The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV Mercies – As we discovered, God’s ḥesed is without an end. And because it never comes to an end, because God never gives up on His promise, other things follow. One of those other things is rāḥam, the root of the…
I shall run the way of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart. Psalm 119:32 NASB Enlarge – The Hebrew verb rāḥab has two completely different sematic contexts. The first is used with open spaces like broad plains. The second, as we find here, is about the physical body. “ . . its most frequent…
Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him for the help of His presence, my God. Psalm 42:11 NASB Despair – Hebrew is earthy. It doesn’t portray the complexity of our Greek-based psychological vocabulary. It describes internal psychic states with tactile…
Answer me, LORD, for Your kindness is good, in Your great compassion turn to me. Psalm 69:17 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Great compassion – God cares. If we learn nothing else from Scripture, this is enough. We might not know how He demonstrates that care. We may think He has forgotten all about us. We…
You will arise and have compassion on Zion; for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come. Psalm 102:13 NASB Be gracious – “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth;’” (Exodus 34:6). What’s number 2 in God’s self-disclosure? The first…
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 lovingkindness and truth;” Exodus 34:6 NASB Compassionate – Exodus 34:6-7 is God’s personally endorsed self-description. As such, it is vitally important, perhaps one of the most important parts of the entire Bible. If you want to…
When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Job 1:5 NASB In their…
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 lovingkindness and truth; Exodus 34:6 NASB Abounding in lovingkindness– Let’s consider the big picture. In order to do that, we must first step away from the narrower perspective. So let’s move back from the idea that the…
It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment. Psalm 112:5 NASB Gracious – Exodus 34:6 and 7 are crucial verses. They communicate God’s own self-description. The words He uses as He passes by Moses reveal the character of the God we serve, worship, and love. If a…
He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:13 NASB Compassion – Today I am in Assisi, Italy. You’ll probably get a picture or two of the basilica here, the one dedicated to St. Francis. And St. Francis is associated with compassion, I thought it would be appropriate to review…
