What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “property”? Your mind may go to a piece of real estate. But you might also consider “a quality or trait belonging to an individual or thing”; for instance, the property of a certain type of wood that provides insight about it. What is the wood’s texture? How prone is it to shrinkage? Is it water-resistant? In other words, what are the qualities of the wood that you can depend on?
My wife and I attend a church with a traditional feel—corporate prayers, kneeling, Scripture reading, communion. One of the prayers we pray each Sunday holds this phrase: “But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy.” Not God’s real estate, but a quality or trait belonging to God—to have mercy not just once in a while but always.
Nehemiah 9 gives us a picture of the Israelites gathered together, fasting, wrapped in sackcloth and ashes (v. 1), confessing their sins and the sins of their ancestors (v. 16). They praised God for His patience in Israel’s history: “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them” (v. 19). God could have put an end to them or abandoned them, but He never did. Why? That’s not God’s property, for He is “a gracious and merciful God” (v. 31).
In our prayers of confession, let’s include praise for that dependable property of God—His mercy.