April 26th, 2018

The Sure Mercies of David

“Incline your ear and come to Me, hear and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you – the sure mercies of David.  Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and a commander for the people.”   Isaiah 55:3-4

What are sure mercies?  The word sure in Hebrew is “aman” and means: enduring; trust; reliable; faithful; to confirm, support.  From aman we get the word Amen, meaning, sure or truly.  We can conclude that the mercies God is speaking of are faithful, reliable and enduring.  They are eternal.

The Hebrew word for mercy is “chesed” or “hesed.”  It is a vital word in the Old Testament and means: lovingkindness; love; benevolence; grace; mercy; and unfailing love.  The Hebrew word for mercy is very similar in nature to the Greek word for grace, which is “charis.”  Let’s return to our question – what are sure mercies?  We can summarize them as eternally faithful lovingkindnesses.   These sure mercies are elsewhere confirmed in God’s word, as found in Psalm 92:2:  “To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night…”   As part of his lament for the destruction of Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah writes in Lamentations 3:22-23:  “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”   Again in verse 32 of the same chapter we read: “Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.”   Despite the sins of Israel and ruin of a people, God offered His covenant love, or mercy.  The Lord did “not cast off forever” (Lam. 3:31), rather He demonstrated His faithful compassion as a remnant remained and ultimately returned. 

The covenant God made with David was a covenant of mercy, or an agreement with eternally faithful lovingkindness.  The covenant with David was irrevocable, or an everlasting covenant.  This covenant of sure mercies is defined as one that chastens those who commit iniquity (what we might call correction or consequences), yet the mercies remain.  This is unlike Saul, from whom God removed mercy.  David, his successor to the throne, continued to receive God’s sure mercies.  Those mercies were extended through David’s kingdom.  The mercies had to continue, as they were part of the irrevocable covenant God had made with David.  David’s seed, house, and throne had to endure, even in the midst of iniquity and correction.  The seed continued, even after it was prophesied that there would be one who “was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”  (Isa. 53:5)  The covenant and seed and sure mercies of David foreshadowed and typified what was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  He is of the seed of David, who ushered in the New Covenant, and fulfilled the sure mercies through His death and resurrection.