The Lord works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
12as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
(Psalm 103:6-14)
Tomorrow is the big day, Thanksgiving, and we are focusing this week on our thankfulness for the God who makes the harvests of our lives happen. We are looking at Psalm 103 and the second point of focus by the writer.
Vindication and justice are the first thing that comes to the writer’s mind. Certainly we look out on a world that cries for justice. Wars are being fought by nations feeling justified in their claim to a piece of land. One group feels oppressed by another. We know about those feelings whenever our ”wants” are not met. Only God can bring about true justice.
God is slow to anger and abounds in steadfast love. That kind of patience allows room to think and rethink situations and allows the person to defuse and offer mercy and grace, Many of us can hang our heads and remember a time when we jumped or responded before we took time to think. I think we call it “mouth in motion.” God is not mouth in motion but wisdom that speaking to us.
Verse 12 is a favorite of mine. “As far as the east is from the west” God removes our sins. I suppose that wherever we are one way is east and one way is west. I have often thought it meant that God “forgets” but perhaps he is the buffer zone standing between our sin and the forgiveness he offers. Any sin has to go through him and his forgiveness to come back to us.
The author ends with the word “compassion.” I wonder if that word could be divided up to mean that he “comes” to us with “passion”, passion for relationship, a passion to forgive and restore us with his love. He knows we are dust and he never forgets as he deals with us.
This thanksgiving let us thank God that he is working out justice and not us, that he is slow to anger seeing all sides, and that he stands between us and our sins, remembering that we are but dust. He loves us. Wow. That is worthy of being thankful for.
On the Way to Wonder 