Lent 24 post 18

 Psalm 103

Anger and forgiveness 

Yesterday we saw God punishing sinners in his anger, but also forgiving sinners in his mercy. And we know from our New Testament that only the cross resolves this tension. But how did Old Testament Israelites hold these two aspects of God together? Did they imagine their God as permanently angry (the caricature ‘God of the Old Testament')? Or did they think that God’s forgiveness was a kind of weakness, that he just caved in to Moses' persistent request? Psalm 103 shows that the answer to both is no.

On the other hand, God’s anger is utterly real and justified (Exodus 32.7-10), but limited. He is ‘slow to anger' (Psalm 103.8-9), and it does not last for ever, unlike his covenant love which will (.17). And, on the other hand, God’s forgiveness defines not only his character (.8), but also his universal kingdom (.19). God forgives not with reluctance, but as the exercise of his everlasting power. Since he is the ruler of the universe (did you notice this point at the end of Psalm 103?), he has the strength to ‘carry’ a nation's sin (see Numbers 14.17-20).

He can carry your sin and mine, then. Personal forgiveness flows from God’s throne.

Can you see how the author of Psalm 103 turns the Exodus story into his own personal testimony? God’s acts of righteousness and justice for the oppressed (.6) were modelled in the exodus itself, as Moses and Israel knew well (.7). The psalmist urges his own soul, just as Moses urged Israel, not to forget all that God had done (Deuteronomy 6.12, 8.11). God’s ‘benefits’ for him, as for Israel, included forgiveness (Exodus 34.9), healing (Exodus 15.26) and redemption from the pit of utter destruction (Exodus 32.10,14).

Feeling the heartbeat 

Sometimes it helps us to get at the central message of a psalm if we take note of its structure. This one is beautifully balanced. We can recognise this by the way the writer repeats, in the second half of the psalm, certain key words or concepts in reverse order from the first half. Look for the repeated words which I’ll underline and notice how they occur in both halves of the Psalm. 

Having begun with personal praise (.1-2), he ends by summoning praise from angels, cosmic powers and the whole created order, ending, as he began, with himself (.20-22). This is like an outer ‘envelope’ around the psalm. And then, within that outer circle, there are several inner concentric circles pointing inwards to the central heartbeat of the whole poem,

The saving righteousness of God that had rescued exodus Israel (.6) is the same everlasting love and righteousness that will sustain those who love and fear the Lord in every generation (.17-18).

The Moses of verse 7 is recalled in verses 14-16, where the dust and grass of human mortality echo the Psalm of Moses (Psalm 90.1-6). However, Psalm 103 links the theme to God’s fatherly compassion, whereas Psalm 90 links it to God’s wrath. Both perspectives, of course, are true and complementary.

The compassion of God is first quoted directly from Exodus 34.6 (.8), and then quickly returns, compared to the compassion of a father (.13).

And so we zoom in through these decreasing rings of matching words and phrases to the very centre of the psalm. And what is this core message, this beating heart of divine truth? Can you see it in all its heart-warming assurance in verses 9-12?

Read those wonderful words aloud with thankfulness in your heart!

He will not always accuse,

Nor will he harbour his anger forever,

He does not treat us as our sins deserve

Or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

So great is his love for those who fear him,

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has he removed our transgressions from us.