Lovingkindness

 Lovingkindness 

December 2, 2025

Yesterday, we were talking about the name of the Lord as a strong tower. So today, let us explore that further and try to understand why. Why would an infinite God wish to protect and defend us? To answer that, we need to look at His lovingkindness, chesed in the Hebrew, which defines His infinite mercy and grace towards His people. He protects us because He loves us.

Psalms 17:6-9

6 I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;

Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.

7 Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,

O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand

From those who rise up against them.

8 Keep me as the apple of the eye;

Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

9 From the wicked who despoil me,

My deadly enemies who surround me.

Psalms 36:5-12

5 Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens,

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

Your judgments are like a great deep.

O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

8 They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;

And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.

9 For with You is the fountain of life;

In Your light we see light.

10 O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,

And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,

And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;

They have been thrust down and cannot rise.

Ephesians 2:4-7

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even whenwe were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The imagery of Psalm 17 is beautiful. In it we can visualize God protecting us as He would protect the apple (pupil) of His eye. We also can see His love as the protection of a mother hen sheltering her chicks in the shadow of her wings. We take refuge in His strong tower because we find peace, protection and safety in His lovingkindness. This imagery is expanded in the New Testament when we see graphically the love of Jesus in His dying on the cross for our sake and then sitting us with Him in heavenly places. It is hard to describe the extent of His mercy, grace and kindness towards us. We can but try to accept His love and abide in Him. When all around you seems dark and in despair, look to the chesed of the Father and hide under the shelter of His wings.

(For more, see my previous blog on lovingkindness : http://bbb-brillhart.blogspot.com/2023/08/psalm-36-lovingkindness.html)