Searching for and finding mercy

The Bible is often described as a book that explains itself. For example, Proverbs 21:21 (KJV) reads,

He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

Those seem like huge rewards for following righteousness and mercy! Now, the "righteousness" part of this is clear: we must follow God's commands. And note, from the passage, that righteousness is, in fact, a reward for pursuing righteousness. So righteousness appears to beget itself.

But what about "mercy"? Where do we find that? Although the immediate surrounding text doesn't provide an answer, other parts of the Bible do. For example, Psalm 36:5 (KJV) reads,

Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens.

So all mercy emanates from God in heaven. And the way for us to connect to that mercy is to pray to God for that heavenly gift of mercy.

This is but one, relatively easy-to-understand, example of the Bible explaining itself. The Bible's pattern of explaining itself, I think, becomes clear if one habitually reads the Bible, especially a "literal" translation that attempts to adhere to the original Hebrew and Greek wording. Making a practice of doing that (eventually) helps clarify passages and answers questions that some sections might pose.

(Note: I don't mean to disparage more "dynamic" translations. I, myself, frequently use the NLT!)