Matthew 5:7

‘Blessed ones, the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.'

Not only does God make men lowly of heart and contrite, but He also blesses them by making them merciful, so that in return they can find mercy from Him. Such people as have been described will inevitably be merciful because God has been at work in them. They will thus forgive others because they have been forgiven (Matthew 6:12; Matthew 6:14; Matthew 18:33). That is why Jesus could point out that those who would not forgive could not be forgiven. For it was evidence that they had not been made merciful. The merciful will have compassion on the weak, and give strength to the needy, because they are aware of their own need (Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7). They will not be over-judgmental and yet will always be ready to humbly help their brothers and sisters (Matthew 7:1; Matthew 12:7). They are meek at heart, so they will not exert their rights to the detriment of others (Matthew 5:38). And the result is that they will obtain mercy from God and will have God's forgiveness now, and mercy in the Last Day (Psalms 100:5; Psalms 103:17; Isaiah 54:8). ‘They will obtain mercy'. That is, God will be merciful to them. They will bask in His abundant mercy. For God is the abundantly merciful (Exodus 20:6; Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 4:31; Psalms 18:25; Psalms 103:8; Psalms 103:17; Psalms 136 all; Isaiah 49:10; Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 54:8; Isaiah 54:10; Isaiah 60:10; Zechariah 10:6)

The idea of mercy is seen as important in both wisdom literature (Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 11:17; Proverbs 14:21; Proverbs 14:31; Proverbs 17:5; Proverbs 20:28; Proverbs 21:21) and the prophets (Isaiah 57:1; Hosea 4:1; Hosea 6:6; Hosea 12:6; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 7:9). Mercy and truth are not to forsake men (Proverbs 3:3) and the merciful man does himself good (Proverbs 11:17), so that those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished (Proverbs 17:5). Mercy, along with truth, even preserves the king, for his throne is upheld by mercy (Proverbs 20:28). And men must especially show mercy to the poor (Proverbs 14:21; Proverbs 14:31). In Isaiah 57:1 the righteous are paralleled with the merciful. And when there is no mercy in the land (along with truth and the knowledge of God) God has a controversy with His people (Hosea 4:1), for God desires mercy and a knowledge of God rather than offerings and sacrifices (Hosea 6:6). Indeed to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God is God's prime requirement for man (Micah 6:8), while in the exercising of justice, mercy and compassion must always be present (Zechariah 7:9). Thus mercy is at the very centre of God's requirements for His people, and it was partly the lack of this that angered Jesus about the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7; Matthew 23:23). It was the sin that finally showed them up for what they were.