Psalm 103

Introduction:

You go out of your way to help this person. You give him rides and teach him how to drive. You help him settle into the new apartment. Yet you never hear him say “thank you”. It is a very unpleasant feeling, isn’t it?

William Barclay once said, “the strange characteristic of being ungrateful is that it’s the most hurting of all sins, because it’s the blindest of all sin. Probably if you’re an ungrateful person, you are not even aware of it.

In the OT we are told that Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem (2Chronicles 32:25). In the NT, being ungrateful is as sinful as being proud, abusive and unholy.

It is certainly easy to spot an ungrateful person. How about us? Looking at the material and spiritual resources surrounding us, when was the last time we gave thanks to God? Our track record is not too good, right?

In the psalm we read, David is concern that he forgets to thank God. So he reminds himself to count the blessings God has given him. In this passage, we see a simple truth that we too are to be mindful that we constantly live under God’s goodness, and therefore gratitude to God must be a hallmark in our lives.     

I.  We give thanks for God’s grace to us. 1-5

In verses 1 and 2 David tells himself to praise and thank God for the benefits he has received from God.  What are they?

1. Forgiveness of sins.

      Vs3,  The first thing David is thankful for is the forgiveness of sins. David knows that sin separates us from God. Sins block our communion with God. Without forgiveness, one cannot come near to God. David is thankful that God forgives all his sins. Not just a selective few, but all of them. In vs 12 he elaborates on the extent of God’s forgiveness,  Since east and west are directions, and not points on the compass, therefore there is an infinite, immeasurable distance between the two.

      Or we can describe it this way: you cannot look at east and west at the same time. When you look at east, west is behind you. When you look at west, east is behind you. When God forgives all of our sins, he cannot look at us and our sins at the same time. When he looks at us, he is no longer looking at our sins. We thank God for the forgiveness of sins, we thank him for the salvation.

      This does not mean that we are to ignore the material blessings from God. In Dt 8:10-14, the Israelites are told to remember the food, land, houses, possessions and wealth that God has given them and give thanks to God. These are things that we too are to thank God for.

      However, we also need to remember, without our sins being forgiven, without this salvation, where will we be at today? If we gain the whole world and lost our soul, is it worth it?

2. Healing of sicknesses.

      The second benefit David is thankful for is God’s. This phrase does not mean that because we are saved from sin by Christ, we have been healed or have a right to be healed of any physical afflictions. The scripture never teaches us that because we have been forgiven, therefore we are spared all diseases. Believers do get sick, and sometimes the sicknesses are terminal.

      What does this phrase mean? David is saying that as he look back at the healings in his life, it is God’s work. Therefore the health we now have, is a gift from God. And then in vs 4,  It means God has rescued him from the death. Again, David is writing about how God healed him and delivered him from death.

      Some of us may have also experienced how God healed us and bring us back from some of those near death experiences.

3.  Renewal of strength.

Another benefit is in Vs5, This is not a reference that God will give us whatever we want. Rather, it means that God will give what is good for us. When God gives us what is good for us, this is how he renew our strength.

We can think of prophet Elijah. After his battle with the false prophets, he ran until he was completely exhausted. What did God do? Let him sleep. And then woke him up three times to give him water and food.

There are times we may have felt tired, discouraged and wanting to give up. Sometimes God will give us an extended period of rest, or send someone to speak a word of encouragement, a pat on the shoulder. And we get energized. We are ready to move on again.

II.  We thank God for his Love. 6-1 8

Verses 1-5 are David’s personal reflection. He reflects on what God has done to him personally, and he praises and thanks God for them. Now, the focus is changed. He turns to God, to who he is.

V6, works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.” In a world full of injustice, God is still the righteous and just God. He is the one who looks after the oppressed and the less fortunate ones.

V7, . So what did God reveal to Moses? While Moses was on Mt. Sinai, (Exodus 34:5-7). These words appeared here in v8. Later on they were repeated in the books of Nehemiah, Joel and Jonah. It has become a creedal statement in the Judeo-Christian faith. Who is God? God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

David further elaborates God’s compassion in v11, , v13, , v14-17,  Even in our finiteness, God still loves us.

Vs.9,  David is not only pointing to God’s patience and love, he is also pointing to what will be revealed in the NT. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he also took upon himself God’s anger and punishment that we deserved. And because of his death, God, and for that matter, no one can accuse us of our sins anymore. And also, because of Jesus’ death, we are delivered from God’s wrath.

V10, Can you imagine if God treat us according to our sins? I don’t think anyone of us will be here today.

And then in vs17, we learn that his love towards us is from eternity to eternity. When we fear him, his love towards us has no end. What do these verses tell us about God? He is a merciful, loving and compassionate God.

What does this mean to us? Sometimes I feel that we see life’s journey as God walking with us side by side. He does. Very often we go our way and he goes his. And from time to time, he will give us something good. Once in a while he will pass out the lucky money. So when he gives us a good job, we thank him. When we starts our family, we thank him. But when we run into troubles, or worst, certain tragedies in life, then we ask why did he allow this to happen, why is he so cruel and unloving. And sometimes we may even want to part ways with him.

What is the picture we see here? God is always compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. He is gracious and compassionate to us from everlasting to everlasting. With him there is no shadow of changing. We need to learn to see life as living under his umbrella of compassion and grace. No matter where we are, we are under the umbrella of love and grace. I may not know why certain tragic events happen to me, but one thing I know for certain, he is still compassionate and gracious to me.

About 300 years ago, the first group of pilgrims came to this land on the Mayflower. Their first year here was like a nightmare. Half of the group died during the severe winter months. The following year’s harvest was poor. Yet, William Bradford, one of the leaders paused and led the people to give thanks to God. Not for the abundance or prosperity surrounding them, but for God’s goodness and faithfulness.

In April, 1999, 12 high school students and 1 teacher were killed in the Columbine School in Denver. In one of the funeral services, the pastor said, “These days are very sad and dark for many families. But in the midst of such darkness and evil, we still believe that our God is great, good, compassionate and gracious.”

This is how we live. We are constantly under God’s umbrella of compassion, grace and abundant love. And for this, we can indeed give thanks to him.

III.   We give thanks for his Sovereign rule. 19-22

         David thanks God for the benefits he has received from God. He thanks God for God’s compassion and grace. Now he turns to God’s power and rule. Vs 19-22, Here he talks about God’s kingdom, power and rule. We can be very loving and gracious to others. But if we have no power, it can be very frustrated, right? We cannot do anything about the person’s situation. There are times we feel so much for each other, but we don’t have the power to either change the situation or the person. But not so with God. He is compassionate and gracious, and he is also powerful. He is the one who rules the heaven and the earth.

David is not only writing about his present situation. He knows that he still experience the enemies’ attack. However, he is also point to a day in the future when God’s rule will be completely manifested. And for this reason, the heavenly hosts, the entire creation is to praise him and thank him. Ps 19:1.

              Almost 500 years later, apostle John, on the island of Patmos, saw this vision(Rev 4:11)

Conclusion

     In this passage, we learned about what Christ accomplished when he died on that cross some 2000 years ago. Previously we were far away, we were God’s enemies, we were alienated from God. But now, through his death on the cross, we are reconciled to God. Not only are we being brought near to him, but also we are brought near to each other. Christ broke down the barriers among men. And from this he created a new humanity.

     However, as we look around us, we cannot help but see the barriers we have raised on our own. Even among the Christians, we see each other through the lens of race, education and finance. We unknowingly build walls separating those from HK, China and Taiwan. With prejudice towards those who are different from us, with unforgiving spirits towards those who have hurt us, we have erected walls around us. Seeing ourselves as more knowledgeable, more wise and spiritual, we look down on those who are younger. With the natural affinity of drawing close to those whom we know, we erect walls that make new comers feel unwelcome. Insisting on certain non-essential doctrines, we separate ourselves from fellow believers. These walls among us are very offensive to God.

     As our church continues to grow, it is my prayer that this church, HCC, will become a model for the new humanity.

     We look to a day when we no longer will label people by where they come from: China, HK, Taiwan or SE Asia. Yes we are different in our background and we speak different dialects. Yet above all, we are citizens of God’s kingdom. We all hold the same passport indicating that he is our Lord and ruler. We owe our allegiance to him. We are also members of God’s family where we are at peace with God and with each other. Whoever comes into our midst, will feel the love of God because of our love for them. Our life-style will be evidence that we are his temple, his dwelling place. This is how this church can cause others to glorify God.

Rev. William Hsueh    Nov. 19, 2000    Houston Chinese Church,  Houston, Texas