9/4/14
In Psalm 138:2, David wrote,
“I will worship toward
thy holy temple,
and praise they name for thy lovingkindness
and for thy truth;
for thou has magnified thy word
above all they name.”
The Greek word for
loving kindness is checed, which means “goodness, kindness and
faithfulness”. David had a revelation of God’s character and nature that caused
him to have confidence in God’s convenant promises.
What I find
interesting is that I couldn’t find the use of the word checed in the
New Testament, but there are scriptures that refer to God’s kindness in the New
Testament. Here are several examples.
Ephesians 2:5-7
Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And hath raised [us]
up together, and made [us] sit
together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come he might shew
the exceeding riches of his grace in
[his] kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus.
Titus 3:4-7
But after that the kindness and love of God
our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have
done,
but according to his mercy he saved us,
by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by his grace, we should be made
heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Romans 2:2-4
But we are sure that the judgment of God
is
according to truth against them which commit such things.
And thinkest thou
this, O man, that judgest them
which do such things, and doest the same,
that
thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Or despisest thou the riches of his
goodness
and forbearance and long suffering; not knowing
that the goodness of
God leadeth thee to repentance?
The words kindness and
goodness used in Ephesians 2:7, Titus 3:4 and Romans 2:4 is the Greek word chrestotes.
In Vines Dictionary (Strong #5544) it is defined as not merely goodness in
quality but rather it is goodness in action, goodness expressed in deeds; yet
not expressing itself in indignation against sin, for its contrasted with
severity by grace and tenderness and compassion.
In Romans 11:22,
What this says to me
is that God, in his goodness, is looking for opportunities to express his kindness,
tenderness and compassion towards us in action and deed. We don’t have to beg
and plead, or get a thousand people bombarding heaven to get God to move. He
wants to.
God
used a seer named Hanani to rebuke Asa, the king of Judah, for not trusting in
the Lord’s plan. At the end of Hanani’s message, he made a statement in verse
nine about God’s faithfulness.
In 2 Chronicles 6,It says,
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to shew himself
strong in the behalf of [them]
whose heart [is] perfect
toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly:
therefore
from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”
The word perfect is
the Hebrew word shalem, which means complete, safe, peaceful, whole,
full, at peace, unharmed. Shalem is derived from the root word shalam
which means to be in a covenant of peace, to be complete, be sound. In this
context, I believe it means the heart of the individual which is at peace
because of their trust in God’s covenant provision and promises. God is looking
for people who trust him to keep his word to show himself strong of their
behalf.
In the New Testament,
Paul expressed to the Ephesians, in chapter 1, that his desire and prayer for
them was that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him.
In Ephesians verses 19 and 20, Paul says,
“And [so that you can
know and understand]
what is the immeasurable and unlimited and
surpassing
greatness of His power in and for us
who believe, as demonstrated in the
working
of His mighty strength, Which He exerted in Christ
when He raised Him
from the dead and seated Him
at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places].”
(Amplified Bible)
Look at the power that
God has made available to us and in us when we believe! He makes the same power
used to raise Jesus from the dead available. It is available and released when
we believe. If you are having trouble believing how much God loves you, pray
that prayer for yourself, for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him.
I believe a foundational
key to seeing and releasing this power in our lives is understanding how much
God loves us and wants to demonstrate that love to and through us.
Ephesians
2:4,5 says,
“But God - so rich is
He in His mercy!
Because of and in order to satisfy the great
and wonderful and
intense love with which He loved us,
Even when were dead (slain) by [our own]
shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship
and in
union with Christ; [He gave us the very life
of Christ Himself, for] it is by grace
(His favor and mercy which you did not deserve)
that you are saved (delivered
from judgement
and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).”
(Amplified Bible)
God’s love for us is
so great! When we understand how much he loves us and the extent he went to in
order to demonstrate his love, giving his own Son to remove the issue of sin,
it makes believing him a lot easier, regardless of the situations in our lives.
Romans 8:32 says,
“He who did not
withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not
also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?” (Amplified
Bible)
David knew God’s covenant promises and expected him to be faithful. We have a better covenant.
What challenges are you facing in your life today?
2 Corinthians 1:20 says,
“For all the promises of God in him [are] yea,
and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”
Find God’s New
Covenant promise for that situation you are facing, sow it into your heart and
as David worshiped God in his lovingkindness, worship him in his chrestotes
because he loves you and wants to demonstrate his goodness in your life
today. Expect it to come to pass.
Written by
Aaron T. Hyde
Shared by
Aaron T. Hyde
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