Nehemiah 1:5

5 Then I said: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion ^[a] with those who love Him and keep His commandments,

Nehemiah 1:5 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 1:5

And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven
He prayed not to the host of heaven, the sun in it, as the Persians, but to the God of it, in an humble supplicant manner:

the great and terrible God;
who is to be feared, and had in reverence of all his creatures, because of his greatness and glory, being God over all, blessed for ever, and his name holy and reverend:

that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him, and observe his
commandments;
who keep them from a principle of love to him; to those he has made gracious promises in his covenant, which he truly and faithfully performs; and the consideration of these perfections in God animates and encourages good men in prayer to him.

Nehemiah 1:5 In-Context

3 And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

5 Then I said: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion with those who love Him and keep His commandments,

6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against You. Both I and my father’s house have sinned.

7 We have behaved corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that You gave Your servant Moses.

Footnotes

• [a]. Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant.