Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 6 (2)
Pray Psalm 103.1-6.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
Sing Psalm 103.1-6.
(Old 100th: All Creatures That On Earth Do Dwell)
O my soul, bless the LORD’s great Name! His many benefits proclaim:
He pardons sins and heals disease, and from the pit grants us release.
With mercy rich and steadfast love He satisfies us from above,
revives our youth, works righteousness, and justice serves for the oppressed.
Read Psalm 103.1-22; meditate on verses 11-14.
Preparation
1. How many blessings does David mention?
2. Which does he mention more than once?
Meditation
Surely the greatest of all God’s blessings is that He forgives all our iniquities (v. 3). He does not deal with us as our sins deserve (v. 10), but instead shows us great mercy (v. 11) and takes our sins far away (v. 12). He knows we are weak and frail, and like a true Father He shows everlasting mercy and love to those who fear Him and keep His covenant, remembering His commandments to do them (vv. 13-18).
How can He do this? How can the holy God exercise justice against us without destroying us? Why does His wrath not consume us, since we are always sinful before Him? Where is the righteousness we require but lack?
Jesus is our righteousness; He is our justice before the almighty and holy God (v. 6). Only in Him do we have the forgiveness of sins. He rules over the Kingdom of God from His heavenly throne (v. 19, cf. Pss. 2, 47), and He calls us to hear and heed His Word (v. 20) so that we might serve Him according to His pleasure (v. 21).
He rules in every place; and in every place and everything, we His servants will praise and bless Him from the depths of our soul (v. 22). David saw God’s redeeming and forgiving grace as through a cloud; we have seen it plainly in Jesus. As much as David praised the Lord, anticipating His forgiveness, much more should we who possess it.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul…
Who forgives all our iniquities…
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us…
the LORD pities those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103.1, 3, 11-14).
All this mercy towards His enemies. But that’s what mercy is: love and forgiveness to the least deserving—forbearance shown to an offender—truly an act of divine favor and compassion.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8.1).
“…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1.7-9).
Remembering always that God’s “equitable” judgment of us (Ps. 98.9) comes only through Jesus and His courageous, merciful, loving act of death, hell, separation from God, and overcoming all that, to live and rule at the right hand of God; interceding for us—our Daysman Redeemer—mediating and mitigating God’s wrath against unrighteousness.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through Whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand,
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5.1, 2).
“But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
to those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to children’s children,
to such as keep His covenant,
and to those who remember His commandments
to do them” (Ps. 103.17, 18).
“LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments” (Ps. 119.166).
“Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments…” (Deut. 7.9).
“This is the way, walk in it” (Is. 30.21).
Our sins have been taken away. His gracious mercy must be appreciated and acted upon.
Reflection
1. Why does it matter that we have been forgiven of our sins?
2. Does this mean we never sin anymore? Explain.
3. How can we gain mercy and grace for times when we fall into sin?
In all of these great, good things that the Lord gives to the wicked, what else is being sung than undeserved mercy? What else other than free piety is being proclaimed? For in this, that “he does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities,” the free justification of the impious is displayed. And in this that “as a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him,” the free adoption of children shines through by the same justification by faith. Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-532), Letter to Monimus 1.21.3
Pray Psalm 103.10-22.
Thank the Lord that, because Jesus has executed righteousness and borne the wrath of God’s justice for us, we have forgiveness of our sins and are adopted as the children of God. Pray for grace to live as His child today.
Sing Psalm 103.10-22.
(Old 100th: All Creatures That On Earth Do Dwell)
Our sins He casts from us away; He shows compassion every day.
He knows our frame, that we are dust, so on His goodness let us trust.
Now as for us like grass we fail, though for a time our flesh prevail.
God’s Spirit blows across our face and withers sinners in their place.
But evermore to those who fear the LORD brings lovingkindness near;
His righteousness to them extends and to their children without end.
He rules upon His throne in heav’n; His sovereign rule o’er all is giv’n.
You angels, bless the LORD, rejoice, who live in strength to heed His voice.
All you who serve Him, bless the LORD, all you who heed His righteous Word!
Let all throughout the cosmos whole unite to praise Him, with my soul!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
