"The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made his ways known to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities."
Last time we looked at the first 5 verses of Psalm 103, in which the Psalmist calls us to remember how God is worthy of our praise for all that He does- forgiving our sins, healing our diseases, redeeming our lives from the pit, crowning us with steadfast love and mercy, satisfying us so that our youth is renewed like the eagle.
These are undoubtedly wonderful blessings- and the majority of these blessings work personally and internally at the level of our hearts. In this next section, we're reminded that God's blessings are demonstrated visibly in public.
The Psalmist presumes that his readers/singers are familiar with their own history. He reminds them of how God remembered His promise as He heard the cries of the oppressed Hebrew people languishing as slaves in Egypt, and rescued them with a mighty hand and outstretched arm (Psalm 136). He used Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt- and showed great signs in the wilderness (e.g. leading them with a cloud by day, pillar of fire by night; manna for sustenance, water from the rock in the desert) in their tortuous path towards the promised land of Canaan. And we know that they wandered for 40 years before entering Canaan due to their own grumbling, complaining, and outright faithlessness towards God. The Psalmist knew that if God really treated Israel as they deserved- well, they would have been extinguished long ago. But because God is who He is- slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love- Israel was not consumed; and hallelujah bless the Lord, neither are we!
We are beyond blessed to be on this side of the resurrection of Jesus Christ- God's mystery having been fully unveiled to us (remember the song we sang on Sunday?)- God's love fully demonstrated for us as shown through Christ's life, death and resurrection. Our hope is unwavering, and the unshakeable joy we have is only a foretaste of our deliverance!
Ok, so now that we have seen God's plan unfold in Christ- and anticipate the new heavens and the new earth when He returns- does this mean that God has nothing left to show us of His ways in the meantime? May it never be! God in his gracious love, continues to show us his kindness that leads us to repentance. Even as He allowed Israel to wander for 40 years in the wilderness (as a way to discipline the faithless), so he will discipline those He loves, to conform them to the image of Christ (Hebrews 12:6; Romans 8:29). We are no better than the Israelites- their history is our history- there is nothing they've done that we are not every bit as prone to doing- making idols of all sorts of things (relationships, careers, comfort, among many others) that steal away the affections of our hearts from the only One who is worthy. We need the Lord to continually be gracious and merciful to us- and in Christ we know He is absolutely committed to keeping His promise to make us a people filled with His Spirit, walking in love and obedience to Him.
So with that said- I want to encourage us to ask ourselves- How has the Lord been making His ways known to you? How has His mercy and love been leading you to repentance (because repentance is not just a one time thing...)? How has he shown Himself slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love towards you? Has He been using various circumstances to show you your sin? Remember that even when you feel like you're at the darkest moment- He has not (and will not) leave you nor forsake you. He is still at work in you and will continue sanctifying you until He comes again (Philippians 1:6).
Brothers and sisters, may we be free to tell one another of God's steadfast love and mercy in our lives- particularly in how He continues draw us out of the darkness to walk in the light. Let's mutually share more reasons to bless His name together! How great is His mercy towards us!
Grace and Peace,
Mike
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