I have been captivated by Psalm 103.
An old gentleman took me under his wing when we were first married, William F. Parsons, after whom my youngest was named, and we spent Saturday mornings together nearly every week for 3 years. He would have breakfast ready at 4:00 AM
We ate, read scripture, prayed, drove 40 minutes to his land, and still watched the sun come up in the woods. (By the way he’s 93 and still fells, cuts and splits 4 cords of firewood each year for his stove.) He has prayed for me faithfully since 1983.
Psalm 103 was one of his favorites. Now these years later, with many of the experiences of life behind me that he said were ahead of me, it is one of mine as well.
Psalm 103 speaks of forgiveness for sin, thankfulness, the frailty of life, and David’s response to the reality of those issues in his life.
First, when we’re young, we are ignorant of how our sin affects us and the people around us. Next, we tend, at least in our culture, to be somewhat presumptuously expectant of all that we have, and therefore quite thankless. Finally, we are unable to comprehend how fast life passes by.
After David sinned against God, Uriah, and Bathsheba, we find his crushing experience of repentance recorded in Ps 51. Most commentators, such as Calvin, Matthew Henry, Thomas Watson, Spurgeon, and others classify Ps 103 as the companion to Ps 51. Probably some significant time after the devastating realization of his guilt, David emerges from the mood of Ps 51 with the realization that the mercy and forgiveness of God will enable him to continue serving God once again. His spirit is lifted by the truth and implications of mercy. His confidence as a spiritual leader is restored to the point where he can command everything around him to submit in joy to the Sovereign of the Universe
These issues are at the heart of our walk with God. They constitute the deepest, most private, and most profound exchanges that take place between God and his child. They involve real pain (Rom 7) as we endure with God the frustration of recurring sin. Don’t we avoid God as pain management? Isn’t that what Adam did? Might we not even face depression as Satan deceives us with the lies that we are no longer useful to God - that God doesn't want to hear our praise - that others are embarrassed by our past - that we are a hypocrites? This Psalm is all about putting our past behind and growing toward God.
In this winter quarter at Camden Baptist Church, we will take a close look at the “Walking with God” issues of the 103rd Psalm. I hope you’ll join us.
The purpose of this blog is to encourage and capture your thoughts outside of our class time. Please feel free to comment on class lectures and discussion. Please make suggestions. Also, if you are shy, you can use a pseudonymn and share your responses in a safe, yet meaningful way.
An old gentleman took me under his wing when we were first married, William F. Parsons, after whom my youngest was named, and we spent Saturday mornings together nearly every week for 3 years. He would have breakfast ready at 4:00 AM
We ate, read scripture, prayed, drove 40 minutes to his land, and still watched the sun come up in the woods. (By the way he’s 93 and still fells, cuts and splits 4 cords of firewood each year for his stove.) He has prayed for me faithfully since 1983.
Psalm 103 was one of his favorites. Now these years later, with many of the experiences of life behind me that he said were ahead of me, it is one of mine as well.
Psalm 103 speaks of forgiveness for sin, thankfulness, the frailty of life, and David’s response to the reality of those issues in his life.
First, when we’re young, we are ignorant of how our sin affects us and the people around us. Next, we tend, at least in our culture, to be somewhat presumptuously expectant of all that we have, and therefore quite thankless. Finally, we are unable to comprehend how fast life passes by.
After David sinned against God, Uriah, and Bathsheba, we find his crushing experience of repentance recorded in Ps 51. Most commentators, such as Calvin, Matthew Henry, Thomas Watson, Spurgeon, and others classify Ps 103 as the companion to Ps 51. Probably some significant time after the devastating realization of his guilt, David emerges from the mood of Ps 51 with the realization that the mercy and forgiveness of God will enable him to continue serving God once again. His spirit is lifted by the truth and implications of mercy. His confidence as a spiritual leader is restored to the point where he can command everything around him to submit in joy to the Sovereign of the Universe
These issues are at the heart of our walk with God. They constitute the deepest, most private, and most profound exchanges that take place between God and his child. They involve real pain (Rom 7) as we endure with God the frustration of recurring sin. Don’t we avoid God as pain management? Isn’t that what Adam did? Might we not even face depression as Satan deceives us with the lies that we are no longer useful to God - that God doesn't want to hear our praise - that others are embarrassed by our past - that we are a hypocrites? This Psalm is all about putting our past behind and growing toward God.
In this winter quarter at Camden Baptist Church, we will take a close look at the “Walking with God” issues of the 103rd Psalm. I hope you’ll join us.
The purpose of this blog is to encourage and capture your thoughts outside of our class time. Please feel free to comment on class lectures and discussion. Please make suggestions. Also, if you are shy, you can use a pseudonymn and share your responses in a safe, yet meaningful way.
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