The Seven Works of Mercy by the master of Alkmaar, 1504, Rijksmuseum. Double-click on this image to see it full-size, or click on the Rijksmuseum link. Jesus is depicted in the crowd in nearly every scene because whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40). The seven works of mercy depicted are providing food, drink, clothing, burial of the dead, shelter, healing, and visiting prisoners.

Hesed or Chesed or חֶסֶד Love

Hesed encompasses kindness, lovingkindness, mercy, goodness, faithfulness, steadfast love, grace, devotion, and acts of kindness. Hesed is used 26 times in Psalm 136, to help you understand how important this word is. Just as God shows his hesed to us in acts of kindness and love, so we are to reflect his hesed in our acts of kindness and love to others. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary has a great explanation of hesed under the heading Loving-kindness:

"The word refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But hesed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy."

There's quite a lot more about the word in Vine's. Hesed is all about actions, not words.

Hesed is primarily based upon faithfully enacting covenantal obligations through love while including a sense of going beyond the minimum requirements. The overwhelming majority of uses of hesed in the Bible speak of God's hesed love for us. However, an example of hesed in humans is in the relationship between David and Jonathan, along with Ruth and Boaz. God further clarified the expectation of humans acting out hesed between each other in Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:8, and Zechariah 7:9. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to "love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34, John 15:12, I John 4:11). Jesus loves us with hesed love.

How do we know how to love others the hesed way? Matthew 25:31-46 spells out how to love others and why: "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me....Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." We can reciprocate in the covenant between us and God by loving the least important people well because caring for those made in the image of God means caring for God. You can find out more about this passage in Matthew in my Christ the King Sunday Year A post.

For further research:
The Extravagant Chesed Love of God
Hesed: Love in the Long Term from Lois Tverberg

Loyal Love from the Bible Project - with video

The Meaning of Hesed: Hebrew Word for Love - with video available on YouTube.

Loving-Kindness - an excerpt from A Theological Word Book of the Bible

Chesed: A Reciprocal Covenant from Dr. Elinoar Bareket - this is a simplified version of an academic article by a Jewish professor that contrasts how rabbinic scholars have understood hesed versus how the Bible describes hesed.

KINDNESS (Chesed) from Sefaria - how rabbis teach hesed - with video

Hesed H2617 from Blue Letter Bible
Hesed and Emet from Practical Theology Today

All of the 248 uses of חֶסֶד in the Bible

Genesis 19:19; Genesis 20:13; Genesis 21:23; Genesis 24:12; Genesis 24:14; Genesis 24:27; Genesis 24:49; Genesis 32:10; Genesis 39:21; Genesis 40:14; Genesis 47:29

Exodus 15:13; Exodus 20:6; Exodus 34:6; Exodus 34:7

Leviticus 20:17

Numbers 14:18; Numbers 14:19

Deuteronomy 5:10; Deuteronomy 7:9; Deuteronomy 7:12

Joshua 2:12 (used twice); Joshua 2:14

Judges 1:24; Judges 8:35

Ruth 1:8; Ruth 2:20; Ruth 3:10

1 Samuel 15:6; 1 Samuel 20:8; 1 Samuel 20:14; 1 Samuel 20:15

2 Samuel 2:5; 2 Samuel 2:6; 2 Samuel 3:8; 2 Samuel 7:15; 2 Samuel 9:1; 2 Samuel 9:3; 2 Samuel 9:7; 2 Samuel 10:2 (used twice); 2 Samuel 15:20; 2 Samuel 16:17; 2 Samuel 22:51

1 Kings 2:7; 1 Kings 3:6 (used twice); 1 Kings 8:23; 1 Kings 20:31

1 Chronicles 16:34; 1 Chronicles 16:41; 1 Chronicles 17:13; 1 Chronicles 19:2 (used twice)

2 Chronicles 1:8; 2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 6:14; 2 Chronicles 6:42; 2 Chronicles 7:3; 2 Chronicles 7:6; 2 Chronicles 20:21; 2 Chronicles 24:22; 2 Chronicles 32:32; 2 Chronicles 35:26

Ezra 3:11; Ezra 7:28; Ezra 9:9

Nehemiah 1:5; Nehemiah 9:17; Nehemiah 9:32; Nehemiah 13:14; Nehemiah 13:22

Esther 2:9; Esther 2:17

Job 6:14; Job 10:12; Job 37:13

Psalm 5:7; Psalm 6:4; Psalm 13:5; Psalm 17:7; Psalm 18:50; Psalm 21:7; Psalm 23:6; Psalm 25:6; Psalm 25:7; Psalm 25:10; Psalm 26:3; Psalm 31:7; Psalm 31:16; Psalm 31:21; Psalm 32:10; Psalm 33:5; Psalm 33:18; Psalm 33:22; Psalm 36:5; Psalm 36:7; Psalm 36:10; Psalm 40:10; Psalm 40:11; Psalm 42:8; Psalm 44:26; Psalm 48:9; Psalm 51:1; Psalm 52:1; Psalm 52:8; Psalm 57:3; Psalm 57:10; Psalm 59:10; Psalm 59:16; Psalm 59:17; Psalm 61:7; Psalm 62:12; Psalm 63:3; Psalm 66:20; Psalm 69:13; Psalm 69:16; Psalm 77:8; Psalm 85:7; Psalm 85:10; Psalm 86:5; Psalm 86:13; Psalm 86:15; Psalm 88:11; Psalm 89:1; Psalm 89:2; Psalm 89:14; Psalm 89:24; Psalm 89:28; Psalm 89:33; Psalm 89:49; Psalm 90:14; Psalm 92:2; Psalm 94:18; Psalm 98:3; Psalm 100:5; Psalm 101:1; Psalm 103:4; Psalm 103:8; Psalm 103:11; Psalm 103:17; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 106:7; Psalm 106:45; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 107:8; Psalm 107:15; Psalm 107:21; Psalm 107:31; Psalm 107:43; Psalm 108:4; Psalm 109:12; Psalm 109:16; Psalm 109:21; Psalm 109:26; Psalm 115:1; Psalm 117:2 (used twice); Psalm 118:1; Psalm 118:2; Psalm 118:3; Psalm 118:4; Psalm 118:29; Psalm 119:41; Psalm 119:64; Psalm 119:76; Psalm 119:88; Psalm 119:124; Psalm 119:149; Psalm 119:159; Psalm 130:7; Psalm 136:1; Psalm 136:2; Psalm 136:3; Psalm 136:4; Psalm 136:5; Psalm 136:6; Psalm 136:7; Psalm 136:8; Psalm 136:9; Psalm 136:10; Psalm 136:11; Psalm 136:12; Psalm 136:13; Psalm 136:14; Psalm 136:15; Psalm 136:16; Psalm 136:17; Psalm 136:18; Psalm 136:19; Psalm 136:20; Psalm 136:21; Psalm 136:22; Psalm 136:23; Psalm 136:24; Psalm 136:25; Psalm 136:26; Psalm 138:2; Psalm 138:8; Psalm 141:5; Psalm 143:8; Psalm 143:12; Psalm 144:2; Psalm 145:8; Psalm 147:11

Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 11:17; Proverbs 14:22; Proverbs 14:34; Proverbs 14:34; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 19:22; Proverbs 20:6; Proverbs 20:28 (used twice); Proverbs 21:21; Proverbs 31:26

Isaiah 16:5; Isaiah 40:6; Isaiah 54:8; Isaiah 54:10; Isaiah 55:3; Isaiah 57:1; Isaiah 63:7 (used twice)

Jeremiah 2:2; Jeremiah 9:24; Jeremiah 16:5; Jeremiah 31:3; Jeremiah 32:18; Jeremiah 33:11

Lamentations 3:22; Lamentations 3:32

Daniel 1:9; Daniel 9:4

Hosea 2:19; Hosea 4:1; Hosea 6:4; Hosea 6:6; Hosea 10:12; Hosea 12:6

Joel 2:13

Jonah 2:8; Jonah 4:2

Micah 6:8; Micah 7:18; Micah 7:20

Zechariah 7:9