An attitude of compassion and care, grounded in the nature of God himself, made manifest in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and expected of believers.
The mercifulness of God
Deuteronomy 4:31; Psalm 78:38; Jeremiah 3:12 See also Deuteronomy 7:7–8; Nehemiah 9:31; Zechariah 1:16; Luke 1:50–54; James 5:11
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.
And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be angry forever.
The expression of God's mercifulness
In the forgiveness of sins
Psalm 78:38 See also 2 Samuel 24:14; 1 Kings 8:50; Psalm 26:11, Psalm 51:1; Daniel 9:9
And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
In response to prayer
Psalm 6:2, Psalm 27:7 See also 1 Kings 8:28; Psalm 9:13
Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.
Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call; be merciful and answer me.
The mercifulness of Jesus Christ
Matthew 9:36; Hebrews 2:17 See also Matthew 8:16; Hebrews 4:16
When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people.
The mercifulness expected of believers
Luke 6:36 See also Micah 6:8; Zechariah 7:9; Matthew 9:13, Matthew 18:21–35 the parable of the unmerciful servant; Matthew 23:23; Luke 10:29–37 the parable of the good Samaritan; Romans 12:8; Ephesians 4:32–5:2; James 2:12–13, James 3:17; Jude 1:22–23
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
The blessing promised to the merciful
Matthew 5:7 Jesus Christ to his disciples.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.