10 important Bible verses about God’s mercy

This article is part of the Key Bible Verses series.

All commentary notes are taken from the ESV Study Bible.

1. Lamentations 3:22–23

The LORD’s steadfast love never ends;
his mercy never ends;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Read more

God steadfast love (his ‘covenant grace’ or favorable action on behalf of his people) never endseven despite Judah’s unfaithfulness and the resulting “day of the LORD” (cf. Joel 2:1–2; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:14–16). grace. Or ‘compassion’. This kind of mercy goes a step further and replaces judgment with restoration. never ends. God is willing to start over with those who repent.

new every morning. Every day offers a new opportunity to experience God’s grace. fidelity. God’s covenant faithfulness and personal integrity remain intact no matter what happens.

2. Ephesians 2:4–6

But God, rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up and sat down with Him. we are with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Read more

But God. No hopeless fate looks grimmer than that which awaits the forsaken company of mankind, who march after the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2) to their destruction under divine wrath. Just when things look most bleak, Paul utters the greatest short sentence in the history of human speech: “But God!” rich in mercy. God’s mercy for his helpless enemies flows from his own loving heart, not from anything they have done to deserve it.

when we were dead. Paul resumes his original thought, which began with “you were dead” in Eph. 2:1. has made us alive. That is, God gave us new birth (new spiritual life within). This and the two verbs in Eph. 2:6 (“risen up” and “sat with”) are the main verbs of the long sentence in Eph. 2:1–10. Because Christians were dead, they had to be made alive before they could believe (and God did that together with Christ). This is why salvation is over elegance only.

3. Isaiah 30:18

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show you mercy.
For the LORD is a God of righteousness;
blessed are all who wait for him. Read more

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you. Notice the amazing logic of grace: God’s people forsake him for a false salvation (Isa. 30:1-17); therefore he is merciful to them (Isa. 30:18). But he waits the LORD is a God of righteousnessi.e. he knows the perfect way to achieve his goal, the perfect time to act, and the perfect disciplinary process that will awaken Judah.

4. 1 Peter 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again with a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Read more

Salvation is due to God’s mercy, grace and sovereignty, for He miraculously gave sinners new life (caused us to be born againcf. 1 pet. 1:23). Possibly Peter connects “born again” with this through the resurrection of Jesus Christmeaning that the new birth was made possible because God thought that those who believe in Christ were united with him in his resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:19-20; 2:5-6; Col .3:1). Or perhaps he links the resurrection to the living hope of believers, since that hope immediately follows the resurrection. In the latter case, the hope of Christians is their future resurrection. Believers have an unwavering hope for the future, for the resurrection of Christ is a pledge of their own future resurrection.

5. Titus 3:5

. . . He has saved us, not because of works we have done in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, through the washing of the new birth and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Read more

The transformation described in Tit. 3:3–7 (formerly…but now) is not based on human effort. “We . . . were once enslaved” (Tit. 3:3). he saved us. God must act before redemption takes place. Redemption comes not because of work But by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Some have taken this to mean that baptism (“the washing”) causes salvation. In this context, however, human actions are clearly downplayed (“not because of works”) and the emphasis is on divine action and initiative (“he saved us”). The ‘washing’ described here is the spiritual cleansing, which is outwardly symbolized in baptism.

6. Psalms 103:8

The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and rich in steadfast love. Read more

Ps. 103:8 is based on Ex. 34:6, where God proclaims his own name (the basic confession of God’s character in the OT); Ps. 103:9–13 explains this further. The conditions sins, iniquities (verse 10), and violations (Ps. 103:12) are names for what God forgives in Ex. 34:7a. Likewise steadfast love (Ps. 103:11) and shows compassion (Ps. 103:3; the word is related to merciful in Ps. 103:8) reveal that this is an application of Ex. 34:6–7.

7. Hebrews 4:16

Let us then draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Read more

Approaching (Gk. proserchomai“approaching, approaching, approaching”) is used consistently in Hebrews to represent a person approaching God (Heb. 7:25; Heb. 10:1, Heb. 10:22; Heb. 11:6; Heb. . 12:18, Heb. 12:22; cf. Ex. 34:32; intercession of a high priest (Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 10:22). having the privilege of a personal relationship with God. To trust translates Greek parrēsia (“boldness,” “confidence,” “courage,” especially regarding speaking before one of high rank or power; cf. Heb. 3:6; Heb. 10:19, Heb. 10:35). It indicates that Christians may come before God and speak clearly and honestly (yet with due reverence), without fear of shame or punishment. throne of grace. God the Father, with Jesus at His right hand (Heb. 8:1; Heb. 12:2; cf. Heb. 1:8), graciously provides help from heaven to those who need forgiveness and power in temptation (see Hebrews 2:18).

8. Matthew 9:13

“Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Read more

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Jesus’ offer of salvation to sinners threatens the Pharisees’ way of life, yet is at the heart of the gospel He came to preach. “I desire mercy and not sacrifice‘ is a quote from Hos. 6:6. ‘Sacrifice’ summarized the observance of religious rituals. More important to God was ‘mercy’ (the Septuagint rendering of Hb. hoarsemeaning ‘steadfast love’), which would have led the Pharisees to care for these sinners as Jesus did.

9. James 2:13

For judgment is without mercy for one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Read more

For judgment is without mercy for one who has shown no mercy. This proverbial saying summarizes the implications of James 2:1–12 and leads into the discussion of “faith without works” in James 2:14–26. It was the core of Roman law (lex talionis“the law of retaliation”), but more importantly, it is central to God’s law: what you do to others will be done to you in judgment (i.e. rewarded for good and punished for evil). Mercy triumphs over judgment in this context does not mean that God’s mercy extends to believers at judgment. Instead, believers’ acts of mercy (for example, caring for the poor and those who hurt them) will mean that they will be justified at the judgment (cf. Matt. 25:34-40). Mercy was an essential OT requirement in dealing with the poor (Micah 6:8; Zech. 7:9-10). Mercy is also a requirement for believers in the NT (e.g. Matt. 5:7; 6:15; 18:32-35), otherwise they will experience God’s judgment instead of his mercy.

10. Psalms 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever. Read more

Goodness and mercy (ESV footnote, “steadfast love”) are the assurance to believers that God has poured out his grace on them. For a non-Levite dwell in the house of the LORD is having ready access to the sanctuary for worship (Ps. 27:4). As the ESV footnote explains: forever is literally: “for the length of days”; this may just be another way of saying all the days of my lifebut is more likely meant “for days without end” (cf. Ps. 21:4; 93:5, “forever”).

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