Jehovah's Mercy and Lovingkindness to All

Jehovah is gracious, and merciful; Slow to anger, and of great lovingkindness. Jehovah is good to all; And his tender mercies are over all his works. -- Psalm 145:8,9, American Standard Version.

Jehovah reveals Himself as gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and overflowing with steadfast love. This ancient confession—echoing Exodus 34:6 and repeated in Psalm 145:8–9—reminds us that compassion is God’s natural posture toward His creation. His unmerited favor reaches every human being, and His tender mercies rest upon all His works. He shows goodness even to those who do not yet seek Him, and He extends special care to those with whom He is working in this age. His kindness is not occasional; it is the steady rhythm of His heart.

Gracious and Merciful Toward All

God’s grace is His undeserved kindness—His willingness to bless, heal, restore, and save those who have no claim upon His goodness. This favor flows broadly to all humanity, sustaining life and offering daily mercies, and it flows more intimately toward those He is drawing near. His mercy is not earned; it is given. His compassion is not limited; it is abundant. In every generation, He affirms Himself as the God who bends toward the broken and lifts the undeserving with gentle hands.

Slow to Anger, Rich in Patience

Though God’s righteous anger rests upon the world because of Adam’s disobedience, anger is never His default setting. He has shown remarkable restraint toward a fallen race, condemning all in one man so that redemption might come through one Man—Jesus Christ. In love, the Father sent His Son to bear the weight of inherited sin, offsetting the curse that came through Adam. Even now, He deals patiently with those who falter, guiding them with fatherly tenderness. His slowness to anger is not weakness; it is love in its most powerful form.

Great Lovingkindness: The Depth of God’s Loyalty

The Hebrew expression chesed gadol—“great lovingkindness”—speaks of a steadfast, loyal mercy that cannot be shaken. It is deeper than emotion, stronger than circumstance, and richer than human love can fathom. David’s acrostic psalm celebrates this unwavering loyalty, reminding us that God’s goodness extends to every corner of creation. From the highest realms to the humblest creature, His care is constant. His wisdom, power, justice, and love sustain the universe with tireless vigilance. His memory never fails, His judgment never errs, and His plans unfold with perfect precision across the ages.

The God Who Knows Our Frailty

Only the child of God who sees Jehovah as the perfect embodiment of justice, love, wisdom, and power can fully appreciate the Psalmist’s words. He knows the downward pull of sin within us, and in His compassion, He has provided in Jesus for every weakness, every trial, every imperfection. To all who seek—even haltingly—to walk in the footsteps of His Son, He is patient and merciful. Many have misunderstood His character, imagining Him harsh or distant. Still, when the eyes of our understanding are opened, we discover a Father who is not against us but profoundly for us. Under His providence, all things work together for good to those who love Him.

Final Thought: A God Fully Able

Jehovah is entirely capable of handling every circumstance we face. His mercy is vast, His wisdom unfailing, and His power beyond our comprehension. To trust Him is to rest in the care of the One who governs the universe with perfect love.

Job 5:2 - Eliphaz Regarding Wrath and Envy

For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. -- Job 5:2, King James Version.

Eliphaz appeals to his own observation, and says that though the wicked for a time seem to be prosperous, yet he had observed that they were soon overtaken with calamity and cut down. He evidently means that prosperity was no evidence of the divine favor; but that when it had continued for a little time, and was then withdrawn, it was proof that the man who had been prospered was at heart a wicked man. It was easy to understated that he meant that this should be applied to Job, who, though he had been favored with temporary prosperity, was now revealed to be at heart a wicked man. -- Notes on the Bible by Albert Barnes [1834].

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This verse is sometimes quoted as a scripture lesson pertaining to anger and envy, although the words were spoken, not by Jehovah, Job nor Elihu, but are the words Eliphaz. (Job 4:1) As recorded in Job 42:7, Jehovah tells what he thought of the words of Eliphaz. Jehovah said to Eliphaz: "My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath." -- American Standard Version.

Obviously, Eliphaz was stating that Job was a foolish and silly man. It is possible that Eliphaz was quoting a folk saying of his time, although we cannot be certain of this. Thus, it is just as possible that the words were original to Eliphaz. We can say, however, that wrath can, but not necessarily, lead to death, and also that envy can possibly lead to being slayed. 

The real point we should note regarding this scripture, however, is that Eliphaz was obviously endeavoring to find something very evil about Job as being the reason for his suffering. We should avoid be like Eliphaz in this, and we also should be careful about how we cast our accusations and judgments against others. We cannot know absolutely everything about others so as to condemn them for whatever reason. All of us fall short due to the condemnation in Adam, and likewise, our judgment could easily fall short of fully understanding what is happening to others. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Proverbs 25:8 - Rulership Over One's Spirit

Proverbs 16:32 - He Who Rules His Spirit

Proverbs 16:32 -  He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.  -- American Standard Version.

Self-control is needed both to resist the works of the flesh as well as to develop the other fruits of the spirit.

Solomon observes that it is more important to be slow to anger than to be mighty. Of course, due to our sinful nature, anger is very hard to suppress. Thus it should be our goal to have control of all our inclinations, affections and passions so that they are brought subjection to God's will. Our chief battle in developing Christ-likeness is within ourselves. Through prayer, faith in the Heavenly Father, study of his truths in the Bible and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we may eventually have rule of our spirit. Due to our flesh, however, we will, however, at times, fail and need to come to the Heavenly through the throne of grace. -- Hebrews 4:16.

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