As Far As the East Is from the West – Psalm 103

A text – Psalm 103

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
⁵ who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ 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 forever.
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 toward those who fear him;
¹² as 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.

A reflection:

This week’s psalm brings together our Gospel text from Monday about limitless forgiveness and our Exodus reading from Wednesday, in which the Israelites saw the great acts of God against their oppressors and feared and clung to God as their savior. In this psalm, David praises God for deep mercy, for not keeping a record of wrongs, for removing our sins so far away from us that neither God nor we will have to see them anywhere ever again. God, who has the capacity to destroy or even take revenge, refuses to do that and treats God’s beloved children tenderly, unfailingly.

This psalm must have been written by a person who had been forgiven some real whoppers. And yes, David was an excellent king who lived through hell with his predecessor often trying to kill David himself. But David too became arrogant and single-minded and from time to time followed his own counsel at great cost to his nation and his relationship with God. So when David says, ‘¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us,” he is talking about his own errors and failure to hit the mark God had set for him, and God’s forgiveness.

Don’t we all have that handful of things we did that we know we shouldn’t have done, things that put up walls in our lives, things that threatened harm to others? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know God sets these things as far away from us as the east is from the west? Have you pleaded with God to do that? If so, God has already done it. Believe the goodness and mercy of God. Know that our God redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. God is our Savior and our passageway to everlasting life.

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us Thank you for being forever merciful and putting our failings so far away from us. Help us to remember that this is your character, and we are to be like you when it comes to others – forgiving and merciful.  Amen.