But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, Slow to anger and abundant in mercy and truth.
Parallel translations
- WEB But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
- KJV But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
- BSB But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
- NKJV But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
- NLT But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
In contrast to his enemies, David appeals to God as merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in love and truth. God's revealed character is David's confidence.
Overview
This verse directly quotes God's self-description to Moses, anchoring David's hope in God's covenant character against his foes. Unlike the proud who disregard God, the LORD is full of mercy and faithfulness. This same compassionate God is fully revealed in Christ, who is the truth and the embodiment of grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Eph 2:4–7But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
- Ps 130:7Israel, hope in Yahweh, for with Yahweh there is loving kindness. With him is abundant redemption.
- Ps 103:8Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
- Eph 1:7in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
- Ps 145:8Yahweh is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
- Ps 86:5For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.
- Joel 2:13Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
- Neh 9:17and refused to obey. They weren’t mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and didn’t forsake them.
- Ps 85:10Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
- Ps 111:4He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered. Yahweh is gracious and merciful.
- Mic 7:18Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger forever, because he delights in loving kindness.
- Num 14:18‘Yahweh is slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity and disobedience; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation.’
- Ps 98:3He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
- Ps 130:4But there is forgiveness with you, therefore you are feared.
- Rom 5:20–21The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly;
- Exod 31:6–7Behold, I myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all who are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded you:
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
- Rom 15:8–9Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 86:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.