Mercy

From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, 1596.

PORTIA: The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice.

This play written by William Shakespeare is about, in part, a man who owes a debt, and he cannot repay it. He has now been brought before the court. His agreement with the lender had been that if he did not repay the debt, he would give a pound of flesh from his body as a penalty. We get the expression "a pound of flesh" from this drama.

His advocate or attorney before the court, launches into this speech above, asking that mercy be extended to the accused. It is beautifully written and eloquently expresses the power, majesty and divinity of mercy. Shakespeare's character points out:

1.  Mercy cannot be strained- by its very nature, it cannot be overused, it can never run out, or be used up, no matter how many times it is extended. It has an infinite quality built into it.

2.  It is like gentle rain. Gentle rain will soften the hardest ground. Mercy shown will soften the hardest heart.

3.  Its quality is such that it blesses both those who show it to others, and those who receive it. Do you need a blessing? Show mercy.

4.  Mercy is most powerful when the most powerful use it. It is generally the poor and weak who depend upon mercy in life on this earth, so the powerful don't think they have need of it. So when they show mercy, it makes a powerful statement to humanity.

5.  Mercy is even greater than all of the power and authority of kings. Kings sit on thorones to show their power, but mercy sits on a throne within them to show its power.

6. When mercy is shown by earthly powers, that is when those powers most reflect the nature of God, Himself. And when we extend mercy, that is when we are most like our Father.

In scripture, our Father identifies Himself to Moses by His quality of mercy:

"The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands...

Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped."

                                                     Exodus 34:6-8

When Moses experiences the LORD's merciful character, it overwhelms him, and he falls to the ground in worship.

The word "mercy" comes from a root meaning "deep love, compassion, pity". The Father's love for man is so great, that He feels deep compassion towards us. Though He is slow to pass judgment against any man, He will do it out of the compassion He feels for those suffering under the oppression of someone who is wicked in heart.

Even as Shakespeare strongly argues on behalf of man extending the mercy quality of God towards other men, the scriptures also teach this:

"Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful."

                                         Luke 6:36

And as Shakespeare spoke of the reciprocal blessing of mercy, so do the scriptures:

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

                                        Mat. 5:7

Isn't it interesting to see that Shakespeare recognized and spoke a principle of truth from the Word and Character of God?

How great is the power of mercy in our Father towards us, that when we receive that truth, it makes man fall down in worship, as Moses.