We all need to find forgiveness, both from the Lord God and from our fellow man. There are times when some people feel that their sins are so numerous or so abhorrent that they cannot be forgiven. And there are some people, whether currently alive or already deceased, that we might feel are too sinful, or whose sins we consider far too terrible to be forgiven. Today’s psalm describes many of the blessings that the Lord bestows upon us, two of them being His mercy and forgiveness. Let’s take a closer look.
Psalm 103 is one of my top three or four favorite psalms. Written by King David, this psalm enumerates God’s many blessings. David opens with a call to bless and praise God because He brings us forgiveness, healing, and redemption. He also recounts that the Lord is merciful, slow to anger, and gracious. When we are feeling overwhelmed with our sins, feeling that God could not possibly forgive us, feeling that we can’t forgive ourselves for what we may have done, we can look into Psalm 103 to see how loving, forgiving, and merciful the Lord is to His children.
Though King David has been called a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), there were some times when he fell into serious sin. We remember when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then after she became pregnant, he ordered her husband Uriah to be killed in battle so he could marry her, in order to cover up his sin. He certainly needed the Lord’s forgiveness, and he found it. He knew first-hand how merciful and forgiving the Lord is. David could truthfully say that the Lord forgives all of our iniquities when we come to Him in confession and repentance (vs. 3). He doesn’t just forgive the “little sins”, such as when we grumble to our family members, or get aggravated with the neighbor when they act like a dimwit. He will forgive us all our sins. And we need to remember, that if someone, no matter how terrible a sinner they are, comes to God, calling upon Him for salvation, He will forgive them all of their sins, as well. No one is too great a sinner for God to never forgive them when they call upon Him.
In verse 6 we read that the Lord will bring justice to those who are oppressed. Sometimes we can be oppressed by a harsh government or a harsh boss. There are times, though, when our oppressor is the devil, the enemy of our souls. He can bring oppression to us in many ways, frequently through our mind. One way he uses is by making us feel as if our sins are not forgiven, that we have too many sins, or our sins are too grievous to ever be forgiven. Then when we begin to go down that path, we may start to feel that we are not truly saved, and that we are not one of God’s children. That is one of Satan’s favorite tools which he uses against believers, particularly spiritually young believers. God can deliver those who are oppressed by the devil. He has done so through our faith in Him, and by what He has done for us at the Cross (Acts 10:38).
God is also slow to anger (vs. 8). Too many of us are so quick to anger and to take offense by what others say or do. We dole out our forgiveness very sparingly, and only when we feel like it, when we feel the other has “paid enough” for their transgressions. Far too few people ever show mercy to others. Yet that is not the case with the Lord. David knew he could find mercy and forgiveness from the Lord. He saw that God is slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
God’s mercy abounds, as David found. He knew that if he got what he deserved, he would probably be dead, as the punishment in the Law of Moses for both adultery and murder was the death penalty. Yet God did not give him what he deserved (vs. 10). Where would we be if we got what we deserved for our sins? One thing is for sure is that we wouldn’t be given a place in heaven! However, when we call upon the Lord Jesus, accepting His death for our sins and taking Him for our Savior, He has mercy on us, mercy that is higher than the heavens above us (vs. 11).
Once God forgives us of our sins, they are gone forever. Scripture says that God removes them from us, as far as the east is from the west (vs. 12). Just as one cannot bring the east and west together, so our sins will not be brought back to us once God forgives. We may say we forgive someone for their transgressions against us, but frequently we bring them up again, reminding them of this or that which they did to us. God will never do that to us. They are as far away as the east is from the west.
Finally, in our passage today, David describes God as a most loving Father, who pities His children (vs. 13-14). Good parents have compassion on their young children, realizing their weaknesses, immaturity, and ignorance. God is better than any human parent, and He remembers that we are human, that we were created from the dust, and as a parent, He teaches us with patience, love, and mercy.
Knowing God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness, we can say with King David, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name”.
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