Psalm 103:8

Psalm 103:8

Who He is!

This verse contains some of the most beautiful words ever written, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” It’s a continuation of the subject of the preceding verse and recounts part of what the Lord actually said as He revealed Himself to Moses in the Tent of Meeting. “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses and proclaimed His name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generations.””

This is the true essence of our God and it is not a unique Scripture either because the Lord makes similar claims and promises, see Exodus 20:4-6, in the context of the second Commandment to not worship other gods or images. This is the God of Moses, the God of Israel and the God of you and me. He has indeed maintained His love to thousands (of generations), He is still slow to anger or else He would intervene in our world today. Our God still reveals Himself primarily as a Father full of love for His children, and He remains forever faithful. According to Exodus 20, it is those who hate Him who will see punishment brought upon their children for up to 4 generations and indeed this is historically proven in the affairs of Israel. 

So, on the one hand He reveals Himself as a God of compassion and faithfulness, on the other hand He warns mankind of the consequences of turning away from Him. This God is our God! Hallelujah!

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