“It Was Grace From God All the Way . . .”

“It Was Grace From God All the Way . . .”

This is a line from a familiar song. David also sings about this in Psalm 30 where he praises God for His grace that lasts a lifetime; but then he acknowledges that he fell into a false security. V. 6. Here his ego raised its head. “I shall never . . . .” Then God had to hide His face and withdraw some of His grace. V. 7. David tells us how troubled he became and how he humbly prayed for grace again. “Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!” V. 10. Then he found joy in the Lord again. Vs. 11-12. Now he had found his way back to the place where he belonged—his proper place in humble prayer before the throne of grace.

We are exhorted to come to the throne of grace boldly, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb. 4:16. Mercy! Grace! Help! We pray for mercy, plead for grace, and even cry out for help. Help in time of need in order to gain the victory and not suffer defeat. Here that “I” and “I want, I think, I, I, I” would be a contradiction, even a denial of a cry for help. It will exclude grace for victory. When we are praying for grace, we are praying for something we have not deserved. All our boasting is excluded. Rom. 3:27. Someone who truly considers himself a vessel of mercy is neither demanding nor proud. Neither is he discouraged. A vessel of mercy has learned this prayer: “Lord, be gracious unto me! Lord, be my helper!” This is his prayer throughout his life.

Paul was so saturated by the understanding that it was grace from God all the way that when he spoke about something he had done he was quick to add: “Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Cor. 15:10. This resonates deeply when he (for example) writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves . . . .” Eph. 2:8. It was quite natural for him to think, “Not of myself.”

Paul usually greeted the churches with these words: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Ch. 1:2. It is somewhat remarkable that in his letters to Timothy he adds mercy in this greeting as if he wanted to remind Timothy how dependent he was on God’s mercy in his own life and in his work of ministry; that everything, yes, everything depends on Him who shows mercy. Rom. 9:16. And on this testimony that Paul gave him; namely, that he did not seek his own in any way, we see that he lived and served as a true son of mercy who was aware of it. He was conscious of the fact that his election to life and ministry was an election of grace. The effect of such a life and such a ministry is to the praise of the glory of His grace. Eph. 1:6.

Prayer for grace, mercy, and help cannot be combined with, and is contrary to, seeking your own. And the apostle Peter’s exhortation to make our calling and election sure (which is an election of grace) is therefore an exhortation to humility. 2 Pet. 1:10-11.