O Give Thanks

 O Give Thanks

July 31, 2026

Psalm 107:1-2 (NKJV) 

1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for [He is] good^h2896a! For His mercy^H2617a [endures] forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so,] Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

It is good to give thanks to the Lord. His goodness and mercy are far greater than the English words describe. He is goodness and mercy in a way that transcends all that we Think of as good. From the Strongs dictionary, we learn that this word includes concepts of grace, favor, delight and happiness. God is good in more ways than we can comprehend,

And mercy, checed, is likewise rich in meaning. It includes ideas of lovingkindness, mercy and beauty. He loves us far more than we appreciate. As John puts it, “God so loved the world that He gave His only son...” We give thanks to the Lord who loves us so. 

According to the psalmist, our response is to say so. If your heart is happy, let your face know it, and then tell someone of God’s mercy and grace. As the saying goes;

The Lord is good all the time,

And all the time, the Lord is good.

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Strong's Definitions: 

H2617a חֶסֶד  cheçed, kheh'-sed; from H2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subjectively) beauty:—favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.

h2896a. טוֹב tob; from 2895; pleasant, agreeable, good:--

beautiful(11), beneficial(1), best(7), better(75), better a good(1), charming*(1), cheerful(3), choice(2), delightful(1), fair(1), favor(1), favorable(3), favorably(3), festive(1), fine(3), fine ones(1), fit(1), generous*(1), glad(1), good(196), good and to those who(1), good is better(1), good man(3), good men(1), good-looking*(1), gracious(1), handsome(3), handsome*(1), happy(1), holiday*(3), intelligent*(1), kind(1), like*(1), man(1), more*(2), one(1), one who(1), one who(1), one who...

Mercy

 Mercy

July 15, 2026

Psalm 51:1-4 (NKJV) 

1. Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to themultitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin [is] always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done [this] evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, [And] blameless when You judge.

Psalm 51:10-13 (NKJV) 

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Donot cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me [by Your] generous Spirit. 13 [Then] I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.

I woke up this morning with Psalm 51 on my heart. There are people on our prayer list that are going through very trying times, and this scripture seems appropriate to the season. We all need God’s mercy and grace, especially in times of trouble. Some trouble just comes upon us and other trouble is the result of our own making. This was the case in Psalm 51 where King David brought down a lot of trouble on himself and his family by sinning with Bathsheba. Whatever the source of our troubles, we need to rely on God’s mercy to get us through. It is his lovingkindness that gives us hope for a better day.

I especially appreciate verse 10, where the psalmist prays for a clean heart, a steadfast spirit and a return to joy. These are all crucial factors in weathering the storms of life. So if you are one of those going through troubles times, call upon the Lord to have mercy. When he restores the joy of your salvation, you will not only be able to rejoice in your own salvation, but you will be able to turn and help someone else, “Give me a clean heart, that I may serve you” goes the old gospel song, and that Is a good prayer for today,

https://youtu.be/J_3HEScberw?is=kK-8-zIELF5UUZVt

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)