All a man can leave to his children is the little he’s learned, and maybe what he thinks in his mind and feels in his heart.”
–Louis L’Amour (Down the Long Hills)
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
–1 Thessalonians 5:21 (NKJV)
——————————————-
I am going to borrow a story from William Petersen for this portion of Psalm 103. Perhaps you have had a smart-alek teacher in your past. One of those who think they know it all. I had one in seminary who proudly proclaimed that he “doesn’t test the obvious.” I always wondered, “why not?” Are we as students not supposed to know the obvious? Instead he would test the obscure, the captions under photos, things like that.
So on with the story. There was a second grade teacher handing out an arithmetic test to her students. Upon receiving the test the students looked at it in wonder. There were all types of x and y, plus many other symbols. It was a college-level calculus test and they couldn’t understand the symbols much less solve the problems. They were ready for two plus two, or maybe a perplexing, two plus three. One student bravely raised his hand, “Miss, we can’t do these problems.” To which she snapped. “What’s wrong with you? You’re supposed to be smart kids. If you ever want a degree in math, you’ll have to solve problems like this. Get busy!”
Hold on. These are second graders. They need a teacher who understands their level. Now, let’s look at the next portion of Psalm 103.
8 — The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 — He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 — He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 — For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 — As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 — As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
14 — For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. (NKJV)
God is not overdemanding! He does not insist on perfection, but He does expect to see growth–maturity. He understands our weaknesses and He reacts as a loving Father. He does not treat us as our sins deserve as He sent His Son to take care of that penalty for us. “Infinite and vast is God’s eternal love for His own…. God knows our finite, human limitations and remembers that we are as fragile as dust.” (Steven Lawson)
Let’s look back at what God, our Father has done for us (verses 1-14) (Thanks to George Wood).
1) He forgives all our sins. He forgives sins of omission and acts of commission. “He frees us to start over after failure, cancels all indictments against you, and discharges all our debts.”
2) He heals all our diseases. We must take the long view in regard to this–healing will come even if a person ultimately has to wait in glory. Our definition of disease must be broadened to include any “deterioration which diminishes your well-being and wholeness.” It can mean a bad attitude, an unforgiving spirit… “In Jesus…He works to liberate us from these deformative and degenerative diseases so that on the inside our personality and disposition increasingly resemble that of Jesus.”
3) He redeems our life from the pit. The pit represents the abyss from which you cannot escape. “He reaches His long arm into the pitch-dark hole of depression or despair where you lie helpless and imprisoned, grabs you strongly, pulls you up, and sets your feet on solid ground. in the sunlight of His presence.”
4) He crowns your life with love and compassion. God has good gifts for us, and His gifts are far better than those that the world has to offer.
5) He satisfies your desires with good things. The horror of depression is its lack of hope. “God is committed to bringing good into your life.” There is no disappointment in Jesus.
6) He renews our life like the eagle’s.
He takes care of us. He is our heavenly Father, and He will not only give us good gifts, He will give us better gifts. He has removed our sins, our transgressions from us and we now live in the hope of His return. He will not give us more than we can handle, nor will He allow temptation to overcome us. If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father and we can go to Him with assurance. Oh, what wonderful grace–oh, what a wonderful Father!
“O how in this thy quire of souls I stand–
Propt by thy hand–A heap of sand!
With busy thoughts–like winds–would scatter quite,
And put to flight / But for thy might;
Thy hand alone doth tame
Those blasts, and knit my frame.”
–Henry Vaughan
——————————————-
I am going to borrow a story from William Petersen for this portion of Psalm 103. Perhaps you have had a smart-alek teacher in your past. One of those who think they know it all. I had one in seminary who proudly proclaimed that he “doesn’t test the obvious.” I always wondered, “why not?” Are we as students not supposed to know the obvious? Instead he would test the obscure, the captions under photos, things like that.
So on with the story. There was a second grade teacher handing out an arithmetic test to her students. Upon receiving the test the students looked at it in wonder. There were all types of x and y, plus many other symbols. It was a college-level calculus test and they couldn’t understand the symbols much less solve the problems. They were ready for two plus two, or maybe a perplexing, two plus three. One student bravely raised his hand, “Miss, we can’t do these problems.” To which she snapped. “What’s wrong with you? You’re supposed to be smart kids. If you ever want a degree in math, you’ll have to solve problems like this. Get busy!”
Hold on. These are second graders. They need a teacher who understands their level. Now, let’s look at the next portion of Psalm 103.
8 — The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 — He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 — He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 — For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 — As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 — As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
14 — For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. (NKJV)
God is not overdemanding! He does not insist on perfection, but He does expect to see growth–maturity. He understands our weaknesses and He reacts as a loving Father. He does not treat us as our sins deserve as He sent His Son to take care of that penalty for us. “Infinite and vast is God’s eternal love for His own…. God knows our finite, human limitations and remembers that we are as fragile as dust.” (Steven Lawson)
Let’s look back at what God, our Father has done for us (verses 1-14) (Thanks to George Wood).
1) He forgives all our sins. He forgives sins of omission and acts of commission. “He frees us to start over after failure, cancels all indictments against you, and discharges all our debts.”
2) He heals all our diseases. We must take the long view in regard to this–healing will come even if a person ultimately has to wait in glory. Our definition of disease must be broadened to include any “deterioration which diminishes your well-being and wholeness.” It can mean a bad attitude, an unforgiving spirit… “In Jesus…He works to liberate us from these deformative and degenerative diseases so that on the inside our personality and disposition increasingly resemble that of Jesus.”
3) He redeems our life from the pit. The pit represents the abyss from which you cannot escape. “He reaches His long arm into the pitch-dark hole of depression or despair where you lie helpless and imprisoned, grabs you strongly, pulls you up, and sets your feet on solid ground. in the sunlight of His presence.”
4) He crowns your life with love and compassion. God has good gifts for us, and His gifts are far better than those that the world has to offer.
5) He satisfies your desires with good things. The horror of depression is its lack of hope. “God is committed to bringing good into your life.” There is no disappointment in Jesus.
6) He renews our life like the eagle’s.
He takes care of us. He is our heavenly Father, and He will not only give us good gifts, He will give us better gifts. He has removed our sins, our transgressions from us and we now live in the hope of His return. He will not give us more than we can handle, nor will He allow temptation to overcome us. If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father and we can go to Him with assurance. Oh, what wonderful grace–oh, what a wonderful Father!
“O how in this thy quire of souls I stand–
Propt by thy hand–A heap of sand!
With busy thoughts–like winds–would scatter quite,
And put to flight / But for thy might;
Thy hand alone doth tame
Those blasts, and knit my frame.”
–Henry Vaughan