God’s Forever Mercy
Mary said, “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” Luke 1:50
Part of me resists the need for mercy. The word declares that I’ve committed an offense against someone (I have) and deserve punishment (I do).
Every day I miss the mark of right living God has established. Multiple times. Every day I need a fresh supply of his mercy. Again and again. Thank goodness “his mercy extends … from generation to generation.”
God’s generation-to-generation mercy is foundational to the covenant he established with Israel. The first hymn in the Old Testament declares, “You in your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed” (Exodus 15:13 NKJV). No doubt every Israelite clung to that promise: God will be merciful. Forever. In fact, the phrase “his mercy endures forever” appears in more than forty Old Testament verses.[i]
In Hebrew, the word for mercy, hesed, means more than providing relief from distress or acting in kindness. It refers to God’s steadfast, unconditional love that motivates him to act in compassion even though his people continually disobey and disappoint him.[ii] We receive his mercy because of who he is, not because of anything we have or have not done.
In Greek, mercy is eleos—“kindness or good will towards the miserable … with a desire to help them.” In the New Testament, it also refers to the general undeserved kindness God extends to all people as well as the specific gift of salvation through Jesus, the Messiah.[iii]
When Mary include mercy in her prayer, she acknowledged that she, along with every other Jew, had failed to keep God’s law. Yet God promised to be merciful—generation after generation. The promise of a Messiah was not dependent on any individual’s faithfulness, but on God’s. So Mary responded with gratitude and reverent awe toward the God who sent his people a Messiah because he loved them so much.
I’m also a recipient of God’s forever mercy. He’s merciful to me because of the promise given in John 3:16. If I accept the gift of salvation God offers me through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus, I’ll receive eternal life. This is part of God’s forever covenant with those who acknowledge they need mercy, who admit they need a savior and invite Jesus into their life as Lord.
Generations of Christians have passed that message to their children and grandchildren. My grandparents and parents passed it to me. God’s mercy extends from generation to generation. How are you passing on God’s forever mercy to the generations who will follow you?
Dig Deeper
Read Psalm 103. Notice what David says about God’s mercy (hesed is translated love in the NIV) in verses 8, 11, and 17. Whom do you know that needs to be reminded of God’s forever mercy today?
Read Psalm 71:18, 78:4–6, Psalm 145:4–7. What are we supposed to pass on to the generations that follow us? In what ways are you passing these truths to others?
Read Psalm 136. This is called an antiphonal psalm because after a priest said the first part of each verse, the congregation responded with the phrase “for his mercy endures forever.” What examples of God’s mercy does the psalmist give? What examples from your life would you add to the list?
Denise K. Loock
[i] “NKJV Search Results for “his mercy endures forever”.” Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 5 Jul, 2024. https://www.blueletterbible.org//search/search.cfm?Criteria=%22his+mercy+endures+forever%22&t=NKJV#s=s_primary_0_1.
[ii] “H2617 – ḥeseḏ – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (nkjv).” Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 5 Jul, 2024. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2617/nkjv/wlc/0-1/.
[iii] “G1656 – eleos – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nkjv).” Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 5 Jul, 2024. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1656/nkjv/tr/0-1/.