Section 9
and unworthy of grace. According to our natural condition, we were far removed from God, to tally unworthy of His grace. We were only eligi ble to receive His mercy. Thus, 9:15 does not say, "I will have grace on whom I will have grace." No, it says, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." You may think that there was noth ing good about Jacob, that he was altogether a subtle, crafty person, and that Esau was much better than he. You are right. That is how God has shown His mercy. Jacob was pitiful, but God had mercy on him. God's mercy does not depend upon man's good condition; rather it is shown in man's pitiful condition. It reaches be yond His grace.
It is God's mercy that has reached all of us. None of us was in a condition that corresponded to His grace. We were so poor and so pitiful that there was the need for God's mercy to bridge the gap between us and God. It was God's mercy that brought us into His grace. How we need to real ize this and worship God for His mercy! Even now, after being saved and having participated in the riches of His life, we still, in some ways, are in a condition that needs God's mercy to bridge the gap. This is the reason that Hebrews 4:16 says that firstly we need to obtain mercy and then we