“In Mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.”
Isaiah 16:5
The Lord gave me this scripture the other day. I had never noticed it before, but he spoke the reference to my heart when I was praying for Cairo, Egypt. As I have written before, I’ve been struggling with mercy and justice but have begun to understand it at an elementary level, so this verse made me cry and ministered to me.
Because of His mercy, the throne will be established—the reign of Christ. His coming kingdom will be established. Therefore, as Jesus told us to pray in Matthew 6 and Luke 11—“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” He is asking us to cry out for the establishing of His throne over every sphere of influence throughout the earth.
When we pray, we are saying, “Jesus, establish your throne. Establish your kingdom which prevails over sickness, death, disease, heartache, injustice…every area of our lives”—not only now, but in the age to come as well.
It is in his mercy that He will return and establish His reign on the earth; yet with that return, He will release judgment on all that is evil and everyone who has not voluntarily called upon His name. Yet, it is mercy, because He will establish righteousness, justice, and truth—putting an end to evil.
So we continue to cry out for mercy and justice. They do go together. He does not lay aside one attribute for the sake of another. He is Just, and He is Merciful. It is His Name—the essence of who He is (Ex. 34:6-7).
That is our coming hope—the age to come, and yet, we can also cry out for a token of His kingdom to be established now. When Jesus was on the earth, He gave us a token of His coming reign—blind eyes and deaf ears were opened, demons were cast out, dead were raised, and lepers were cleansed (Matt. 10:6). On the other hand however, it was only partial. He was moving in mercy and compassion for the hurting, yet His primary goal was justice—the cross.
Without His kingdom being established, sickness, disease, death, lawlessness, sin, and darkness will all have a free reign—even as they do now when they are not held in check by Christ-followers. It is in His mercy that He will establish His throne of righteousness and justice—executing judgments, which will put an end to all of these evils.
Therefore, pray “Our Father, who is in heaven, Holy is Your Name, Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”
This week, ask the Lord to highlight different areas in your life or in the world around you to focus on in prayer asking for His kingdom to be established. Imagine the Lord taking a seat on His throne and that issue falling facedown before Him. Cry out for mercy and justice over those issues--even for the healing and salvation of loved ones. Pray that evil will fall away and Jesus will be made king over their lives.
Bless you all.
Amanda
Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved
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