Attribute of God – Merciful
In our English version it is variously translated as ‘mercy’ , ‘kindness’ , ‘loving kindness’ , ‘steadfast love’. The word really indicates the kind of compassion one would expect from someone to whom you were bound in covenant or agreement. It has sometimes being translated as ‘covenant-love.
Through the centuries Christian people have acknowledged the undeserved goodness of a “gracious and merciful God” and have reminded one another that ‘Our God is merciful’
Is 63:7 I shall make mention of the loving-kindness of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has granted us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has granted them according to His compassion And according to the abundance of His loving-kindness.
Ex 34:6 Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness and truth;
2 Chr 30:9 "For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your sons {will find} compassion before those who led them captive and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn {His} face away from you if you return to Him."
Neh 9:31 "Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or forsake them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God.
Deut 4:31 "For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
Ps 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.
He is ‘the Father of mercies’
2 Cor 1:3 Blessed {be} the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
David realizes that Gods mercy is ‘very great’. He would rather fall into the merciful ‘hand of the Lord’ than the hand of the man
2 Sam 24:14 Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."
1 Chr 21:13 David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man."
God’s Mercy is shown to those who least deserve it.
Neh 9:18-19 "Even when they made for themselves A calf of molten metal And said, 'This is your God Who brought you up from Egypt,' And committed great blasphemies, You, in Your great compassion, Did not forsake them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, To guide them on their way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.
Neh 9:27 "Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their oppressors who oppressed them, But when they cried to You in the time of their distress, You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors.
Men can’t demand it and they cannot earn it
Ex 33:19 And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."
God’s mercy is reliable, trust worth and pure
Ps 119:58 I sought Your favor with all {my} heart; Be gracious to me according to Your word.
Ps 119:132 Turn to me and be gracious to me, After Your manner with those who love Your name.
Mal 3:6 "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Is 54:10 "For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My loving-kindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken," Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
Jer 31:20 "Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly {still} remember him; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him," declares the LORD.
God’s mercy is universal
The Lord Jesus described his Father as One who was kind to the ungrateful and the selfish
Luke 6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil {men.}
We are reminded in the New Testament epistles that the path of prayer is the way to mercy and in our personal experience the new faith is the outcome of God’s great mercy.
Heb 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Pet 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to {obtain} an inheritance {which is} imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
God’s Everlasting Loving-kindness
The Lord always keeps His covenant because he is faithful. He will not fail in this part
1 Chr 16:34 O give thanks to the LORD, for {He is} good; For His loving-kindness is everlasting.
1 Chr 16:41 With them {were} Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because His loving-kindness is everlasting.
Ps 106:1 Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His loving-kindness is everlasting.
Ps 107:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His loving-kindness is everlasting.
How about us?
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