Psalm 103. “Where’s the love for God gone!”
Aristotle said,
“He who would succeed must ask the right questions.”
If our enthusiasm for God is waning we should ask the question, ‘Why?’
A headmaster, in his speech day oration said to his pupils
“The purpose of life is to discover the purpose of life. We must then make that the purpose of our life.”
Many of us come to church more out of duty than with a longing to be there. Is something wrong with us? The first thing to say is that it is right to join regularly with other Christians however you feel, to stay away is a sure route to drifting from Christ himself. The Bible teaches:
“Let us consider how we may spur one another towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – ans all the more as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
The Christian faith is a corporate faith, we need each other and part of our job is to keep encouraging others to remain close to Christ, whatever problems they are facing.
This however does not solve the problem that many honestly admit to, that they have lost that joy and enthusiasm for being in God’s kingdom and enjoying a personal relationship with God.
The book of Psalms now consists of 150 songs divided up into five books. Five was probably chosen to reflect the number of books in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Most of the Psalms of David are included in the first two books which are thought have been written in the pre-exilic period, before the exile to Babylon. An exception to this is Psalms 138-145, which were all written by David. The later three books increasingly deal with the problem and effects of sin and the despair this causes. The Psalms chart Israel’s fall away from God. When we reach book 4 these psalms are mainly from the exile period and they emphasise the hope that God’s people should still have in spite of the broken relationship.
Psalm 103 is in a strange position. Being a Psalm of David it would be expected to be in books 1 and 2 but is probably placed here as it was written by a king who had also drifted away from God into sin. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband, Uriah the Hittite, murdered to try and cover up what he had done. This psalm is an encouraging reminder that however far from God a person has drifted there is still hope of a renewed relationship with God.
A Guide to Restoration
This psalm, which helps us rediscover how to be full of praise, begins:
“Praise the LORD, O my soul;” Psalm 103:1
David is addressing himself, he knows that to be full of praise is important and he is wrestling with the issues. Many of us Christians today also need to talk to ourselves robustly!
The question of many is, ‘But how do I find this sense of praise?’ The Christian’s problem could be that I am still born down with an awareness of my sin, but it could also be that I have lost sight of who God really is. Both of these possible explanations are similar to the problem a non-Christian has, who has not yet repented of going his own way, has not grasped the nature of the God who created this world and us, and who entered the world as Jesus Christ. In any case we need urgently to talk to ourselves.
1. Remember who God is
“Praise his holy name.” Psalm 103:1
In the Bible a person’s name often reflects their character and this is certainly true of God. The Lord revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai and explained the uniqueness of his holy character,
“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished . . .” Exodus 34:6-7
The God of the Bible is a loving Father who always welcomes wayward prodigals back into his family if they will return to him on his terms; this is the meaning of repentance. Holiness summarises God’s moral standards, which are incredibly high, much higher than we can achieve, but in spite of this, he is also full of love for each of us.
To rediscover this sense of praise we are asked to start by remembering all he has given us:
“Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Psalm 103:2
a. The first benefit he mentions is forgiveness:
“Who forgives all your sins . . .” Psalm 103:3
This may seem strange to some but when we realise that it is his opinion of us that matters and, if we are honest with ourselves, we quickly realise that out prime need is forgiveness. The only person who can forgive is the person who has been offended, and sin is primarily an offence against God. For David his appalling sin concerning Bathsheba and Uriah, that reflected his rejection of God at the time, must have weighed heavily on his conscience. However even this was forgivable by God. The Christian good news or ‘gospel’ is that we can know for certain that we have been forgiven. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, blessed his baby son explaining what the gospel was that he and Jesus would proclaim:
“ . . . to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God . . .” Luke 1:77-78
b. The second benefit is our healing. This must include both physical, spiritual and psychological healing, free from malaise and guilt. It is remarkable that we are healed of the vast majority of illnesses that come our way and we need to keep thanking God for this and our immune systems he gave us!
c. The third benefit is a surprise – it is resurrection:
“He redeems your life from the pit . . .” Psalm 103:4
The ‘pit’ is a metaphor for the grave. David wrote another psalm that would be used at the dedication of Solomon’s temple and includes this same idea:
“O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O, LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down to the pit.” Psalm 30:2-3
Redemption from the consequences of sin, salvation and the confidence of heaven are the prime message of the Bible. Hope is not wishful thinking but a great confidence. Often the Bible uses the past tense to remind us that it is certain because Jesus has paid for our admission to heaven.
d. The fourth benefit begins now but will be fulfilled in heaven:
“ . . . and crowns you with love and compassion.” Psalm 103:4
This can be both the crown of a royal heir or the victor’s crown. It is our glory. A mother’s love is minute compared to this divine love. This love of God for his people is a repeated theme in this psalm:
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious , , , abounding in love.” Psalm 103:8
“. . . So great is his love for those who fear him.” Psalm 103:11
“As a Father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.” Psalm 103:13
“. . . the LORD’s love is with those who fear him.” Psalm 103:17
This obviously meant much to David after he had sinned so horrendously - he is still loved by the Lord.
When we are in a close relationship with God we will be satisfied and we will experience a youthful enthusiasm, whatever our age. We will soar on God’s winds, resting on what Christ has done for us.
“ . . . who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:5
.The Victorian Bible teacher and evangelist, C.H.Spurgeon, constantly reminded people about the love of God, once writing,
“There is not a drop of love in His heart which is not yours; you may dive into the immense ocean of his love, and you may say of it all, ‘It is mine.’”
A reminder about the source of knowledge
How can people be certain about how God thinks? This is a very important question which David now explains:
“He made known his ways to Moses: . . .” Psalm 103:7
Without a revelation from God mankind is all at sea. This is why Jesus is called ‘the Word’. He reveals the whole of God and his ways. All of the Bible speaks of Jesus. What a disaster it is for people who call themselves Christians but who have no real interest in understanding and learning what the Bible teaches.
In 2018 the Bible Society reported a very disturbing survey of millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996. They found that 51 per cent of people who claimed to be Christians only engaged with the Bible a few times a year or less!
Are we all reading our Bible’s every day and meditating on what it says? Are we all regularly attending a Bible Study Group? Are we consistently attending a church where the Bible is well taught?
Augustine of Hippo said,
“Treat the Scripture of God as the face of God. Melt in its presence.”
C.H.Spurgeon said,
“To me the Bible is not God, but it is God’s voice, and I do not hear it without awe.”
David not only reminds us how God reveals himself but he then quotes from what God told Moses about himself:
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” Psalm 103:8
How much this news needs to be shared today. Many feel guilty and trapped in their ways. They see no hope whereas in reality there is abundant hope because of the character of God.
“He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger for ever.” Psalm 103:9
What great news this is:
“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” Psalm 103:10
If this doesn’t thrill you, ask yourself whether you have ever begun the Christian life. This is where Christian conversion, being ‘born again’ begins.
The Nature of God
This short description of the character of God uses just seven words in Hebrew.
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” Psalm 103:8
This description of God is repeatedly used throughout the Bible, it is also a perfect description of Jesus himself. God relates to all of us on the same terms as he accepted David.
David now uses three illustrations to emphasise the magnitude of God’s love.
a. Astronomy
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.” Psalm 103:11
We all consider the Apollo 11 landing on the moon an amazing achievement. However the moon is only 250,000 miles from earth. The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is seven million times further from us than the moon; light takes 4.2 years to travel from there to earth. That gives some idea about how much God loves us.
b. Geography
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
Notice how David keeps returning to the theme of forgiveness of sin. To see ourselves as God sees us and our need for forgiveness is the most important discovery any person will ever make. If we are relying on the Lord Jesus we should never worry that we won’t make it into heaven. Christ has taken responsibility for our sin and has dumped that sinful package miles from us.
c. Parental love
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.” Psalm 103:13
We all know something of the power of parental love, what lengths will parents not go to for their children? Magnify this a few million times and that will tell us something of the love of God for each of us his people.
The Nature of Man
There is nothing that God doesn’t know about us, he knows all our weaknesses and failings. He knows that we will have to die, we are after all materially just a few chemicals. Humans are composed of between 55-50% water. 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Only about 0.85% is composed of another five elements: potassium, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. God knows exactly what we are made of both physically and spiritually.
“For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:14
This fact alone should make the most sceptical person turn back to the God who has created and sustained the universe over billions of years. In comparison to him our existence on this earth is transient.
“As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower in the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone and its place remembers it no more.” Psalm 103:15-16
When we see ourselves as God sees us, transient, selfish, sinful people, then to see God as he is, with all his love for us is is life-changing.
God’s love is real but conditional
David keeps returning to his reliance on a loving God. This time the dimension he illustrates this with is ‘time’. His love will take us to eternity:
“But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children . . .” Psalm 103:17
Have you noticed how often we are reminded that God’s love does need to be responded to if we are to enjoy it:
“ . . . the LORD’s love is with those who fear him.” Psalm 103:17
“ . . . so great is his love for those who fear him.” Psalm 103:11
“ . . . so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him . . . with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.” Psalm 103:17
People who call themselves Christians but are not relying on Jesus for their salvation and who are not consequently determined to live in obedience to their Lord are not yet saved. Just as Nicodemus, the upright, religious scholar had to be reminded, as so many do today, with the words:
“You must be born again.” John 3:3
Being respected and morally upright in others eyes counts for nothing. There is no salvation with out a determination to obey. This determination comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit who God gives to all who truly turn to him.
The great evangelist Billy Graham was walking along a road one evening and was recognised by an alcoholic who was propping up a lamp-post.
“Hi, Mr Graham,” he called out, “I’m one of your converts!”
Billy Graham gave a short reply, warning the man,
“You may be one of my converts but I doubt you are one of Gods.”
To drift away from a dependence on the LORD Jesus is to drift from eternal salvation. Eternal security is only found in him. Paul gave a similar summary,
“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.” Colossians 1:22-23
We ask all new Christians to learn this verse by heart.
An Eternal Perspective
David wants to remind us to change our perspective, to see ourselves as God sees us and see our puny lives here on earth for what they are, transient and doomed. Instead let us have an eternal perspective, looking forwards to the heavenly Jerusalem, the real promised land:
“The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19
The real world is the next one. No wonder David finishes this majestic psalm with a doxology. Like John in the book of Revelation, he sees the Lord in all his glory being served and worshipped by angels and the heavenly hosts who surely include those people who had served Christ in this life but who had died. Note that everyone in heaven is deeply committed to living as God wants.
“Praise the LORD, you his angels, you his mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.” Psalm 103:20-21
David now has an enthusiasm for his Lord because he understands something of who he is. Isn’t this what we need to rediscover today? Can you hear him saying to all of us the final words of the Psalm,
“Praise the LORD, all his works, everywhere in his dominion.” Psalm 103:22
This is the eternal responsibility of all people from all nations.
George Washington, after being sworn in as President of the United States issued a proclamation designating November 26th 1789 as a Day of Thanksgiving. This proclamation assumes the obligation of all citizens to acknowledge God and to honour him. The President’s proclamation began,
“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favour, and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favours of Almighty God.”
It is as if they knew Psalm 103. The President obviously wanted all people to apply this message to themselves.
This earth is the LORD’s, it is his dominion and we are transient rebels if we are not living accordingly. All of us are included in his works and he expects our praise and devotion. It is not primarily other people that this Psalm ends on, it becomes personal again:
“Praise the Lord, O my soul.” Psalm 103:22
BVP
