09/04/2026
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy (chesed - חֶסֶד) endures forever.” It is a defining characteristic of God, and we can approach Him boldly based on the confidence we have in this aspect of His nature! Chesed is a key and central word in the Hebrew Bible, used almost 250 times, 125 times in just the Psalms. But its meaning is a bit illusive and full of mystery. Often, we try to capture the meaning with words like covenant faithfulness, steadfast love, loyalty, lovingkindness, or mercy. In Micah 6:8, the Lord says He requires of us to love chesed, mercy. But what does it mean to love mercy? God says He delights in mercy! Maybe loving mercy means to try to understand that we offered God nothing, further in our debauchery we deserved death, yet this King of Glory, this Father of Mercies delighted to set His heart, His loving kindness and mercy upon us, most beautifully in His Son our Lord and Savior. II Corinthians 1:3-4 shows another calling of chesed, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Chesed isn’t easy to live out, often we don’t feel loving, it is easier to ignore, to judge, or to protect ourselves. We have been called to not only be receivers of God’s chesed, but vendors of chesed to others. “Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.”