A core term for Jehovah’s mercy or lovingkindness in the Old Testament is chesed (חֶסֶד).  This crucial term for the mercy Jehovah shows His people appears in texts such as:

 

Gen. 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

 

Ex. 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Ex. 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

 

Psa. 13:5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

 

Psa. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

Psa. 26:3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

 

Psa. 118:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

 

and many other texts.

 

The Hebrew chesed, “mercy/loving-kindness/goodness,” is related to the word chasid (חָסִיד), meaning “holy/godly/faithful.” The ultra-orthodox Jews who claim (falsely, unfortunately, as you cannot be holy and reject the Messiah, the Holy One that did not see corruption, but was raised from the realm of sin and death, Psalm 16:10, after His sacrificial death, Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) to be especially holy are called the Chasidim, practicing Hasidic Judaism. This word chasid appears in texts such as:

 

Deut. 33:8 And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

1Sam. 2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

2Sam. 22:26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.

 

Mic. 7:2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

Psa. 4:3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

Psa. 12:1 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

Psa. 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

 

What is the significance of this connection? The man who is the recipient of Jehovah’s chesed–His covenantal mercy and loving-kindness–becomes one who is holy, chasid, and who himself practices chesed, mercy, towards others.  There is no such thing as someone who has received Jehovah’s saving chesed but is not a chasid, a holy man.  Are there degrees of holiness? Certainly. Can believers experience spiritual decays and backslidings? Sadly, yes.  Is there such a thing as one who has received Jehovah’s saving mercy who is not holy–one who has received chesed who is not chasid? No, emphatically not.

 

This fact should encourage those who have received Jehovah’s blessed chesed to pursue holiness in a greater way–it is what God saved you for. He has united you to the resurrected Holy One (Psalm 16:10) and you are judicially holy and certain to grow in practical holiness, practicing chesed yourself, being merciful as your heavenly Father has shown you mercy, since the Holy Spirit sweetly influences your mind, will, and affections.  You have received God’s chesed and have become a chasid.

 

If you are not a holy one, but are still a sinful, unchanged worldling, do not deceive yourself into thinking that you have received Jehovah’s chesed.  All who have received His chesed become chasidim, holy ones.  Mercy and holiness from the holy God of mercy are inextricably joined.

 

Someone who does not understand basic Bible teaching like this is not “apt to teach” (1 Timothy 3) and should learn the basics of Christianity before he has any business in the Christian ministry.

 

–TDR