Psalm 103 - NIV
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lordworks righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lordis compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for 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 has compassion on his children,
so the Lordhas compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The Lordhas established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Psalm 103 Devotional from Steve Cave
Will he be angry forever?
Becoming a parent has probably taught me more about God than anything else. I remember once when my daughter – likely around 8 at the time – incurred my wrath, and whilst I can’t remember the issue, it was a real melt-down and she ended up banished to her room. (Funny how times change and teenagers don’t view that as a punishment!) I recall sitting downstairs and wondering how she felt. She hadn’t ever done much to arouse my anger and she was probably wondering what happened next; I envisaged questions like ‘Is he going to be angry with me forever? Is there a way back from here?’ ‘
But actually, the truth of the matter is that I sat downstairs and all I wanted to do was hold her. Sure. She’d messed up, and she deserved to face the consequences, but my heart was aching for her and I wanted to sit her on my knee and tell her just how much I loved her. It was one of those episodes that gave me some insight into what it means to have God as our Father. I’ve found myself often remembering the words of Jesus: ‘If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your father in heaven…’ And on that particular day, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the words of Psalm 103:
‘The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbour 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.’ Psalm 103:8-12
My daughter thought she had really blown it that day, and she wasn’t sure if there was a way back. And I can relate to that, because I’ve blown it so many times and have wondered the same thing. But when I do, these words somehow find their way to me and remind me what it means to have God as my Father. He will not be angry forever – and neither was I!
Stephen is married to Nik and they have 3 children aged between 14 and 22. They live in Carrickfergus, although Stephen travels regularly, overseeing the Bible translation and publishing work of Biblica. He’s incredibly excited that Liverpool may be about to win the Premier League and his remaining ambition is to live long enough to watch his kids try to parent teenagers.