103. Faithful and Merciful
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.
Who is your God? The Lord is God. The Lord is the faithful God. The Lord is faithful to keep covenant promises and show mercy. The Lord will keep covenant and mercy with all those who keep their part of the covenant, who love God and keep the commandments. He will keep covenant and mercy with the faithful ones for a thousand generations. That is a long time, from at least 20,000 years to 40,000 years, longer that the earth is likely to be around.
It is a way of stating with assurance that the Lord is a faithful God and He will do what He says. He will keep His promises laid out in His covenant. His mercy will be deep and long lasting, enduring forever. God is good; all the time. The mercy of God will never run out. His faithful love is so deep it covers us completely.
Of course, our part of the covenant is to love the Lord and to keep the commandments. In this we have failed, and we know it; so the Lord is not obligated to keep his part of the covenant and be merciful. But our faithful God provided a way for us to faithfully keep our part of the covenant stipulations: He sent His Son to live a righteous life that perfectly keeps the Law of God. He pays the penalty of our sin and disobedience, and God, the faithful God, grants us exoneration for sin and a righteous life. Therefore, in Christ we have kept the covenant, and so the faithful God is obligated to keep His part of the covenant promise and show lovingkindness forever.
Because of Christ we can be absolutely certain that the Lord our God and Father will keep for us every promise He ever made to us. When believed and taken to heart, the promises of God are designed to give us confident hope today and change our lives forever. “Learn to trust Me and love Me, and your life will get better and better forever.” So our faithful God promises.