The psalmist’s merciful and gracious God.
October 11, 2023 - Wednesday, 27th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10
No passage has impacted the relationship between God and Israel so much as Exodus 34:6: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”. This revelation of God’s character is the backbone of the biblical confession of faith and is always called upon in times of distress. That is what the psalmist does in his prayer for mercy. He reminds God of His character and expects a positive answer to his prayer: “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you. Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my pleading” (Ps 86:5-6).
The entire passage that the authors of various books of the Old Testament like to quote goes like this: “The LORD passed before [Moses] and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7). It is placed in the biblical narratives right after the incident with the golden calf when Israel transgressed God’s command and worshipped the object of their hands (see Exodus 32:1-14).
Interestingly, the biblical authors cut this passage short only quoting God’s magnanimous characteristics and omitting his punitive ones. That is what we find in the book of Jonah, Joel, Nehemiah, and also at the end of our psalm. “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ps 86:15; see also Jonah 4:2; Joel 2:13; Nehemiah 9:17). This way of quoting Exodus 34:6-7 reflects the belief that God’s mercy triumphs over his judgement. This notion was fully articulated by prophet Ezekiel in his well-known statement that the Lord has no “pleasure in the death of anyone”, including the wicked. The Lord finds pleasure in seeing that we turn from our wicked ways and live (see Ezek 18:23, 32).
As we read the Gospels, we are surprised by the outpouring of God’s mercy in the life and ministry of Jesus. It earned Him a reputation as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matt 11:19). Then, we have his passion story. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:6). All Christians proclaim that Jesus died on the cross for sinners and it is interpreted by Saint Paul as the greatest expression of God’s love (see Rom 5:8).
What shapes your faith? For the psalmist, it was the belief that God’s mercy is greater than his judgement. Is there any passage in the Bible that you hold on to in your needs? For the psalmist it was Exodus 34:6: “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you” (Ps 86:5). How would you describe God you believe to someone who longs and searches for Him?