They will celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made. (Psalm 145:7–9, NIV).
My Musings – If God, in His “abundant goodness,” grace, “compassion,” and “love,” turned a blind eye to sin, we could not “joyfully sing of [His] righteousness.” Yet at the same time, how can we “celebrate” these things if He punishes the sinner? Two words: the cross. “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV 1984).
My Advice – Justice was served when Christ, exhibiting all these qualities, took upon Himself the punishment that was due us. Compassion that is “available [to] all He has made,” yet it is not accepted by “all He has made.” Still, He remains “slow to anger.” “He is patient with [us], not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, NIV 1984).
But “slow” and “patient” has it limits. “So then, dear friends…make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation,” (2 Peter 3:14–15, NIV 1984), only if we make “peace with Him” before His patience wears out. Therefore, let us not be slow “to come to repentance.”
The Brew Is A Musing 