The Lord Is Compassionate And Gracious

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor 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.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalm 103:6-18

We easily forget how sinful we are at the core of our being. Thinking of ourselves more highly than we should diminishes our sense of deep indebtedness to God for His grace. It discounts the price He paid to rescue us.

Considering who we are in light of a holy and just God, the only thing we truly deserve is hell. And heaven is an absolute impossibility – except for the gift of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. If God never does anything more than redeem us, He has already done far more than we deserve.

Knowing ourselves for what we are, we can’t help but say, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!” He gives us so much more than we deserve.

If God never does anything more than redeem us, He has already done far more than we deserve.

Our Daily Bread – May 23, 2014