for God! The hard times mix with the easy times.
 Dark nights give way to bright days.
 Terrible storms of chaos and confusion yield the stage to beautiful sunsets of peace and contentment.
 It is the blending of it all together that produces the song of praise.
 I will sing, David said, I will sing of Mercy and Judgment.


It’s the mingling of judgment and mercy that gives birth to the most pleasant of all praise.
 It’s in the night, when the darkness comes crashing in that your heart truly learns to sing.
 Its in the turmoil and trouble of this life, that you really learn that you can trust in God.
 And it’s the thankfulness for mercy that born in the darkness of judgment that gives rise to the song that moves the heart of God.
 Don’t let the storm steal your song!
 Don’t let the trial rob you of your praise!
 The sweetest sound that heaven will ever hear is the voice of hope that rises from the darkness of the night and declares its faith in the mercies of God.


It’s mercy and judgment mingled together that produces genuine praise.
 This is why the misguided notion of praising a God of mercy but dismissing the idea of judgment will never produce a genuine relationship with God. You can’t know God’s mercy, and truly appreciate his provision, if you never recognize his judgment.

 And the beauty of it all is the wonderful fact that mercy and judgment, working together, produce the wonderful aroma of praise.
 It was the lingering scent of the burnt offering combined with the blood applied to the mercy seat that produced the cleansing fire of atonement in the old tabernacle.
 It was the blending of suffering and mercy that produced our own precious salvation on the cross of Calvary.
 Today, no matter where you are in your life, it is the mingling of mercy and judgment that will produce the sweetest praise in your life.