Mercy and Compassion

We have seen that human beings tend to react against the doctrines of election and reprobation by declaring them unjust. But as we also have seen, such a charge is groundless, for God cannot be unjust. Furthermore, such a charge is the height of foolishness, for if God were to treat us all equally, we all would find ourselves in hell. Of course, God does not do that. He saves some on the basis of Christ’s work, preserving His justness in the process. The verse we are considering today tells us why God takes this course of action.

Paul teaches us here that God chooses to save because alongside the attribute of justice (and many others) He possesses the attributes of mercy and compassion. Dr. James M. Boice points out that the words mercy and compassion are used almost, but not quite, synonymously in this verse. “Compassion has to do with recognizing the poor or helpless state of a person and stooping to help that person,” he writes. “Mercy does the same, but its unique quality is that it is shown to people not only who do not deserve it but who in fact deserve the opposite.” He goes on to show that mercy, like justice, is one of God’s defining attributes: “The very . . . character of God is bound up in His mercy.” We see this clearly when we examine the context of the words Paul is quoting in today’s verse. In Exodus 33, after God grants Moses’ plea that He not send the Israelites to Canaan without His presence in their midst, Moses asks to see God’s glory. God replies that such is impossible, but that He will cause His goodness to pass before Moses’ eyes and will proclaim His name before him. What follows is the statement Paul quotes in Romans 9: “ ‘I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion’ ” (Ex. 33:19). It is almost as though God is here giving the name He intends to proclaim to Moses. Indeed, when He fulfills His promise to Moses (Ex. 34:5–7), He recites a litany of attributes, among which mercy is prominent. But we must note that God’s mercy is governed by His sovereignty. He retains the right to show mercy and compassion as He will.

Simply put, mercy and compassion are defining aspects of God. It is in His nature to act mercifully toward sinners, showing compassion to those He chooses to save even though they deserve His wrath.