8879. 'And showing mercy to thousands' means goodness and truth imparted to them for evermore. This is clear from the meaning of 'mercy' as the influx of goodness and truth from the Lord, and therefore spiritual life imparted through regeneration, dealt with in 6180, 8307, for out of mercy the Lord imparts the gifts that belong to eternal life and happiness; and from the meaning of 'a thousand' as very much and, when it refers to God's mercy, as for evermore, dealt with in 2575, 8715.