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The Love of God
Psalm 103.1-13
Good News Translation (GNT)
1 Praise the Lord, my soul! All my being, praise his
holy name!
2 Praise the Lord, my soul and do not forget how kind he is.
3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
4 He keeps me from the grave and blesses me with love
and mercy.
5 He fills my life with good things, so that I stay young
and strong like an eagle.
6 The Lord judges in favour of the oppressed and gives
them their rights.
7 He revealed his plans to Mose and let the people of Israel
see his mighty deeds.
8 The Lord is merciful and loving, slow to become angry
and full of constant love.
9 He does not keep on rebuking he is not angry forever.
10 He does not punish us as we deserve or repay us
according to our sins and wrongs.
11 As high as the sky is above the earth, so great is his love
for those who honour him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove
our sins from us.
13 As a father is kind to his children, so the Lord is kind
to those who honour him.
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Commentary taken from 'word-on-the-web'
supplied by Scripture Union
'The Love of God'
Who said talking to yourself wasn't a good idea?
The psalmist is at it again -
and unabashedly holds forth.
We all talk to ourselves,
whether or not we care to admit it!
In this psalm,
David gives a masterclass
on how to praise the Lord
and at the same time develop
our emotional, mental and spiritual health.
First, David spurs himself on
to bless the Lord with everything
he's got because he (God) is holy (v 1) -
pure, unlike anyone else, set apart.
It's interesting that David starts here
by focusing first on who God is,
not on what he's done, which comes next.
David was human just like us
and clearly needed reminding
of how God had blessed him (v 2).
He wrote a psalm,
but today we might use apps,
calendar notifications or journals
to remind us at key moments of our day.
The psalmist sees the world's extent
from east to west as an indication
of the breadth of our forgiveness
just as the distance of heaven to earth
is a reflection of the greatness of God's love.
As Christians,
we can see another perspective
on the terms 'east' and 'west'.
We have a gospel to proclaim
of a forgiveness that is available
to the entire world,
so we are challenged to take this gospel
to both east and west.
Today we can see Christians from all nations
fulfilling that command.
There will come the day when
all the works of the Lord praise his name.
With the encouragement of this psalm
we can not only call on our souls to praise
the Lord but also actively tell
of his salvation to all nations,
knowing that all power
in heaven and earth
has been given to him (Matthew 28:18).
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