The Gooch Lane church of Christ is a group of people in Madison, Alabama seeking to study the Bible and put God’s teachings into practice. We’d love to have you join us for Bible study and worship.
God’s Grace and Mercy
by Mike Johnson
David most likely wrote Psalm 103, which is a well-known psalm of praise. It is a psalm of celebration, as the first two verses and the final verse indicate. Verse 8 points out, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” This verse tells us four facts about God. God is:
1. Merciful - Being merciful is a part of God’s fundamental character. Consider the following definition of the Hebrew word: “an adjective meaning compassionate, merciful. It indicates a merciful and forgiving character and attitude. It is an important word defining the character of God and, every time, it refers to God. It is part of the moral definition of God. . .” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary). The word in the original also carries with it the idea of the kind of love people have for their families, such as what a mother would have for her nursing child.
Because God is merciful, He forgives our sins (Psalm 51:1-4), and the source of His mercy is love. Ephesians 2:4-5 informs us, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” Vines points out that the Greek word (translated “mercy”) used here means, “the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it” (Vines Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words).
2. Gracious - From Psalm 103:8, we also learn that God is not only merciful but is gracious. The definition of this word is similar to the word “merciful.” The Hebrew word, translated “gracious,” means to be gracious and merciful. Consider the following definition.
This word is used solely as a descriptive term of God. The Lord used this word when He revealed Himself to Moses (Exodus 34:6), as One who is, above all else, merciful and abounding in compassion (Psalm 86:15; 103:8). Elsewhere, it expresses the Lord’s response to the cry of the oppressed (Exodus 22:27); His treatment of those that reverence Him (Psalm 111:4; 112:4); His attitude toward those who repent (Joel 2:13); His mercy in the face of rebellion (Nehemiah 9:17,31; Jonah 4:2); and His leniency toward His people in the midst of judgment (2 Chronicles 30:9) (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament).
In Psalm 86:15, the Psalmist praises God, saying, “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.”
3. Slow to Anger - This is the third trait of God cited in Psalm 103:8. God is patient and does not act hastily. Today, the fact that the second coming has not yet occurred is due to God being longsuffering and wanting everyone to be saved (2 Peter 3:8-10).
4. Abounding in Mercy - Most translations render the Hebrew word used here as “love” or “lovingkindness.” Earlier, we saw that God is merciful. Now we see that his mercy/love abounds. What is said here in Psalm 103:8 is similar to what God said of Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7 when He stated, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…”
God will never stop being merciful. Psalm 136 sings the praises of God’s mercy, using the phrase, “His mercy endures forever” in all 26 of its verses. The Psalmist does this each time he speaks of the many great acts of God. God will never cease being merciful!
Conclusion
We can be so thankful that God is merciful. Not only is He merciful, but He abounds in mercy. It is good that He is gracious and slow to anger. We serve a loving and compassionate God!