Psalm 103:12 Komentář

This psalm calls more for devotion than exposition; it is a most excellent psalm of praise, and of general use. The psalmist, I. Stirs up himself and his own soul to praise God (Psa 103:1, Psa 103:2) for his favour to him in particular (Psa 103:3-5), to the church in general, and to all good men, to whom he is, and will be, just, and kind, and constant (Psa 103:6-18), and for his government of the world (Psa 103:19). II. He desires the assistance of the holy angels, and all the works of God, in praising him (Psa 103:20-22). In singing this psalm we must in a special manner get our hearts affected with the goodness of God and enlarged in love and thankfulness. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 103 A Psalm of David. The Targum adds, "spoken in prophecy,'' as doubtless it was, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Some think it was written by David, after a fit of illness, and his recovery from it, since he speaks of his diseases being healed, and his youth renewed; for which reason the Syriac interpreter suggests it was written in his old age; for he makes the subject of the psalm to be, "concerning coldness which prevailed upon him in old age;'' but rather he wrote it when his heart was warm with a sense of the love of God, and spiritual blessings of grace flowing from thence; and in it celebrates and sings the benefits of New Testament times; and it is a psalm suitable to be sung by every believer, under a quick sense of divine favours: wherefore the above interpreter better adds, "also an instruction and thanksgiving by men of God;'' whom the psalmist may very well be thought to personate, even in Gospel times; and much rather than the Jews in captivity, as Kimchi thinks.

Like as a father pitieth his children,.... When in any affliction, disorder, or distress: the Lord stands in the relation of a Father to his people; they are his children by adopting grace, through the covenant of grace with them; by a sovereign act of his own will he puts them among the children, predestinates them to the adoption of children; and sends his Son to redeem them, that they might receive it, and his Spirit to bear witness to their spirits, that they are his children; and towards these he has all the affections of a tender parent. So the Lord pitieth them that fear him; not with a servile fear, which is unsuitable to the relation of children; but with reverence and godly fear, with a fear of him and his goodness, and on account of that; a filial fear, such a reverence as children should have of a father: and this character belongs to all the saints of all nations, Jews or Gentiles; and seems to be here given an purpose to include all; and that the divine pity and compassion might not be thought to be restrained to any particular nation. And, as the fruit of his tender mercy, he looks upon his children in their lost estate, and brings them out of it; he succours them under all their temptations; he sympathizes with them under all their afflictions: being full of compassion, he forgives their iniquities; and in the most tender manner receives them when they have backslidden, and heals their backslidings. The Targum in the king of Spain's Bible is, "so the Word of the Lord pities,'' &c. See Heb 4:15.

“O wretched person, you have estranged yourself completely from the Lord. But the Lord is good, and he never ‘kept his anger for a testimony, for he delights in mercy,’ and he is ‘able to sink our sins in the depths of the sea,’ for ‘as far as the heavens are from the earth, so far away does he set our sins from us. For he desires not the death of the sinner but his repentance,’ and that the person who has fallen should not remain in his fallen condition but should rise up, and that he who has turned away should not go far off but return quickly to him. Therefore, despair not of yourself; ‘there is hope’ of salvation. For, as it is said, ‘if a tree is cut down, it will sprout again.’45 Then, if you will even now listen to me in everything I say to you, you shall have forgiveness from God.” He answered with tears, “In all things I will listen to you from now on, O father!”

So let us at last wind up this sermon. My brothers and sister, I urge you, I beseech you by the Lord and his gentleness, be gentle in your lives, be peaceful in your lives. Peacefully permit the authorities to do what pertains to them, of which they will have to render an account to God and to their superiors. As often as you have to petition them, make your petitions in an honorable and quiet manner. Do not mix with those who do evil and rampage in a rough and disorderly manner; do not desire to be present at such goings-on even as spectators. But as far as you can, let each of you in his own house and his own neighborhood deal with the one with whom you have ties of kinship and charity, by warning, persuading, teaching, correcting; also by restraining him from such seriously evil activities by any kind of threats, so that God may eventually have mercy, and put an end to human evils and “may not deal with us according to our sins or requite us according to our iniquities, but as far as the east is from the west may cast our sins for away from us,” and that he “may be gracious to our sins, lest the nations perhaps should say, Where is their God?”

"Look, how wide the east is from the west; so far has He set our sins from us" [Psalm 103:12]. They who know the Sacraments know this; nevertheless, I only say what all may hear. When sin is remitted, your sins fall, your grace rises; your sins are as it were on the decline, your grace which frees you on the rise. "Truth springs from the earth." What means this? Your grace is born, your sins fall, you are in a certain manner made new. You should look to the rising, and turn away from the setting. Turn away from your sins, turn unto the grace of God; when your sins fall, thou rises and profitest....One region of the heaven falls, another rises: but the region which is now rising will set after twelve hours. Not like this is the grace which rises unto us: both our sins fall for ever, and grace abides for ever.

He is the one about whom the psalm says, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are far above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.” In all of these great, good things that the Lord gives to the wicked, what else is being sung than undeserved mercy? What else other than free piety is being proclaimed? For in this, that “he does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities,” the free justification of the impious is displayed. And in this that “as a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him,” the free adoption of children shines through by the same justification by faith. For not as a father has compassion on his children unless becoming our father through grace, he deigned to make us his children. “To those who did accept him, he gave power to become children of God.”

The shepherd’s most certain knowledge of merits, by which the sheep will be separated from the goats, is so great that no goat will be placed on the right, just as no sheep will be located on the left. Those merits with which people go forth from this life will remain ceaselessly and unchangeably with them in that other life, whether they are good merits that here divine piety has bestowed or demerits that human wickedness has procured here below. And for this reason, there will be no removal of evil demerits, although there will be an advancement for good merits. The former will remain for punishment; the latter will be perfected in glory. Therefore, that is the time in which God, as it is written in the psalm, “does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.”

The Psalmist celebrates God's glory in His works of creation and providence, teaching the dependence of all living creatures; and contrasting the happiness of those who praise Him with the awful end of the wicked. (Psa. 104:1-35) God's essential glory, and also that displayed by His mighty works, afford ground for praise.

removed . . . from us--so as no longer to affect our relations to Him.