Our God of Compassion
Psalm 103:1-22
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one chapter of the Bible which chapter, would you choose? There are a lot of good answers, but Psalm 103 should at least make your short list. For those who feel strongly about praise Psalm 103 is an unparalleled Psalm. Our study of Psalm 103 will immerse us in worshiping God.
If you in your own life you are seeking to grow in praising God, I suggest you spend time alone meditating on Psalm 103. This Psalm is considered the ideal pattern of praise. Look at the number of times praise the Lord is in this psalm, six.
You will see the worship unfold as you notice the contrasts like, how high heaven is above the earth, how far the east is from the west and from everlasting to everlasting. This beautiful Psalm is perfect for expressing personal devotion to God.
This Psalm is written by David who experienced God’s mercy personally. It is full of the great compassion and grace of God. It is perfect for guiding us in our personal devotion to God. We have all experienced the personal blessing of the mercy of God and this is our opportunity to allow this Psalm to guide our worship to God and pour out our thanksgiving to God.
The whole Psalm is a beautiful expression of gratitude. We can never give too much praise and gratitude to God. We should be comforted to know that God knows our faults and our weaknesses and yet He still loves us. Psalm 103 portrays how we are frail and finite and how God is so big and eternal.
A Psalm for the Individual
Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5)
Verses 1-5 are written in the first person personal, me and my perspective. The final point of verse one rests with the individual. It is important that we are praising God as we should. It is our reminder that God deals with us individually. Part of praising God is our thanksgiving to God and remembering his blessings and benefits. Have you stopped recently to count your blessings and remember the benefits of the Lord? David recounts God’s mercies to him personally. In our systematic theology class, we debated which is the most important attribute of God. Is it love, holiness or mercy? David is not going to debate this; he is just going to forget none of them.
Now David counts his blessings and names them one by one. He recounts verse 3, the forgiveness of his sins. If there is any one thing that will change our whole perspective in life it is forgiveness of sins.
David recounts the physical healing of the Lord (verse 3). He recounts his rescue from death (verse 4). Love and compassion are mentioned, and they are the theme of the Psalm. David remembers the providing of daily needs. How easy it is for us to forget that it is God who provides our daily needs.
The Lord has blessed us individually. He has provided our salvation by sending His only son Jesus Christ to die in our place the just for the unjust. He has adopted us into the family of God when we place our faith in Jesus Christ.
The Lord renews our youth. Our bodies may grow older, but God can give inner renewal and vitality of the Soul. This is famously stated in Isaiah.
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
The eagle’s wing never tires and so God is able to give us renewal and inner youthful vitality. This inner renewal we receive when we put our hope in the Lord is cause for us to praise God.
God’s Compassion for Israel
Now this Psalm shifts from individual praise to national praise.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:6-10)
David is doing what Joshua did. He is delivering his message on following God based on God’s past faithfulness. Israel can remember the faithfulness of God by remembering God’s faithfulness to them. God let Israel while under oppression see his mighty deeds.
As you already know, when you look closely at the nation of Israel, the Lord’s people, the chosen people, you know just how far they drifted from him. But the Lord is merciful, loving, slow to become angry and full of constant love.
God does not punish us for our wrongs and isn’t that a good thing because if He did, we would not be here right now. God works with the nation as he did the individual and that is by extending his compassion.
God works with his people as he did the individual, extending his compassion. Israels history confirms God’s compassion and grace. God has shown us as his people great acts of compassion. Because God has blessed us as his people, we should praise God with our whole being.
The depth of God’s compassion
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul. (Psalm 103:11-22)
David shows us his artistic flair. He paints some of the most beautiful, some of the most moving word pictures of the great dimensions of God’s tender compassion. His amazing grace. God’s love for you is as high as the heavens are above the earth.
I can’t give you a measurement about how high that is, the point is that God’s compassion is immeasurable. God’s grace transcends and transforms.
David gives us one of the greatest statements on the grace of God and His undeserved favor. as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. That is good news! If your sins are a few or exceedingly numerous, whether they are socially acceptable of ones of a hardened criminal they are removed by the grace of God.
God can take the most miserable wretch and create a beautiful vessel of honor. That is our God! We can do nothing but praise him with our whole being, He deserves it.
After David gives us this statement of grace, he follows it with a great illustration. He describes for us how a father is compassionate to his children. He brings the heavenly reality to an earthly example.
God controls the entire universe
David goes on to show God’s compassion in another way. It is by pointing out how frail we are. We are like dust. We are like grass and like a flower. We are so vulnerable, so temporal and so fragile. This is contrasted to the great boundless eternity of God.
David illustrates God’s sovereignty. The way we can praise God expands through the Psalm, from the individual to the nation to the scope of the universe. God’s throne is in heaven, and He rules over the universe.
When we read Psalm 103, we are certain it is God who is in control of everything. Even the heavenly host praise God. Then the Psalm concludes where it began, with the individual. Praise the Lord, my soul. You are blessed by God. Are you praising God the way you should?
Remember all God’s compassion He has shown to you. Your sins are forgiven if you have trusted in Christ. Praise the Lord!
