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Luke 2
40 And the child grew, and waxed [became] strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

In verse 40, the words “in spirit” are not in any critical Greek text or the Latin Vulgate texts and should therefore be deleted. This makes sense since Jesus Christ didn’t receive the gift of holy spirit until he was a legal adult at the age of 30, when he started his ministry.

You can verify this yourself by viewing two of the Greek texts and the Latin text [Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)]:

1st Greek interlinear of Luke 2:40

2nd Greek interlinear & Latin Vulgate texts of Luke 2:40

The word “waxed” in verse 40 is King James old english and means “became”, as the above texts demonstrate. So the more accurate translation of verse 40 reads: And the child grew, and became strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

If we look at the Greek lexicon of verse 40, we can gain more powerful insights:
Greek lexicon of Luke 2:40

Go to the Strong’s column, link #2901 for a deeper look into the word strength:

Strong’s Concordance #2901
krataioó: to strengthen
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: krataioó Phonetic Spelling: (krat-ah-yo’-o)
Definition: I strengthen, confirm; pass: I grow strong, become strong.

HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 2901 krataióō (from 2904 /krátos) – to prevail by God’s dominating strength, i.e. as His power prevails over opposition (gains mastery). See 2904 (kratos). For the believer, 2901 /krataióō (“attain mastery, the upper-hand”) operates by the Lord inworking faith (His persuasion, 4102 /pístis).

The root word Kratos is power with an impact. You can see this in verses 47 & 48.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

When we walk with God, using his wisdom instead of worldly wisdom, this is the kind of impact we can have in our day and time.

As verse 47 says, we can have understanding & answers! That’s what you get when you stay obedient to God’s word. The world will only give you lies, confusion, and darkness.

Verse 52 repeats the same basic truth as verse 40, placing a double emphasis on Jesus’ wisdom, growth, and favour [grace] with God.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Just as Jesus was subject to, meek and humble to, his parents who taught him many great truths from God’s word, we must be meek and humble to God, our father. Then we too will be able to walk with power, wisdom, understanding, and all the answers to life.

II Peter 1
1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

www.biblebookprofiler.com, where you can learn to research the bible for yourself!

Welcome to part 7 on this series on psalms 107!

Psalms 107
17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.

19 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

21 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

verse 19

Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.

This is the third of 4 times the Israelites have cried unto the Lord and received deliverance.

6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

19 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

Why do they keep crying unto God, time after time?

Because he keeps on faithfully delivering them time after time.

Without complaining, criticizing, or condemning.

That’s priceless.

There are countless verses on all the incredible attributes of God and the benefits of trusting in him – here are only 4.

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Psalms 52
7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

Ezekiel 36:36
Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.

II Samuel 22:31 [amplified bible]
As for God, His way is blameless and perfect;
The word of the Lord is tested.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge and trust in Him.

verse 20

He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from all their destructions.

As a reminder, from part 1 of this series, let’s be aware of the overall context and centrality of Psalms 107:20 as the foundational verse of the entire 5th [and last] section or “book” of the book of Psalms.

Screenshot of the companion reference bible on the structure of Psalms 107 – 150, with Psalms 107:20 as the central verse: He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

The word “word” is used 1,179 times in the bible.

Its first usage in Genesis sets a very important foundational principle.

Genesis 15:1 [amplified bible]
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
“Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; Your reward [for obedience] shall be very great.”

Why?

Job 3
25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

Job’s fear is what broke open a hole in the fence and allowed Satan, the adversary, access and wreak havoc in Job’s life.

The new testament reveals why Job, full of fear, had no rest or peace.

I John 4
17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Verse 18 says “fear hath torment”, the opposite of peace.

Why is peace so important?

Romans 15:13 [amplified bible]
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.

You can’t believe God’s word and thus, you will never get healed or delivered, without God’s peace.

Speaking of fear, when Gideon set up his army, the first thing he did was eliminate all the men with fear, then he removed all the idolaters.  After that, Gideon and his laughably small army of 300 decisively won a battle where:

• They were outnumbered approximately 450 to 1
• They used no weapons
• No casualties
• No injuries
• The enemy was completely annihilated.

Isn’t that the God you want fighting for you?

This is the exact same God that healed the Israelites and delivered them from all their distresses.

Psalms 107:20
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from all their destructions.

Definition of healed:

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
cure, cause to heal, physician, repair, thoroughly, make whole

Or raphah {raw-faw’}; a primitive root; properly, to mend (by stitching), i.e. (figuratively) to cure — cure, (cause to) heal, physician, repair, X thoroughly, make whole.

One of the great usages of the Hebrew word rapha is in Exodus where the healing nature of God is clearly spelled out.

Exodus 15
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

Moses also cried unto the Lord and he got his answer, so he set a great example for the Israelites to follow.

This is one of the 7 redemptive names of God: Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our healer.

Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son, had many of the same characteristics of God, so he healed many people as well.

Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Definition of heal:

Strong’s Concordance #2390
iaomai: to heal
Part of Speech: Verb
Phonetic Spelling: (ee-ah’-om-ahee)
Definition: I heal, generally of the physical, sometimes of spiritual, disease.

HELPS Word-studies
2390 iáomai (a primitive verb, NAS dictionary) – healing, particularly as supernatural and bringing attention to the Lord Himself as the Great Physician (cf. Is 53:4,5).

Example: Lk 17:15: “Now one of them [i.e. the ten lepers], when he saw that he had been healed (2390 /iáomai), turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.”

[2390 /iáomai (“to heal”) draws the attention to the Lord, the supernatural Healer, i.e. beyond the physical healing itself and its benefits (as with 2323 /therapeúō).]

Many teachings could be done on the subject of the many names of God alone, so this is just a very brief introduction.

DOES THE LORD GIVE AND TAKE AWAY?

Everybody knows the Lord gives us health and the Lord steals it away, i.e. takes our life, right?

We’ve all heard that and, unfortunately, millions of people still believe it.

Where does this persistent and ubiquitous belief come from?

A wrong understanding of a persistent and ubiquitous book.

Job 1:21
And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

I can hear you now: “See, there’s all the proof I need.  God gives and God takes away.”

Not so fast.

First, let’s do some critical thinking by comparing other verses on the same subject.

Romans 8:32
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

No mention of God taking anything away, only freely giving to us.

The old testament is the new testament concealed.

The new testament is the old testament revealed.

What does the new testament reveal about the true nature of the devil?

John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Now we have an apparent contradiction between Job 1:21 and other bible verses on the same subject.

Anytime there is an apparent contradiction in the bible, the answer will always be in a wrong and/or incomplete understanding of scripture and/or a wrong translation of the bible.

If you truly believe that God gives you health, then takes it away, what’s the point in trusting in him anyways?

Apparent contradictions always breed doubt, confusion, and strife, so we don’t want to give the devil any opportunity to trip us up.

Figures of speech to the rescue!

They are a grammatical science that deliberately deviates from the normal rules of grammar to catch our attention and put special emphasis on a certain word, words, or concept by design.

The specific figure of speech used in Job 1:21 is called a Hebrew idiom of permission.

In the old testament, because Jesus Christ had not yet come,  the devil wasn’t defeated or even exposed.

People were in spiritual darkness and didn’t know much about the devil, nor how his kingdom operated.

Thus, anytime something bad happened, they simply understood that God allowed it to happen, and therefore, he was ultimately in control.

So when Job said, “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away”, what this really meant in his culture and time was that the Lord allowed it to be taken away because he can’t overstep a person’s freedom of will.

Galatians 6
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Now there is no confusion or contradictions.

God is still good and the devil is still bad.

Job 1:21 [amplified bible]
Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

job knew that God was not the true cause of the problem.

We would be wise to follow his example.

Job 2:7
So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

Here is the confirmation that it was the adversary who attacked Job, not God.

So now that we have a better understanding of the true nature of God and the devil, it’s much easier to believe the Lord will heal us and deliver us from our distresses.

Psalms 103
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

In verse 3, the reason that God “forgiveth all thine iniquities” is mentioned before “who healeth all thy diseases” is because if you are full of guilt, condemnation, etc about what you did in the past or how you feel about yourself, then you won’t be able to believe God for healing.

1 John 3:21
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

I John 5 [amplified bible]
14 This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us.
15 And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.

Psalms 103
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

If you picture a globe, go north from the equator to the north pole. If you go past it in the same direction, you are now actually going south.

North clashes with south.

In other words, your sins get dragged up from the past and are thrown back in your face.

But if you start from the equator again and head either east or west,  you can go on indefinitely and you will never meet the opposite direction again.

In other words, your past sins will never get thrown back in your face by God, who has already forgotten them, so how could he?

Thus, if they ever do come back up, they must come from a source other than God – i.e. the world that is run by the adversary.

Know that God loves you, has made you worthy, and has already healed you through the work of his son, Jesus Christ.

I Peter 2 [amplified bible]
23 While being reviled and insulted, He did not revile or insult in return; while suffering, He made no threats [of vengeance], but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges fairly.
24 He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.
25 For you were continually wandering like [so many] sheep, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Psalms 107
6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Look at the great love and compassion and mercy of God!

Psalm 9:9
The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

Psalms 27 [amplified bible]
5 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, In His tent I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Psalms 34:17
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Contrast this with the Israelites in Jeremiah’s time!

Jeremiah 11:14
Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.

They were in such bad shape that God told the prophet Jeremiah not to even pray for his people!

They were so deep in darkness that God would not hear them in their time of trouble.

Want to know how to avoid this?

Avoid idolatry – putting anything above God.

Jeremiah 11
9 And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

11 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
13 For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

Worshiping the golden calf they made with their own hands.

There’s a lot of issues to learn here, so we will tackle them one by one.

In verse 9, look what the Lord revealed to Jeremiah the prophet.

“A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem”.

What is a conspiracy? [from www.dictionary.com]

noun, plural conspiracies.
1. the act of conspiring.
2. an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons; plot.
3. a combination of persons for a secret, unlawful, or evil purpose: He joined the conspiracy to overthrow the government.
4. Law. an agreement by two or more persons to commit a crime, fraud, or other wrongful act.
5. any concurrence in action; combination in bringing about a given result.

So a conspiracy is simply a group of people with an evil plan to spiritually corrupt Israel and/or overthrow the leadership.

The old testament was written for us to learn from.

There are all kinds of secret evil things going on in our world today that you would not believe even if I told you…

Yet the bible tells us about them so that we don’t get deceived by them and can take appropriate actions with God’s wisdom in order to be victorious.

The evil conspiracies usually come from the same people that seduced the Israelites into darkness, idolatry and error.

Deuteronomy 13:13
Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;

John 3 sheds some light on this.

John 3:19
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

I John 4
1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

This is why we can be victorious in all categories of life.

Now look at verse 10!

They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

Once again, God’s word sheds more light of understanding on this situation.

Proverbs 28:9
He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

This is why these Israelites’ prayer went unanswered:

• They loved darkness instead of God’s light
• They were into idolatry instead of worshiping the one true God
• They rejected God’s word.

Actions speak louder than words.

Now look at verse 11 of Jeremiah 11.

Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

“I will bring evil upon them”.

It’s misunderstanding verses like this one that cause people to accuse God of evil.

In the old testament, when you read verses about God doing evil things to people, it’s the figure of speech called a Hebrew idiom of permission.  It means that God isn’t actually doing the evil thing, but is allowing it to happen because people reap what they sow.

Galatians 6
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

People in the old testament didn’t know much about the devil yet because Jesus Christ hadn’t yet come to expose and legally defeat the devil, so they simply knew that God allowed evil things to occur, which means that since the Lord allowed bad things to happen, he wasn’t the actual cause of the evil.

Jeremiah 11:11
Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

Contrast them not being able to escape their troubles with this verse!

1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer [allow] you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

James 1:13
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

Trust in God and his word: He makes a way to escape

Don’t trust in God and his word: no way to escape

Psalms 107:6
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

How to get God’s deliverance!

This word “deliverance” in the Septuagint [the Greek translation of the old testament] means to rescue.

The following verses are where its used in the New Testament.

II Corinthians 1
9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

God’s deliverance is:

• Past
• Present
• Future

That covers all eternity!

God has also rescued us from the power of darkness.

That means his power is much greater than the power of the devil, who is darkness.

Colossians 1
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet [adequate] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

There’s proof of future deliverance: rescued from the wrath to come.   That’s all the terrible things that will happen in the book of Revelation that will never happen to us because we trust in God and his word.

I Thessalonians 1:10
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

God rescued the apostle Paul from all kinds of persecutions!

II Timothy 3
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Since God rescued the Israelites out of their troubles in the old testament, he can rescue us too.

God led the Israelites in the right way!

Psalms 107:7
And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

The phrase “right way” only occurs 5 times in the bible and implies that there is a wrong way.

II Peter 2:15
Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

God gives everybody freedom of will.  Make the right choice.

Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Fast-forward to 28A.D.,  the day of Pentecost, the first time it was available to be born again of the spirit of God.

It is the final result of everything Jesus Christ accomplished.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus Christ is the true and living way, as opposed to a false and dead way.

Nobody in their right mind would choose a false and dead way, so if they do choose to go that way, it has to be by deception from the devil.

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice…

Those are some of the words of a song I know.

Psalms 107
8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

The Israelites knew what God had done for them and they showed thankfulness to God by praising him.

In verse 8, “goodness” comes from the Hebrew word checed  and means loving-kindness which is:

• Abundant
• Great in extent
• Everlasting.

In the Septuagint [the Greek translation of the old testament], it is “mercy” as it is defined by loyalty to God’s covenant.

In other words, God stays faithful to the promises in his word no matter what.

Here are some new testament usages of this word mercy:

Matthew 23:23
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith [believing]: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Luke 1
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Psalms 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Ephesians 2
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Mercy is also one of the ingredients of God’s wisdom.

James 3
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

If we are thankful to God for all he has done for us, then we will praise him!

What are the wonderful works of God?

Psalms 107
8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

“Wonderful works” is the Hebrew word pala: to be surpassing or extraordinary.

In Exodus, its translated “marvels”.

Exodus 34:10
And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible [King James old English: awesome] thing that I will do with thee.

Psalm 40:5
Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

God has done so many great things:

• Created the universe that is so vast and advanced that even after studying it for hundreds of years, we still haven’t even scratched the surface and nobody can fully comprehend it
• Made the human body, which is the most advanced physical being ever; we will never fully understand how it all works, especially the brain
• How God works in our daily lives, who can do things that we will never figure out how it all worked together

In Psalms 107:8, the words “wonderful works” in the Septuagint [the Greek translation of the old testament], it is the Greek word thaumasia, which is only used one time in the new testament bible:

Matthew 21
12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

Jesus Christ did many wonderful things that nobody in the history of man ever did.

They certainly could be described as “surpassing or extraordinary“.

Jesus Christ:

• Walked on water twice
• Turned water into wine
• Was the first person able to cast devil spirits out of people
• Was resurrected in a spiritual body
• He instantly healed countless people of their diseases
• countless other great things

Below are 2 things in the bible that I know have surpassing excellence:

Ephesians 3:19 [amplified bible]
and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

Philippians 4:7 [New English Translation]
And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Acts 2:11
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

“wonderful works” is the Greek word megaleios: magnificent, splendid;

Acts 2:11 is the only place in the entire bible that this word is used, making it uniquely significant, just like the wonderful works of God.

Psalms 107:9
For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Nothing really satisfies like the Word of God.

Only the bible has the truth and profound meaning about all of life.

II Peter 1
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

First and second Peter are the only places in the bible where grace [unmerited divine favor] and peace are multiplied to believers!

Matthew 5:6
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.