Wed., 9/28/16 Devotion (2 Sam. 24:14)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Samuel 24:14, where we read these words:

"And David said to Gad [the prophet], 'I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall in-to the hand of man.' "

When faced with the options of dealing directly with God, or with man, David chose God. Why? Because he knew the Lord to be gracious and merciful. Al-so, he knew that man can be cruel and brutal. What an enlightened perspec-tive! Today, most sinners imagine themselves to be good, fair, and even-handed; while they think God is mean and unreasonable.

Actually, the exact opposite is the case. The Lord is good; He is slow to an-ger, and abounding in lovingkindnesses. Sinners, on the other hand, are vi-cious and unjust. Let us today—just like David—cast ourselves on *God's* mercy, trusting in Jesus, and not in man.

[Puritan quote of the day: "That sin is worse than affliction is evident because the greatest judgment God lays upon a man in this life is to let him sin without control.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Doctrine of Repentance"]