Grace -

God's Riches at Christ's Expense

Psalm 86:3

Be gracious to me, O Lord:
for to you I cry out all the day long.
(Psalm 86:3).

In Hebrew, the word for grace is chen, which derives from a shoresh (root) meaning "favor, mercy, pity, kindness, and graciousness."

In Exodus 34:6-7, one of the great attributes revealed about the LORD is that He is gracious (chanun), and in this Psalm David is doubtlessly reminded of this great fact (see verse 86:15). As God revealed Himself as gracious, longsuffering, abounding in chesed and emet (mercy and truth), so David appealed to God's revealed character by crying, Chaneni! "Be gracious to me!"

Chen - Grace

The supreme act of God's grace was through the Gift of His Son Jesus for our salvation and redemption. The Lord Jesus is the complete revelation of Grace from God
(see John 1:14). Indeed, salvation itself is a gift from God, since we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9).

I once learned a simple acronym to help me remember the meaning of the word "grace": God's Riches at Christ's Expense. Yes, on account of the terrible price of Jesus' sacrifice made on our behalf, we are made rich indeed! Thank the Lord God of Israel for His wonderful Grace to us!



Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 86:3 Hebrew reading (click):

 



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