The Merciful Preserved While the Fearful Fall

Psalm 41:2 declares, "The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive." Consider this remarkable observation from Adam Clarke: benevolent persons who deliberately "consider the poor"—who search cellars, garrets, and back lanes to find the sick and destitute, even venturing into places where contagion maintains its deadly seat—very seldom fall prey to the very diseases they encounter. The Lord, in a most especial manner, keeps such merciful souls alive and preserves them. Yet paradoxically, many who carefully endeavor to keep far from contagion, who isolate themselves and avoid risk, are themselves assailed by it and fall victims to pestilence. This is no accident or fortune's wheel. God loves the merciful man. He stands guard over the compassionate heart. When we obey the impulse to serve the suffering—when we lay down comfort and safety at the altar of love—Yahweh's protection becomes a shield we scarcely recognize. The person who forgets himself in mercy finds himself remembered by the Almighty. This is the divine paradox: self-preservation through self-giving, safety through sacrifice, life through loving. Those who would save their lives by hoarding them lose them; those who lose their lives in mercy find them preserved by the hand of God.