Psalm 119:76

God's Lovingkindness
Ronnie W. Wolfe

Now that the Lord has afflicted the psalmist so much and so often, he now begs for God's merciful kindness, for it is in God's word that we find his promise of comfort, kindness, and mercy; so it is according to God's word that we receive his kindness and under his auspices, his guidance, his authority, and his timing.

The word lovingkindness is found 26 times in the Bible. Twenty-one of those times it is found in the book of Psalms. Four times are in Jeremiah, and one time in Hosea.

God's lovingkindess is better than life (Psalm 63:3). He crowns us with lovingkindness (Psalm 104:4). We praise God for it (Psalm 138:2). Jeremiah 32:18 says that he shows his lovingkindness to thousands. He has shown it to me, and for that I worship him, praise him, and submit myself to him.

Without his love I would be lost; he first loved me (1 John 4:19). Without his mercy I would be lost (Titus 3:5). Without his grace I would have no hope (Eph. 2:8-10).  His kindness will not depart from me (Isaiah 54:10).

At the end of this verse the psalmist admits that he is God's servant, and aren't all of his children so? We should know that, after we have done our best, shown forth our best righteousness, served God with our whole heart, prayed with fervency, preached with power, witnessed with sincerity, read with intensity, begged for understand and for the Holy Spirit, kept ourselves from the world, separated our minds from carnality and secularism, guided people away from error, taught the truth, and submitted to the will of God: after having done all of that and more, we are only unprofitable servants.

He demands perfect obedience; he requires holiness; he expects righteousness; he encourages perfection. He deserves more than we can possibly give: he is God.

We are only the sheep of his pasture, who eat from his bounty, receive his gifts, enjoy his comfort and his spiritual illumination and his eternal life.

Though we are only unworthy and unprofitable servants, let us give the best for the Master, vessels of honor for his glory. He is coming, and his reward is with him (Isaiah 62:11).