Psalm 116:5 NKJV “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.”
The author of this Psalm had fallen into the hands of God. He experienced God’s love in a time of deep distress, amid death threats, He called on the name of the Lord and God answered him. His response was full of mercy and compassion towards the author.
Reading verse 5, we are reminded that God is always available to us. It is His desire to provide comfort, mercy and grace. In fact, God’s core character traits are rooted in generous mercy and loyal love. Let’s take each of the three attributes mentioned and explore what they mean:
- The Lord is gracious
The Hebrew word for ‘gracious’ is khen. It means delightful or favourable. This characteristic of God is so reliable that over forty times in the book of Psalms, people cry out for God’s khen when they are sick, in distress or in exile. No one in human history has shown extreme khen over and over again other than God Himself
2. The Lord is righteous
The Hebrew word for God’s righteousness is Tsedeq. It is a natural expression of His holiness. When we read of God’s righteousness, we can be assured that His actions towards us are in perfect alignment with His holy nature.
3. The Lord is merciful
God in His everlasting mercy is gracious, loving and forgiving. One who is forever faithful in reaching out to His people in their need.
Throughout history, it has been proven that God will stick closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). When we are going through a fiery ordeal, who do we turn to? A family member, friend, counsellor? The Bible tells us that only God can deliver us from our problems. He is all-powerful, almighty, all-knowing, all-sufficient. But in order to deliver us, like the Psalmist, He requires one thing: complete faith in Him. God is able to save those who faithfully serve and trust in Him – alone.
Let us turn away from every other source and fall into the hands of God. He is like no other. Once we have encountered His graciousness and loving-kindness, there’s no turning back.
