God is merciful

The Voice of Jeremiah’s plea: O America, come, assemble yourselves! Come in repentance, prayer and fasting, dressed in burlap and sprinkle dust on your heads. Separate yourselves from all foreigners and confess your own sins and the sins of your ancestors. Stand while the Book of the Law of the Lord your God is read aloud to you. Devote yourselves to prayer and confess your sins and those of your ancestors and worship the Lord your God.  

O America I call out to you, stand up and praise the LORD your God, for He lives from everlasting to everlasting! Cry out with a loud voice and pray to Him. Praise the LORD God from everlasting to everlasting. Praise His glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. 

Pray to Him: You are the LORD, You alone! You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all the stars. You made the earth and all that is on it and the seas and everything that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven bow down and worship You. 

You are the LORD who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. When he had proved himself faithful, You made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And You have done what You promised, for You are righteous, always true to Your word. 

You are the LORD who saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and You heard their cries from beside the Red Sea. You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people, for You knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors. You made a name for Yourself and have a glorious reputation which remains to this day. 

You are the LORD who divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land! And then You hurled their enemies into the depths of the sea. They sank like stones beneath the mighty waters. 

You are the LORD who led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night to light the way they should go. 

You are the LORD who came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good. You instructed them concerning your holy Sabbath. And you commanded them, through Moses your servant, to obey all your commands, decrees, and instructions. 

You are the LORD who gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them. But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to Your commands. They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles You had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt! 

But  You are the LORD, a God of forgiveness—gracious, merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them, even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies. 

You are the LORD who in Your great mercy did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night. You sent Your good Spirit to instruct them, and You did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst. For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell! 

You are the LORD who helped our ancestors conquer kingdoms and nations, and You placed your people in every corner of the land. They took over the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan. You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land You had promised to their ancestors. They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless! Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased. Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings. 

But despite all this, O LORD, the people were disobedient and rebelled against You. They turned their backs on Your Law, they killed Your prophets who warned them to return to You, and they committed terrible blasphemies. So You handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to You, and You heard them from heaven. In Your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies. 

But O LORD as soon as they were at peace, Your people again committed evil in Your sight, and once more You let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever Your people turned and cried to you again for help, You listened once more from heaven. In Your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times! 

You are the LORD who warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed Your commands. They did not follow Your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on You and refused to listen. 

You are the LORD who in your love was patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again You allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are! 

America, this is the God of your ancestors and He is the God of your nation! He is the Sovereign LORD of the universe!—merciful, gracious, patient, and forgiving! America, this God of your ancestors is the same God of your nation! He is the Sovereign LORD of the universe! He is the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of unfailing love, and does not let all the hardships you have suffered seem insignificant to Him.[1] 

The Voice of Jeremiah’s rebuke and prophecy: But America, great trouble and judgment has come upon you and upon your wicked, deceitful “king” and your corrupt leaders, priests, false prophets and ancestors, because from the days of old until now you have refused to obey the LORD or listen to the warnings in His commands and laws. Even though He has given you your own kingdom, you have refused serve Him! Though the LORD has showered His goodness on you and He has given you a large, fertile land, you have still refused to turn from your wickedness.  

So now America, you will become slaves in the land of plenty that the LORD gave your ancestors for their enjoyment! You will become slaves here in this once good land. The lush produce of your land will pile up in the hands of the “kings” whom the LORD will set over you because of your sins. They will power over you and all your possessions. You will serve them at their pleasure, and you will be in great misery! 

The Voice of Jeremiah’s plea: O America, overwhelming chaos is coming to your nation! [2] No matter where I look, the LORD shows me ruin and devastation! Even the stable mountains will shake! Only God’s mercy can keep you from complete destruction! [3] But the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, specializes in hopeless cases. He breaks the power of sin and He sets the prisoner free from the bondage of his sin. [4] Repent, mourn your sin, turn back to God, and be saved before it is too late!