Yes . . . But . . . Yet

Psalm 78:35-39 They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.

God is more merciful with us than we deserve.

I find it interesting that the psalm for this morning is a historical psalm. In it Asaph gives a basic overview of key events in his nation's history. The primary focus of this overview is to ensure that his people remember God's mercy to their ancestors despite their unworthiness. It's probably easy to see where I'm going with this.

If we were to take an honest look at ourselves, and our personal history, we would see a similar pattern in our own lives. The passage that I picked out is a good illustration of that pattern. We would say yes to God, but then we would go about our usual, sinful, ways, yet God did not give us what we deserve because He is merciful and remembers our frailty as human beings. If we were to keep God's mercy, as well as our frailty, in mind more often, this pattern would be repeated less often.

So as we remember today those who have fallen, let us also remember the merciful God who, "time after time . . . restrained His anger and did not stir up his full wrath" against us even though we probably deserved it.