Read Psalm 145:10-21. 10All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! 11They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, 12to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] 14The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. 15The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 16You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. 18The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. 20The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
Verses 13 and 17 repeat the refrain that the Lord is kind in all his works. The word for kind here is from the Hebrew word hesed, often translated as love, or steadfast love, or in the old King James as merciful. David is saying poetically what John will say plainly, God is love.
God is love, but God’s love is not one-dimensional. Yes, God loves the world, all of creation is cared for by God – You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. But there is a special love between God and his redeemed. A love that sets them apart from the rest of the world. A love for those who are repentant, bowed down, and fallen. A love that draws the Lord near to those who call to him in truth. The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A love that fulfills the desires of those who fear him. A love that preserves those who love him.
Don’t oversimplify God’s love. There is not a single person he does not love. But God loves those who are in Christ with a unique, covenantal, loyal, steadfast love (hesed) that will never end. The wicked will be destroyed, but the believer that is in Christ will be loved and cared for forever.
To live is Christ is to live within the everlasting kindness of God. A special place reserved for those who love him from the power of faith in Jesus.
You: Have you been experiencing the loving kindness of God?
You in Christ: What aspect of God’s love do you need most today? His kindness? His nearness? His satisfaction? His preservation?
Christ in you: How might your day be different if you truly believed that God loves you with an unbreakable love?
Pray: Jesus, I bow down to you. You truly are kind in all your works, especially the work of the cross which has saved me. Let me find rest today in your covenant of love. Amen.
To Live is Christ 