These words were spoken to a people who had refused to heed what the Lord had been saying to them for a long time.

The Lord had sent His prophets to speak Israel and when they had not heeded the prophets He had sent judgments, verses 6-11.

When they had refused to hear the voice of affliction, the Lord sends this word to them.

Rejected mercy will always be followed by judgment. Man cannot dismiss God by closing his ears to His voice and turning the back upon His reproof.

1. He is God. He holds the position of Judge and Ruler of all. It is with Him all men must do.

2. He is the God of all men. To the pagan, the atheist and the defier of God, He is still THY GOD. He is thy Creator, thy Sovereign Ruler. He holds thy breath in His hands. "In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind," Job 12:10.

3. The rejecting of mercy is the ultimate sin of man. It is a clinging to defiance of God in the face of forgiveness.