Psalm 130:7 speaks of the hesed of God when the psalmist
employs the term steadfast love. Often translated “mercy,
faithfulness, loving-kindness, grace, goodness,” the wide connotations
of the term invite investigation. Scholars propose that
hesed is relational, describing interaction and mutual relations
between two entities. It is active, demonstrated, and even reciprocal:
an act of hesed encourages and promotes similar actions.
Hesed in Hebrew scriptures is a noun and in the majority of uses
refers to God’s activities: God “gives,” “sends,” “remembers,”
“shows” hesed. Israel depends on God’s hesed. It is often connected
but not limited to God’s covenant promises, the covenant
community, and the element of fidelity that heals broken relationships.
Scholars assert that the greatest hesed of God comes
when God suspends justice to give grace to forgive Israel.

In the Psalms, hesed is the basis for the psalmist’s request for
deliverance and forgiveness. God remains faithful to Israel and
sustains the whole earth. Hesed enables humans to relate to God;
it is the quality God wants the community to put into practice
and the way individuals are to behave toward one another.
In 2 Samuel 2:5-6, David promises to do good to the city of
Jabesh-gilead because its citizens showed hesed in rescuing
Saul’s corpse and burying it.

In Psalm 130, the cry to God from the depths becomes a cry
of hope because the depths of the abyss cannot prevent human
anguish or awareness of human iniquity from reaching God.
In the closing verses, God’s redemption manifests God’s hesed.
God’s hesed brings a liberating expectation—an expectation that
God will act.