Bless Our God - Part Eleven
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Introduction
Introduction
5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
PRAY
Of David. 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
God’s Temporal Anger
God’s Temporal Anger
He will not always chide - If you are anything like me, you had no idea what this word chide means not have you ever used it in a sentence. Let me give you a couple of other ways that English translations deal with this word.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Psalm 103
He will not always strive with us,
The New International Version (1984) Psalm 103
He will not always accuse,
It could be literally translated, “he does not always bring a court case against us”
The idea of this phrase is that God does not always hold the full leverage of the law against his people. We will see this more specifically in verse 10. The next phrase is saying the same thing in a different manner.
Nor will he keep his anger forever - First, he doesn’t always hold the full case against his people, but he also does not keep his anger forever.
The New International Version (1984) Psalm 103
nor will he harbor his anger forever
The Holman Christian Standard Bible Psalm 103
or be angry forever
This phrase could be restated that God does not hold a grudge against his people in anger.
Let’s retrace our steps a bit. Last week we saw that God is slow to anger and we made the point that simply because he is slow to anger does not mean that he does not get anger. Truly, God does get angry. In this verse, we are learning that when God gets angry based upon his lawful and relationally right to do so, he does not remain in that state against his people. I want to make sure that we realize that this applies to his children. David is speaking about the covenant people of Israel and we have learned week after week that these truths are most assuredly applied to the remnant believing faithful of Israel and to the new covenant people who trust solely in Jesus to be saved.
I want to read from an exegetical article from Dr. William Mounce:
12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, “ ‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever.
Matthew Henry writes:
He is not long angry; for (v. 9) he will not always chide, though we always offend and deserve chiding. Though he signify his displeasure against us for our sins by the rebukes of Providence, and the reproaches of our own consciences, and thus cause grief, yet he will have compassion, and will not always keep us in pain and terror, no, not for our sins, but, after the spirit of bondage, will give the spirit of adoption. How unlike are those to God who always chide, who take every occasion to chide, and never know when to cease! What would become of us if God should deal so with us? He will not keep his anger for ever against his own people, but will gather them with everlasting mercies.
8 In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.
God’s Anger Tempered
God’s Anger Tempered
He does not deal with us us according to our sins - He does not take action against us in relationship to our sins or transgressions. God’s people have sinned against their God in many ways. They have done actions and things that God has forbidden and they have ignored to do or perform things that God requires.
The second phrase of verse 10 repeats the concept.
Nor repay us according to our iniquities - God does not give recompense or give the action that our sins deserve or in this phrase iniquities, which carries the idea of a morally objectionable behavior, a depraved action or a perversity.
In summary, God’s people have committed sin that deserves his displeasure and judgment and God does not deliver the judgment that corresponds to those sins.
This truth is revealed in two way in the life of David. First, David would not be punished in the ultimate sense because of his sin. Second, when David did sin as a believer, God was extremely gracious to him. There was discipline from God’s hand and there were consequences, but David would be restored in those cases back into God’s pleasure.
1 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem. 10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
God’s Anger Averted and Appeased
God’s Anger Averted and Appeased
How can what David writes be true? God is holy and righteous. He cannot simply let sin go unpunished. This would be a compromise of his character. The answer is found in the reality of Jesus Christ. This is reality of God’s work for us in Christ. God anger was turned away from his people and directed toward his precious Son. God poured out his anger anger us on Christ and Christ absorbed and appeased God’s anger. God’s anger against us in judgment was ended.
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Kevin Deyoung writes, “Propitiation is used in the New Testament to describe the pacifying, placating, or appeasing of God’s wrath. The easiest way to remember the term is that in propitiation God is made pro-us. Unlike expiation, propitiation has a relational component to it. Christ’s death not only removed the moral stain of sin; it also removed the personal offense of sin.”
Practical Application
Practical Application
God’s anger against the unrepentant wicked is forever.
1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
God’s possesses a disapproving disposition to the sin of Christians.
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
God never see his children out side of the propitiation of Jesus.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.