Psalm 63: 3
INTRODUCTION
Life is a precious gift
from God. It is gift given to us by its owner, God. One is obliged to praise
God for such a precious gift. Being alive make the difference between those who
had gone down to the grave and those allow to see the beautiful creation of
God. The wisest man ever lived confessed in Eccl 9:4-5 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a
living dog is better than a dead lion.
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything,
neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also,
in Eccl 11:7-9 he warned, Truly the light
is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a
man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of
darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. I am extremely
grateful to God for this gift called life. God has been extremely gracious and
kind, His tender mercies are over all his creation and I am inclusive. What
actually is better than life? And what is better than that which is better than
life?
THE MEANING OF HESED
(TRANSLATED IN KJV AS LOVINGKINDNESS IN PSALM 63)
What is ds,x hesed/Chesed?
Hesed is an Hebrew word,, noun, masculine singular. There
is no neuter in Hebrew noun, all Hebrew nouns are either male or female in
gender, hesed is male in gender. Our
English Bible in most versions use only one word for that translation which to
me does not captured well the meaning of that word and to prove my curiosity
and my thinking, I turned to various Hebrew Dictionary to find out what hesed
really means. The word hesed in Hebrew
appeared in Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) at least 247 times. The KJC dictionary
lexicographers counted 247 occurrences while Strong Dictionary identified 248
occurrences. I did not count the number of times the word was used myself. There
is agreement among the theologians that the same word could mean goodness, kindness,
faithfulness. Hesed could also mean a reproach, shame. But, going through the
content analysis it is evident that the former meaning is prevalent in the Scripture
than the latter, only in Lev. 20: 17 was
hesed translated it is a wicked thing and
in Proverbs 14: 34 it was translated reproach.
In all other over 245 occurrences we see
hesed as mercy (in fact the equivalent word supplied by the Septuagint in Greek
Eleos supports this meaning), it also
mean kindness, kindly, in goodness, favour, pity, loving kindness, good. AHLB
dictionary added favour to the meaning earlier provided by others. A deeper
study of the word hesed revealed that it has to do with kindness which is
expressed as bowing of the neck, a sign of respect and kindness. Indeed God’s
mercy, favour, kindness, pity, goodness is far better than life.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE WORD
HESED TO THOSE OF US ALIVE
First, It is God’s mercy
that has kept us and make us to enjoy the life He has given to us. That life is
good is incontrovertible however, that God’s favour, pity, goodness, etc has
been extended to us is better than all we have enjoyed or are enjoying. Quite a
number would desire not to be alive, some due to pains and agony they are going
through or they have to go through. Chemotheraphy as I have found out is not a
preferred option even among the Medical Doctors. I had witnessed at least two
people close to death before they died and I knew for them, death perhaps was
preferred in such a state. See, how God’s hesed has made a difference in your
life. The quality of life that we life is not determined by our strength or our
skills but primarily by God’s hesed.
Secondly, it is God’s
mercy that caused us to be saved. To be alive is good but to be saved is far
better. I must add here that no one should be written off but I have lived here
on earth for some time now and have seen a lot go down without Christ. Of all
the earthly blessings the Lord had brought my way, none can be compared to my
salvation. It assures me of my Father’s presence with me at all times and when
all is said and done, I am convinced that He is more willing to see my face as
much as I desire to see His face. We all desire to see the face of the one we
love particularly if something had brought us together earlier. As pen friends
in those days long to see their friends they were exchanging correspondence
with, so I long to see God and He longed to see me too. Can you see how hesed
is better than life. … to live is Christ, and to die is gain as stated by Paul
in Phil. 1:21.
Third, God’s hesed is
immeasurable, unfathomable and inexhaustible. Lam. 3: 22; As we are enjoying
God’s mercies here sure, it will continue and can never come to an end. It is
not a poor mercy, it is highly qualitative and quantitative. God is rich in
mercy. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
because God’s hesed is inexhaustible.
CONCLUSION
God’s hesed has kept you
and I, and it is the main reason for differences. Hesed is better than life according to Psalm 63: 3 and according to
Fanny Crosby’s estimation which is in line with my thought something is better
than that which is better than life. According to Crosby “Saviour is more than
life to me”. Oh what a Saviour!
