Add A "Big Dose" Of Lovingkindness Today!

In Psalm 103:1,4-5 KJV, David declared, “Bless the LORD, O my soul….who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things.” According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary Of Old and New Testament Words, pg. 142-143, the Hebrew word, “hesed” means “loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.”

This word is used 240 times in the Old Testament, and is especially frequent in the Psalter. In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: “strength,” “steadfastness,” and “love.” Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness.

Biblical usage frequently speaks of someone “doing,” “showing,” or “keeping” lovingkindness. The concrete content of the word is especially evident when it is used in the plural. God’s “mercies,” “kindnesses” or “faithfulnesses” are His specific, concrete acts of redemption in fulfillment of His promise. An example appears in Isaiah 55:3: “…And I will make an everlasting covennant with you even the sure mercies of David" (cf. Isaiah 54:8; Isaiah 61:8; Jeremiah 31:3; Jeremiah 32:40).

A teacher once asked her pupils to tell the meaning of lovingkindness. A little boy jumped up and said, “Well, if I was hungry and someone gave me a piece of bread that would be kindness. But if they were to put a little jam on it, that would be loving-kindness.”

Love is always the “icing” that transforms the ordinary into the truly delightful!

Beloved, let's add a “big dose” of lovingkindness (steadfast love) to whatever we do today and with whom we come in contact with! The Psalmist did (Psalm 89:1; Psalm 92:1-2) and the Lord did (Jeremiah 32:18; cf. Exodus 20:6; Exodus 34:7; Deuteronomy 5:10; Deuteronomy 7:9; Daniel 9:4).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets