By David Bast
Read: Psalm 103:1-4; Psalm 23
“… who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” (Ps. 103:4)
I first learned this verse in the King James Version of the Bible: “Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”
However they are translated, these are two of the most beautiful words in the whole Bible. In Hebrew, they are khesed and rekhem.
Khesed is God’s covenant love, the fierce, passionate, unbreakable loyalty of God to the people whose God he has promised to be. Though sin will strain, it cannot break God’s commitment. His love is steadfast: it endures through thick and thin.
The word rekhem, or compassion, is related to the Hebrew for a mother’s womb. God’s mercy is a function of his deep compassion for his people, his readiness to forgive despite the sins that have grieved him (Hosea 11:8). Psalm 23 beautifully illustrates God’s steadfast love, ending with verse 6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
The Old Testament consistently links these terms in describing the character of God. God’s love is constant and unswerving; he loves us because he chooses to, and he won’t go back on his word or break any of his promises. But God’s love is not some cold, calculating thing. He is as passionate as a husband for his wife, as a mother for the unborn child she is carrying. In The Message of Psalms, Michael Wilcock says, “The believer is ‘restored,’ satisfied and renewed, by the Lord’s covenant love and compassion, that is, the divine commitment and affection, the will and the heart of God.”
As you pray, thank God for his steadfast love and mercy.
—————
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America.
Read: Psalm 103:1-4; Psalm 23
“… who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” (Ps. 103:4)
I first learned this verse in the King James Version of the Bible: “Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”
However they are translated, these are two of the most beautiful words in the whole Bible. In Hebrew, they are khesed and rekhem.
Khesed is God’s covenant love, the fierce, passionate, unbreakable loyalty of God to the people whose God he has promised to be. Though sin will strain, it cannot break God’s commitment. His love is steadfast: it endures through thick and thin.
The word rekhem, or compassion, is related to the Hebrew for a mother’s womb. God’s mercy is a function of his deep compassion for his people, his readiness to forgive despite the sins that have grieved him (Hosea 11:8). Psalm 23 beautifully illustrates God’s steadfast love, ending with verse 6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
The Old Testament consistently links these terms in describing the character of God. God’s love is constant and unswerving; he loves us because he chooses to, and he won’t go back on his word or break any of his promises. But God’s love is not some cold, calculating thing. He is as passionate as a husband for his wife, as a mother for the unborn child she is carrying. In The Message of Psalms, Michael Wilcock says, “The believer is ‘restored,’ satisfied and renewed, by the Lord’s covenant love and compassion, that is, the divine commitment and affection, the will and the heart of God.”
As you pray, thank God for his steadfast love and mercy.
—————
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America.
