O Ocean of Mercy

Introduction (1m)

Because of My Love for You

Beloved child, though you had wandered far from me Though your very nature repelled me Though your rebellion was deserving of death I love you still, beloved child Because of my boundless love for you I reached out across time for you I reached out beyond sin for you I reached out to rescue you

Because of my love for you, beloved child Because of my perfect love for you I took your sin upon myself I bore the cross you should have borne I died the death which you deserved I sacrificed my life for you All for the love of you, beloved child Because of my sacrificial love for you I cancelled your iniquity I cleansed you from the stain of sin I washed you whiter than the snow I bought you for eternal life Because of my love for you I am my Father’s beloved child But his love for you is such that he offered me on your behalf He offered me to suffer and die That he might draw you back unto himself Because of his great love for you, beloved child Because of my gracious love for you I gave my body to be broken for you I gave my blood to be poured out for you The blood of my covenant and my forgiveness These I offered willingly because of my love for you Always remember my love for you May the bread and the cup ever be tokens between us Taken because of your love for me (Frank Carpenter)

From every line of that poem pours the ocean of mercy WB wrote about:

O ocean of mercy, oft longing I’ve stood On the brink of thy wonderful, life-giving flood! Once more I have reached this soul-cleansing sea, I will not go back till it rolls over me.

Explanation (2m)

Found in the Crucifixion

That ocean of mercy is God’s boundless love for you. God’s perfect love reaches out across time, beyond sin, to rescue you. And God’s love reaches its zenith on the cross. God’s perfect, boundless love — his ocean of mercy — is seen most fully in the Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

What the Cross Means

It is on the cross that Jesus bore our sins. It is on the cross Jesus died the death we deserve. The cross is God’s perfect picture of his sacrificial love for us. It is on the cross that his ocean of mercy washed us whiter than the snow.

What We Need to be Washed Of

Jesus wasn’t just wounded to death by uncommon sins: Unjust wars Genocide Systematic abuse Serial murders. He was wounded by the wounds common to all humanity: Greed Lust Ambition Those drives and desires that force us to turn in on ourselves:

Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life - I know that it is finished. (Stuart Townend)

Application (2m)

A Relationship and a New Community

Matthew 26:26–28 NLT

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

Jesus expressed the universal forgiveness of sins, the availability of God to all people and the universal indwelling of his Spirit in terms of a covenant — a relationship between God and his people. And this is significant for you and me today. Because it signalled the type of community that should result from his redemptive death. As people who have plunged into this life-giving flood, who have been washed by this soul- cleansing sea we are people restored to God. And we are called to extend this new covenant to others — to bring them into a knowledge of the benefits of Jesus’ saving death.

Mercy Wins

Our response to wrongdoing must be to echo God’s response to our wrongdoing. Do we seek vengeance, punishment, humiliation? Or do we recall that ocean of mercy we have been washed in, and instead offer the abundance of mercy and steadfast love that God offered us? In this blood-washed army, surely mercy must win!