Perhaps the largest mystery of the universe is why God has compassion for us. That mystery is the next unspoken question in Psalm 103. We don’t deserve His compassion, yet He gives it to those who will receive it.
Our next section of Psalm 103 says this – “Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our form; He is mindful that we are nothing but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place no longer knows about it. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him, And His justice to the children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts, so as to do them.” (Psalm 103:13–18, NASB 2020)
The Psalmist adds a qualifies, “those who fear Him.” That is important. One of the misunderstandings of the world is that “we are all God’s children.” Not so. We are all God’s creation. Every human is created in the Image of God but not all live up to that image. However, those who have turned to Christ have been reborn and are God’s children. The first step of that transformation is a recognition of the awesomeness of God and His compassion. Consider “For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26, NASB 2020)
God’s compassion is informed by His knowledge. He knows we are but dust and in the sweep of time have the physical lifespan of a blade of grass. And yet we have an eternal promise of a home with Jesus, a promise that brings hope and comfort. There is also the legacy of faith that we leave behind to our children and our children’s children. We may not see that legacy unfold, but the Lord does keep His promises.
The Lord has compassion for us because He wants to. He doesn’t need our worship or our prayers – but he desires them for our sake. Our worship, be it sung, spoken, or just felt, is a powerful tool that breaks our chains and refocuses our hearts, minds, and souls on Christ. Through our prayers, we speak the depths of our hearts, always thankful, sometimes laying our needs (physical, spiritual, emotional) before God, sometimes interceding on behalf of others. Like worship, prayer is a powerful means to focus our hearts on God, empowering us and strengthening our connection with Him.
Our response to God’s compassion is obedient doing and being. There are common things that we all are to do. Most importantly, love God and love others. And there are some specific things which may be different from person to person. The more we travel the road of faith, the more God reveals those things to us. Sometimes, it is doing something new; often, it is laying down something. I’ve experienced both of those while walking with Jesus.
The last unspoken question in Psalm 103 is this – to what end? Where does this lead us to?
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