Many are the studies on this website dealing with the importance of keeping Yahweh’s commandments. It is clear from the word that Yahweh’s law is the standard of righteousness for all mankind. However, it is true that we have ALL failed to live up to that standard. So what is Yahweh to do?
Psalms 103:8- YAHWEH is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9- He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10- He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11- For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
How high is the heaven above the earth? Some time ago I read a story on CNN’s website. They took the Hubble Space Telescope (a telescope so powerful it could look at a penny 500 MILES away and tell you if it was heads or tails) and they opened the lens on this telescope on a spot in the sky as small as a grain of sand held to the end of your finger. They opened it for 10 days so that it could catch all the light possible. When it was over, they found something that was perhaps quite frustrating, more Galaxies!

So how high is the heaven above the earth? This is how great Yahweh’s mercy is.
Psalms 103:11- For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12- As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Now consider this for but a moment: If you were to go east, how far would you go before you would stop going east? It is infinite, forever. If you were to go west, how far would you go before you would stop going west? It is infinite also! Either direction are infinitely apart from one another. Even so are the transgressions of those who fear Him removed from Him! You see:
Psalms 103:13- Like as a father pitieth his children, so YAHWEH pitieth them that fear him. 14- For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 15- As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. 16- For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
Our days are short:
Psalms 103:17- But the mercy of YAHWEH is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
But we confirm once again that Yahweh’s mercy is eternal, even though we are mortal. Notice also in verse 17 it says “His righteousness” is upon us eternally. That can only be through Yahushua! Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. And He laid on us the righteousness of Yahushua the Messiah, HalleluYah!
Notice also in verse 18:
Psalms 103:18- To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
There are certain ones to whom Yahweh gives this righteousness…and this mercy through Yahushua. Upon who does He give His mercy? This is an important question! If we want to receive it, surely we would want to know how:
Proverbs 3:33- The curse of YAHWEH is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. 34- Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth favor unto the lowly.
The humble and lowly state of a servant of Yahweh is one thing that separated Moses from many of the other Israelites, David from Saul and Yahushua’s disciples from the religious ‘leaders’ of that day. These are the people that Yahweh would save and show mercy toward. For all have sinned. And to those who show mercy..
2 Samuel 22:26- With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. 27- With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury. 28- And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down. 29- For thou art my lamp, O YAHWEH: and YAHWEH will lighten my darkness.
Proverbs 15:33- The fear of YAHWEH is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.
Psalms 51:17- The sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O Elohim, thou wilt not despise.
If we have failed Him…we are not without hope. But how many tremble at His word today? To whom will Yahweh look? Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh will not impute sin:
Psalms 32:1- Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2- Blessed is the man unto whom YAHWEH imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Guile means deceit. Is their deceit in our spirit toward Yahweh concerning the seriousness of our repentance? To whom will Yahweh look? Will it be to those who rely upon their own righteousness?
Ephesians 2:8- For by favor you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of YAHWEH, 9- not of works, lest anyone should boast.
But to whom will Yahweh look? To whom will He give the free gift? Surely it’s not a free gift given to all. If it were, then all mankind would be saved. But we know that not all are saved. So to whom will Yahweh look upon with mercy?
Isaiah 66:1- Thus saith YAHWEH, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2- For all those things hath mine hand made, and those things have been, saith YAHWEH: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Yahweh will look upon the poor and contrite ones who tremble at His word! Jeremiah declared the mercy of Yahweh:
Lamentations 3:18- And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from YAHWEH:
Have we ever felt this way?
Lamentations 3:19- Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. 20- My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
But Jeremiah, in his humility He remembered…
Lamentations 3:21- This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22- It is of YAHWEH’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23- They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24- YAHWEH is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25- YAHWEH is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26- It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of YAHWEH.
Let’s both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh, even Paul said:
Philippians 3:12- Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of the Messiah Yahushua. 13- Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14- I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of YAHWEH in the Messiah Yahushua.
He didn’t even act as though he already had attained, but he did press on! We too should be seeking the perfection, hoping in Yahweh’s mercy. For His word…even His LAW has mercy. Yahweh Himself declared His mercy to all people. In fact, He wrote this with His own finger:
Deuteronomy 5:8- Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9- Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I YAHWEH thy Elohim am a jealous El, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10- And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
So even in His law, which was written with His own finger, He declares His mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments. Though the children of Israel moved Him to anger countless times, countless times Yahweh still forgave them when they humbled themselves:
Exodus 34:1- And YAHWEH said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. 2- And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. 3- And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. 4- And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as YAHWEH had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. 5- And YAHWEH descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of YAHWEH. 6- And YAHWEH passed by before him, and proclaimed, YAHWEH, 7- Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
If we read on, we see that He did forgive the children of Israel for their sins. Yet, some view Yahweh as “Jekyll and Hide”. Mean in the OT (Old Testament) and Kind in the NT (New Testament). Angry in the OT and merciful in the NT. But this is not so at all! Yahweh is the same, He changes not. We need not read very far in the scriptures including the Torah to see that Yahweh has abundant mercy:
Psalms 85:9- Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. 10- Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Those who act as if there is no mercy in what they call the Old Testament need to read these verses!
Isaiah 55:7- Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto YAHWEH, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our Elohim, for he will abundantly pardon. 8- For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith YAHWEH.
Isaiah 55:7- Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto YAHWEH, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our Elohim, for he will abundantly pardon. 8- For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith YAHWEH.
However, the mercy of Yahweh should not lead us to sin again, as even the “new testament” says:
Romans 2:4- Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of YAHWEH leadeth thee to repentance? 5- But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of YAHWEH; 6- Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7- To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8- But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9- Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
His mercy is an absolutely positively FREE gift to the humble who are called and repent of their ways, but after our repentance, surely we would not want to return to the sin!
2 Peter 2:20- For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Savior Yahushua the Messiah, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21- For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22- But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
We must also imitate the mercy of Yahweh.
Matthew 6:14- For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15- But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Part of being righteous is being merciful.Yahweh is righteous and He is merciful. Thus, if we want to be righteous then we must also be merciful. So certainly there are conditions to receiving mercy and forgiveness from Yahweh aren’t there? We must be forgiving toward man to be forgiven by Yahweh.
Some are living a life of sadness, pain and spiritual cancer because they believe Yahweh is holding a grudge against them for their lack of faith or lack of obedience toward Him.
Luke 7:47- Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Some believe that Yahweh has not pardoned their sins regardless of their cries to Him. The humility and reverence for Yahweh is beautiful. But to those I ask one question, “Would Yahweh expect our mercy to exceed His own?” Consider what Yahushua said here:
Matthew 18:21- Then came Kepha to him, and said, Rabbi, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22- Yahushua saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Yahweh surely wouldn’t hold a standard of mercy for us that He wouldn’t Himself uphold. Surely our own mercy cannot exceed His! But it is true that we must ask in humility and repentance. You see, Yahweh loves them who are this way:
1 John 4:9- In this the love of YAHWEH was manifested toward us, that YAHWEH has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10- In this is love, not that we loved YAHWEH, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Does this not prove His love toward us? At one time, most of us did nothing but rebel against Yahweh! So what did He do? Destroy us? Curse us? Leave us without a savior? No way!!! He loves us too much.
Will we love Him? That is the question. We see that Yahweh’s mercy was not without works that proved it. In sending His Son to die for us, He proved His mercy toward us. Will we show our love for Him?
John 14:15- If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Let it be so, I pray. Not only in word..
1 John 3:18- My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
But in DEED. How could any man after knowing such a love believe that it is ok to disobey Yahweh’s commandments again? This is why Yahushua had to die for us. Let’s take hold of that love and LIVE it in DEED. For in DEED Yahweh showed us His mercy by offering His Son for us. Praise Yahweh! What a merciful Elohim!