Eternal Attributes

The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23  NASB

Acts of mercy – This is one of those cases where we must see the Hebrew in order to understand the impact of the verse.  “Acts of mercy” just doesn’t cut it.  We can’t connect the dots with a translation like this.  The Hebrew word is ḥesed, that unique, four-pronged description of the  character and commitment of the Hebrew God that extends His actions from the past to the future in deliberate covenantal community accountability.  Oh, sorry.  There were a lot ideas packed into that sentence.  Let’s amplify.

ḥesed is an entirely Hebrew word.  There are no cognates in other ancient Semitic languages.  That’s important since it is arguably the defining characteristic of YHVH.  As Glueck noted, ḥesed encompasses reciprocity (I do for you, you do for me), inherent connectivity (it belongs only to relationships with established mutual obligations), transitivity (what is done for me requires me to do the same for others), and activity (it demands practical expression, not simply theoretical contemplation).  God’s ḥesed toward Israel means He establishes obligations (the Torah) with an identified community (Abraham’s descendants) that invites the nations in active involvement.  From the one to the many—with intentionality.

So, “acts of mercy” isn’t quite enough.  The LXX translated ḥesed with the Greek term eleos.  Latin used misericordia. Both send us on tangents.  We need to know that God’s ḥesed never ends, not just that He is forever merciful.  We need to know that His covenant relationship of mutual obligation with Israel never ends.  We need to know that the requirement to “pass it on” never ends.  We need to know that it’s not enough to “think about it.”  DO SOMETHING with what God has given you.  You are required to.  Once God has His hand on you, there is no getting loose.  Sorry, ḥesed applies.

Now read these verses.  What is ḥādāš every morning?  What is renewed every morning?  The second word reminds us that this isn’t a new thing.  It’s a renewed thing.  ḥesed has always been.  It is the quintessential characteristic of God Himself.  It does not go away.  But our experience of His continual covenantal commitment toward us is, in fact, new this day, and every day.  Why?  Because we don’t have to be.  We are utterly contingent beings.  It is only through His ḥesed that we open our eyes in the morning and recognize we are the recipients of another manifestation of ḥesed.  Mercy?  Yes, of course, but it isn’t mercy that you feel the moment the day breaks upon you.  It’s gratitude!  You have been saved once more for this moment, this time.  God has renewed His obligation toward you and now you are called to do the same—toward Him and toward all those others who, knowingly or unknowingly, have just experienced ḥesed.

Topical Index:  ḥesed, mercy, eleos, misericordia, ḥādāš, renew, Lamentations 3:22-23