Mercy Is Strength

[Minister Monardo]

Psalm 18:1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

Such a beautiful sentiment expressed here in the
translation of this verse. Examining the Hebrew,
we find these words: racham YHVH khayzek
racham is used 47 times in the OT, and means
mercy and compassion. Yet in one single verse,
it is translated Love. Welcome to that verse.
Translators are very effective in presenting the
Psalms of David in beautiful, poetic language.
However, what this actually says is
"(In) The mercy of the Lord is (my) strength."
So why the outlier translation of racham?
The problem for the translator is the word khayzek,
and relating mercy to strength. The dictionary definition
of mercy is clemency, forbearance, forgiveness.
This is only the correct understanding from the perspective
of a man being granted mercy. From the perspective of the one
granting mercy, i.e. the heavenly Father, it is imparting strength.
Consider this verse:
Zechariah 10:6 I will strengthen the house of Judah, and
I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because
I have mercy on them.

We can now take from this verse 'strength and salvation are found
in the mercy of the Lord'.
A statement that is not the least bit controversial.

Now we can apply this knowledge to a parable of Jesus in Matthew.
Matthew 18:
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted
to settle accounts with his servants.
24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him
who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold,
with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have patience
with me, and I will pay you all.
27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him,
and forgave him the debt.

First consider how this falls on the ears of His listeners. How unlikely a scenario!
Can a ruler dare sully his reputation by allowing someone to walk away with this
great debt forgiven outright? Rulers tend toward ruthless in their reputation out
of necessity. If he becomes known as someone who just wipes away someone's
debt, he will surely be taken advantage of by others.
For the sake of His parable, this serves Yeshua well, because in this
scenario, the One granting the mercy is His heavenly Father.
When Moses asked the Lord to reveal His name unto him, he received this
description of God's desired reputation:
Exodus 34:
6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.

Our Heavenly Father, unlike a king of the earth, can afford to be merciful
and gracious, and desires to be known as such. However, He makes it clear
that He by no means clears the guilty.
This is why the people were instructed in the Gospels:
Matthew 3:8. Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.

Returning to the parable, we now find the servant who received forgiveness
engaging in unacceptable behavior.
Matthew 18:
28 But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed
him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat,
saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying,
‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should
pay the debt.
31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very
grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant,
just as I had pity on you?
34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until
he should pay all that was due to him.

 

[Minister Monardo]

Note that we cannot question the king's authority here. He can forgive
a debt today, and cast into torment the following day for the same debt,
made worse by unrepentant behavior. Now comes the stern warning to all
who call themselves believers:

Matthew 18:35 So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you,
from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.

And yet we hear taught "the unconditional love" of God. This defies the very
nature of a covenant relationship. Even the most lackadaisical Christian
knows the Lord's prayer, but the words of Jesus given in commentary after
this prayer, makes the same demand.
Matthew 6:
14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses.

And so this:
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has shown
no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment.

 

[Grip Docility]

Psalm 18:1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

Such a beautiful sentiment expressed here in the
translation of this verse. Examining the Hebrew,
we find these words: racham YHVH khayzek
racham is used 47 times in the OT, and means
mercy and compassion. Yet in one single verse,
it is translated Love. Welcome to that verse.
Translators are very effective in presenting the
Psalms of David in beautiful, poetic language.
However, what this actually says is
"(In) The mercy of the Lord is (my) strength."
So why the outlier translation of racham?
The problem for the translator is the word khayzek,
and relating mercy to strength. The dictionary definition
of mercy is clemency, forbearance, forgiveness.
This is only the correct understanding from the perspective
of a man being granted mercy. From the perspective of the one
granting mercy, i.e. the heavenly Father, it is imparting strength.
Consider this verse:
Zechariah 10:6 I will strengthen the house of Judah, and
I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because
I have mercy on them.

We can now take from this verse 'strength and salvation are found
in the mercy of the Lord'.
A statement that is not the least bit controversial.

Now we can apply this knowledge to a parable of Jesus in Matthew.
Matthew 18:
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted
to settle accounts with his servants.
24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him
who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold,
with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have patience
with me, and I will pay you all.
27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him,
and forgave him the debt.

First consider how this falls on the ears of His listeners. How unlikely a scenario!
Can a ruler dare sully his reputation by allowing someone to walk away with this
great debt forgiven outright? Rulers tend toward ruthless in their reputation out
of necessity. If he becomes known as someone who just wipes away someone's
debt, he will surely be taken advantage of by others.
For the sake of His parable, this serves Yeshua well, because in this
scenario, the One granting the mercy is His heavenly Father.
When Moses asked the Lord to reveal His name unto him, he received this
description of God's desired reputation:
Exodus 34:
6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.

Our Heavenly Father, unlike a king of the earth, can afford to be merciful
and gracious, and desires to be known as such. However, He makes it clear
that He by no means clears the guilty.
This is why the people were instructed in the Gospels:
Matthew 3:8. Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.

Returning to the parable, we now find the servant who received forgiveness
engaging in unacceptable behavior.
Matthew 18:
28 But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed
him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat,
saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying,
‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should
pay the debt.
31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very
grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant,
just as I had pity on you?
34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until
he should pay all that was due to him.

Note that we cannot question the king's authority here. He can forgive
a debt today, and cast into torment the following day for the same debt,
made worse by unrepentant behavior. Now comes the stern warning to all
who call themselves believers:

Matthew 18:35 So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you,
from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.

And yet we hear taught "the unconditional love" of God. This defies the very
nature of a covenant relationship. Even the most lackadaisical Christian
knows the Lord's prayer, but the words of Jesus given in commentary after
this prayer, makes the same demand.
Matthew 6:
14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses.

And so this:
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has shown
no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment.

I was going to do an OP on the very Parable that you have covered. I have no reason to do so, now, because the way you covered it is steeped in the guidance of our Good KING's very Holy Spirit that binds the Body together in Love and Faithfulness. I am gracious for the words that you wrote and the scripture that you have rightly divided.

 

[Joseph G]

Note that we cannot question the king's authority here. He can forgive
a debt today, and cast into torment the following day for the same debt, made worse by unrepentent behavior.

I really appreciate this thread Mr. M. Lots of confirmation for things that I believe the Lord is teaching me, too. Haven't completely finished the entire thread yet, though, and will, because I need to pause and ask a question that I'm a bit perplexed over. And on this question I don't necessarily disagree with you, just wanna reason this out if possible. Gonna feel a little silly if it's answered later in the thread, but hey I'm an expert at being willing to look silly! *grin*

Ok. So here I am and I've begged for forgiveness for all my sins to date. And the Lord in His mercy grants it. So, the next time I sin, or fail to grant mercy myself, or refuse to extend forgiveness to another, all my previous sins that God has forgotten, removed as far as the east is from the west, made white as snow which were red as crimson before, are now all reactivated?

So what is my duty now? To confess and receive forgiveness for the latest sin (to be cleansed daily as one only needs their feet washed rather than their whole body again - instigated by Him as He promises that on confessing He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of ALL unrighteousness) - or would one have to re-confess all sins from birth to present again because they all have been reactivated by the one additional sin?

See my dilemma here? How would this jive with the fact that we have a High Priest advocating for us when we have been forgiven but sin again?

And how do we reconcile all this with the fact that Paul says that he tells the believers these things so that they can KNOW that they have eternal life? Wouldn't that mean that one only has "eternal" life until the next sin? And now they no longer have "eternal" life and can no longer be assured that they do, that is until they re-confess the whole enchilada again and re-activate "eternal" life and can now be assured again, that is until they sin again and rinse, wash and repeat?

For myself, I would become obsessed with the hope that at the very end of my life that I will have magically confessed, repented, been assured and die really quick so I can make it into Heaven in just the nick of time.

Leads me to my final question, does eternal mean eternal (as in forever or ever-lasting or without end) or something else?

Not meaning to be flippant at all. Whether this is reconciled in my own understanding or not, I'm not disturbed about it much, because when our Lord says that no one can snatch us out of His hand, and that He says that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that He who began a good work in us shall perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus, and above all (at least to me) that His Spirit testifies to our spirit that we are children of God - that I place WAY more confidence in what He tells me than the pathetic accusations from the enemy (fiery darts - some based on Scripture itself but in hopes that the believer doesn't notice it's twisted or taken out of context or could be illuminated by other Scripture or most importantly prioritized by the only One with true authority, the Author Himself in the flesh (as demonstrated by His Scriptural defeat of the devil's temptations face to face).

Considering these things, I am left with little motivation to try to do what I already agreed with God I couldn't do - keep myself saved.

Gosh, I guess saying I had one little question was a bit of an understatement, huh? Ha!

Didn't include supporting Scripture because I've followed both of you for a while, and have confidence that you already know what they are. But will provide cheerfully if asked!

Thanks and God bless!

Edit: Oh, right. I'm already at the end of the thread, duh! This is why my folks accurately called me the absent-minded professor. HA! Told you I was willing to look silly!

 

[Minister Monardo]

Ok. So here I am and I've begged for forgiveness for all my sins to date. And the Lord in His mercy grants it. So, the next time I sin, or fail to grant mercy myself, or refuse to extend forgiveness to another, all my previous sins that God has forgotten, removed as far as the east is from the west, made white as snow which were red as crimson before, are now all reactivated?

First remember that we are considering a parable. Paul often stated "I speak as a man because of the weakness of your flesh". The issue is not sin being 'reactivated', for we are no longer discussing sin. The currency of the discussion is mercy.
In the parable, the unjust servant had been shown great mercy. The past debt does seem to be reactivated, but what the Lord is actually expressing is "a just recompense". The great mercy he received anticipates that he will become merciful as a work of righteousness, and as worthy of repentance.
As to "the next time I sin", we offend others often while oblivious to the fact due to our often self-absorbed carnal nature. That is why we must take as utterly serious what Christ taught leading up to the parable.
Matthew 18:
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’
17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

So what is my duty now? To confess and receive forgiveness for the latest sin (to be cleansed daily as one only needs their feet washed rather than their whole body again - instigated by Him as He promises that on confessing He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of ALL unrighteousness) - or would one have to re-confess all sins from birth to present again because they all have been reactivated by the one additional sin?

The above passage shows that our offenses against one another require repentance, even as often as "70 X 7" times. The Lord is faithful to forgive and cleanse, but the confession is made to one another, in Christ.
James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

This is the work of righteousness, to remain at peace with one another. Sin has a new definition in Christ.
James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

This doctrine cannot be viewed as optional.
Colossians 3:
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

His commandments are not grievous.
John 15:
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Christians who feel that there is a lack of peace and joy in their lives simply need to be obedient and start showing merciful kindness and forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit grants fullness of joy, and peace beyond understanding.

Leads me to my final question, does eternal mean eternal (as in forever or ever-lasting or without end) or something else?

Depending on the context, it can mean all these things. There is great confusion on this matter when people think eternal life simply means "dying and going to heaven". Life everlasting, as a well that never runs dry, is available in this Life. In Christ, in fellowship with the Spirit, as we partake of this gift by sharing with one another the Love of God in Christ.
Psalm 133:
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life everlasting.

 

[Grip Docility]

First remember that we are considering a parable. Paul often stated "I speak as a man because of the weakness of your flesh". The issue is not sin being 'reactivated', for we are no longer discussing sin. The currency of the discussion is mercy.
In the parable, the unjust servant had been shown great mercy. The past debt does seem to be reactivated, but what the Lord is actually expressing is "a just recompense". The great mercy he received anticipates that he will become merciful as a work of righteousness, and as worthy of repentance.
As to "the next time I sin", we offend others often while oblivious to the fact due to our often self-absorbed carnal nature. That is why we must take as utterly serious what Christ taught leading up to the parable.
Matthew 18:
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’
17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

The above passage shows that our offenses against one another require repentance, even as often as "70 X 7" times. The Lord is faithful to forgive and cleanse, but the confession is made to one another, in Christ.
James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

This is the work of righteousness, to remain at peace with one another. Sin has a new definition in Christ.
James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

This doctrine cannot be viewed as optional.
Colossians 3:
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

His commandments are not grievous.
John 15:
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Christians who feel that there is a lack of peace and joy in their lives simply need to be obedient and start showing merciful kindness and forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit grants fullness of joy, and peace beyond understanding.

Depending on the context, it can mean all these things. There is great confusion on this matter when people think eternal life simply means "dying and going to heaven". Life everlasting, as a well that never runs dry, is available in this Life. In Christ, in fellowship with the Spirit, as we partake of this gift by sharing with one another the Love of God in Christ.
Psalm 133:
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life everlasting.

We were literally made to take Joy in Extending Love to mankind. Forgiveness, Peace, Patience, Mercy, Relational Building up of one another and all the like are a literal revelation of the very things that God takes pleasure in.

Heavenly Jerusalem will be a place where such things abundantly overflow. However, here, these seemingly small matters actually bind and hold back the very darkness of Evil incarnate! The fruits of the Spirit pouring forth from those in full surrender to Jesus (By no means perfect in the flesh people) unbind shackled lives, brighten the darkest places and set in motion a mysterious rejuvenation towards a dying world. The Gospel really is Good News of glad tidings to Mankind.