In the last installment I began sharing thoughts about the word hesed which we have translated in our Divine Liturgy as mercy. I shared the fact that hesed is associated with ‘emet or faith. Hesed is also associated with mispat, judgment, which here signifies justice. The two virtues are a part of the conversion demanded by Yahweh and are two of the three demands in which Micah makes the will of Yahweh consist. They are with righteousness the attributes of Yahweh’s dealing with men. In this case hesed, when in association with righteousness, tells of Yahweh’s will to save.

Hesed as the will to save is more clearly perceived in its association with the Hebrew word for salvation and cognate words. The psalmist who trusts in the hesed of Yahweh rejoices in the deliverance of Yahweh and asks that Yahweh will show His hesed and grant His salvation. The same element appears in the association of hesed with salom (i.e., peace). Where Yahweh     withdraws His hesed, there is no longer any peace.

Other associations unite hesed with states of feeling. Hesed is not merely a quality or an attribute, but a sentiment.

Hesed sometimes indicates or implies Yahweh’s will to save. There are some passages in which hesed appears as the movement of the will of Yahweh which initiates and sustains His desire to save.

The New Testament use of eleos, which is likewise translated as mercy, is truly broader than the word mercy suggests. Jesus makes the eleos which one shows another the condition of the eleos which one may expect from God. The proof of the love of one’s neighbor is the demonstration of eleos which, in one of Jesus’ parables, means rendering assistance to one in need. In Matthew, eleos is also used to express a real readiness to truly forgive. Eleos is a component of the wisdom from above which shows itself in good deed in real contrast to worldly wisdom.

As we use it in the Liturgy, the eleos of God is saving will which is antecedent to any deed of man. It initiates and consummates the process of salvation in Christ. In men it comes very near agape (i.e., love). It is chiefly manifested in the readiness to do good and to forgive.

So as we say Lord have mercy, we ask Him to be ready to bestow on us His salvation, which is a truly experiential understanding of Who He Is.