Adapted from What the Bible Teaches about Mercy by Rex B.

Andrews

Part I: What is Mercy?

Chapter 1: What is Mercy?

The Old Testament (Covenant) of the Bible was originally written in Hebrew The main Hebrew word translated mercy in the Old Covenant is HHESED Hhesed is translated into English by three main synonyms:
Mercy Lovingkindness Kindness

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 25:10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
The word mercy used here is the Hebrew word hhesed

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 17:7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them.

The word lovingkindness used here is the Hebrew word hhesed

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 31:21 Blessed be the LORD, For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city! The word kindness used here is the Hebrew word hhesed

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

Hhesed - the eager and ardent desire by which one is led to do good It describes a mercy In God which is not merely a legal whim of a despotic ruler It describes a personal desire, strong desire, to do the good which is in itself a lovingkindness Not just a good turn for someone for personal reasons, such as trading favors

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

Without the word mercy-lovingkindness (hhesed) the Bible is a dead book without the revelation of God at all Without the word mercy-lovingkindness there is:
no Bible no salvation no Savior no Kingdom of God no eternal life - nothing!

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

Mercy is Gods supply system for every need everywhere Mercy is that kindness, compassion, and tenderness, which is a passion to suffer with, or participate in, anothers ills or evils in order to relieve, heal, and restore It accepts another freely and gladly AS they are and supplies the needed good of life to build up and to bring to and keep in peace

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

It is to take another into ones heart JUST AS THE ARE and cherish and nourish there Mercy takes anothers sins, evils, and faults as its own, and frees the other by bearing them to God This is the Glow-of-love This is the ANOINTING This is the POWER of God

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

This mercy is to be lived-unto-God by us, and unto Him alone for it flows from Him and returns to Him We are to do Gods mercy for God, seeking nothing in return - only to give By not seeking gain or honor we are not subject to the judgments of hurt, angry, resentful, or envious people We are truly free!

Chapter 1: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 119:64 The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your statutes. That which fills and completes the Earth, so that it is full like God intended, is Mercy! Gods purpose for Earth was, and is, an immersion in the heavenly element of Mercy Not sin which brought force, wrath, corruption, suffering, pain and death

Chapter 2: What is Mercy?

NKJ Psalm 119:41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD -- Your salvation according to Your word. Thy mercies = Thy salvation By His Word God has made known His will to give salvation, and that salvation is of His Mercies To say salvation is to say mercy

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 119:88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. Revive me means - cause me to live! Cause me to live according to your lovingkindness (hhesed or mercy) The word keep in the Hebrew is the shepherds word for watch, keep, guard

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Ezekiel 36:27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Being made alive by the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Mercy - is the only way we can keep the testimony of God and of Jesus Christ, truly and acceptably before Him This is a promise of our New Covenant

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 119:76 Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your servant. It is truly Gods merciful kindness (hhesed or mercy) that fills all the need of comfort NKJ 2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 119:77 Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; For Your law is my delight. The word for tender mercies in Hebrew is rahhamim which means compassions It is a great inward tenderness of love that moves the soul - a passion to comfort The law is a delight for those that understand that it is all about mercy

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 119:124 Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy, And teach me Your statutes. Do with me - or make with me - your bondslave, according to your mercy Mercy is what opens the understanding to the amazing knowledge of God Without our eyes full of His mercy we will never understand the Bible or God

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 119:149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive me according to Your justice. Judgment is the dividing of the evil from the good, the false from the true Gods judgment is for us, delivering us, upholding, sustaining, and supplying every need by His mercy

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

We have been fearful of Gods judgment because of a lack of understanding of mercy If we do His mercy then we will understand that His judgment is for us, in our favor against the adversary Realize that God hears our voice according to His mercy, His lovingkindness The Psalmist cries out Flood me with life according to Thy Justice!

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 119:159 Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness. Precepts are instructions and charges that are pressed upon us to bring life Consider how I love to do things the way You want them (mercifully), and the way you do them (mercifully), and Flood me with life according to your mercy!

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

NKJ Psalm 117:1 Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD! All peoples, and all nations, are enjoined to praise the Eternal Being because His mercy is great towards us, and His truth is forever The truth of God is His mercy!

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

Mercy in the Old Covenant is the acting, the doing, of the God who in the New Covenant is unveiled in Christ Jesus as Love Just as in the New Covenant the truth of the Eternal Father-Being is that He is love, even so in the Old Covenant behind the veil the truth of Him was made known that He is mercy Mercy is love in action or lovingkindness

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

The word praise is from the Hebrew word halal (haw-lal) our beautiful universal praising word hallelujah The root signifies to be clear, to be brilliant It refers to a clear sharp sound or tone and can also be applied to the brilliance of light Thus, to sing forth praises in rejoicing Hallelu - jah = Praise Him who is Jehovah Jehovah is the Eternal Fountain of Being To us He is the Eternal Father Being!

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

The word laud comes from a Hebrew root meaning to praise with soothing words It means to give God the glory, all the glory, as being the glorious one In so doing the soother is soothed, the praiser is exalted

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

The word for indicates the reason why we should so praise God For His merciful kindness (hhesed or mercy) is great toward us The word great carries the idea of great strength, a strong one prevailing The word toward is better understood as upon Because mightily upon us is His mercy

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

The truth of the Lord The word truth in the original Hebrew has these related ideas:
stability perpetuity faithfulness uprightness integrity truth as opposed to falsehood

Today we would say, unchangingfaithfulness-and-truth

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

The Bible teaches that a great distinction of God, the Eternal Being, the Creator, is that His mercy is unchangingly true and faithful to all who will live in it His truth is forever - endless - the great eternal Constant His truth is the great unchangeable It is opposite to all evil, oppression, falseness, destruction, and corruption

Chapter 2: What is Mercy? (cont.)

Putting all of that together we have: With bright clear sounds of rejoicing, praise the Eternal Being, all nations! Glorify Him with all praises all peoples! Because mightily prevailing upon us is His mercy; and the unchanging faithfulness of His truth is forever - endless! Halelu-jah

Prayer
O Lord, I see it, the fullness of the Earth is Thy Mercy. Teach me, O teach me , that I may learn this great section of thy law-laid-down, thy statues. Amen