And Solomon said: "You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before you in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day."
1 Kings 3:6 records the first part of the answer King Solomon gave to God in a dream in which God asked him what he wanted. Solomon spoke of how God had shown mercy to his father, David. He said that mercy was shown because David walked uprightly before God in his heart. David did not live a perfect life but he had a heart to serve and honor God. He loved God and encouraged his son to serve the Lord. He went to great lengths to prepare for the construction of the temple that would be erected for the worship of the Lord his God, although he would not be around to see it built. Even those of us who desire to please the Lord need mercy. God loves to show mercy toward those whose hearts are right toward Him. Solomon also said in 1 Kings 8:23, "...Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts." Although He shows mercy to all humanity, there is special mercy for those Who choose to serve Him in sincerity. We can never conduct ourselves as though we have deserved any of God's goodness or merited His favor. We must boast about nothing but the cross of Christ and what it accomplished for us. All of our achievements are the result of the Lord teaching us and helping us. We have all fallen short of the mark and need to be grateful for His mercy.
