Ps.103:8,11-13 –
- The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in mercy. - For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
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 wrongdoings from us. - Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
I love the phrase in this verse, “abounding in mercy”. That pretty much describes my WORLD, the Lord has loaded me with mercy throughout my life. Apparently we belonged to Him before we knew it. How many times in my rebellious years did the Lord protect me from destroying my life? I would say He was extremely merciful in that season. He has shown mercy and blessing all of my days with His favor on my life by directing and blessing my steps. He has blessed me with an amazing wife, an incredible family, and a ministry that can only be described as “abounding in mercy”. He kept me before I was saved, directed me when I was clueless and filled with ambition and pride, and has brought me into His place of incredible blessing and abundance. Let’s take a look at CWSB Dictionary to understand this word mercy – checed.
“This aspect of God is one of several important features of His character: truth; faithfulness; mercy; steadfastness; justice; righteousness; goodness….Because of His kindness, He meets the needs of His creation by delivering them from enemies and despair; He preserves their lives and redeems them from sin. As Psalm 136 demonstrates, God’s kindness is abundant, exceedingly great, without end, and good. The plural of the noun indicates the many acts of God on behalf of His people. He is the covenant-keeping God who maintains kindness and mercy to those who love Him.”
Take a look around today and you can clearly see the infinite favor of God on those who belong to Him. Ungratefulness blinds our eyes from all of this, His grace opens our eyes so that we are stunned by His infinite mercy. He has removed our sin from us, caused even our mistakes to work together for our good, brought us into an incredible community, His church, where we see His mercy on full display. Yes, the Lord is abounding in mercy to those who fear Him.