Bible Strands
Psalms 116:5
The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks in the immediate aftermath of a desperate prayer for deliverance, addressing God directly. The declaration grounds the plea in divine character rather than personal merit.
The words — חַנּוּן (cha.Nun) denotes graciousness, and מְרַחֵם (me.ra.Chem) denotes active compassion. These terms frame the LORD’s response as both merciful and tender.
The thread — The same attributes appear in Psalms 103:8, 145:17, and 119:137. They form a consistent scriptural pattern linking God’s righteousness with His compassionate preservation of the helpless.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to anchor trust in God’s declared nature rather than in circumstantial safety. It demands recognition that deliverance follows divine character, not human strength.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
Cross-references
- Psalms 103:8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
- Psalms 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.
- Psalms 119:137 Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
- Ezra 9:15 O LORD, God of Israel, You are righteous! For we remain this day as a remnant. Here we are before You in our guilt, though because of it no one can stand before You.”
- Nehemiah 9:8 You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, of the Jebusites and Girgashites—to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise, because You are righteous.
- Psalms 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
- Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- 1 Timothy 1:14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
- Exodus 34:6 Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
- Psalms 112:4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.