Your mercy reaches unto the heavens (Qtr 1 - Week 7: 17 February)
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2024 11:00 am
The psalmists realize that they are spiritually poor and have nothing good to offer to God; that is, they have nothing in and of themselves that would recommend them before God’s holy throne (Ps. 40:17). They understand that they, as do all of us, need grace, God’s grace.
In short, they need the gospel.
The Psalms stress the fact that people are fully dependent on God’s mercy. Fortunately, God’s mercy is everlasting, as evidenced in both God’s creation and the history of God’s people (Psalm 136). Before the everlasting God, human life is as transient as grass, but God pities humans and renews their strength (Psalm 103:3, 5, 15), and in Him they have the promise of eternity.
God’s people take comfort in the fact that the Lord is faithful to His covenant. The people’s appeals, no matter how pressing at times, are often filled with hope because they are directed to their compassionate heavenly Father (Psalm 103:13, Psalm 68:5, Psalm 89:26). Fresh experiences of God’s grace and love strengthen their resolve to worship and serve God and no one or nothing else.
Thought question: How do we reconcile God’s forgiveness of our sins with the idea of God’s judgment on sin?