Devotional Short Note on Psalm 103: If you have never heard the song by pastor gospel singer Jesse Dixon “I am redeemed” then you may not have a feeling for this Psalm. Jesse is a singer with a difference. He is also a pastor. In the middle of his songs, he normally kind of stops and appeals to the audience, the choir behind him to everyone and lastly to himself. He said in this song that if anyone asks you how he is, tell them “I am redeemed”. This psalmist feels exactly the same as Jesse. “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (103:1). A very good redeemed friend of mine responded when I sent him this music of Jesse “I can’t even walk” and he said that it is good but a bit too exciting. Yes. I know we need to keep Paul Hamel’s books near us, and the booklet “Excerpts on Voice Culture and Music from the writings of Mrs. E. G. White” always on our desk. What appeals to me in Jesse’s ministry is that he has a ministry and that is his talent. Not only singer or performer of music but also evangelist and preacher as pastor. He is like the person who does not know whether he is a singer or a pastor so he does both. This psalmist did the same. The repetition indicates that it was probably sung. He knows like Jesse in “I am redeemed” that all his iniquities are forgiven (103:3). He knows like Jesse that his life was redeemed from the pit of miserables (103:4). The psalmist can get old with good things supplied by the Lord (103:5).
God revealed Himself to Moses and to spiritual Israel (103:7). I cannot believe
it is all Israel since the one who does not what God says did not listen or
hear what He said and thus are not included in these revealed to.
The Lord is full of compassion and gracious (103:8) and also said by Joel with
Niniveh, Abraham with Lot at Sodom intervening. Talking about compassion of
God, what about this emoticon in Isaiah 43:4b: “I love you”.
Isn’t He slow to anger (103:8b) when He waited from Jeroboam’s day after
Solomon’s death until the days of Zedekiah in 586 BCE before He destroyed the
country. How many years are that, no generations, no, centuries. And that for
the Asherah’s on the hill under each green tree. The naked statue of the
goddess of fertility that can quicken people’s sex-life and add to their
concepts of fertility as long as they will not forget the worship of Yahweh
also. Trying to walk on two roads at the same time, the one straight and clear,
the other swaying back and forth. Cannot serve two masters, fountain cannot be
sweet and bitter at the same time, same tongue cannot bless and curse together.
Got to get rid of one.
“He will not always judge/contend [in the Investigative Judgment = rib]”
(103:9a). Rib judgment was the investigative judgment and misphat judgment was
either both the investigative judgment and executive judgment or only the
executive judgment.
“He did not act to us according to our sins” (103:10). If He did, many of us
would have no chance to see heaven at all. But that is what the text says. He
is willing to look past us to Christ and accept us because He accepts His own
Son Who is our substitute.
His mercy is only a lot “toward them that fear Him” (103:11). There is no use
to talk about the size of God’s love and mercy but then to turn our backs on
Him in our lives.
God deals with transgressions that we bring to Him properly (103:12). He moves
it or us. Ever been moved to another country? To another continent, another
region? It is God’s way of moving us away from the sources of our
transgressions if we are serious of solving that problem. And it get’s solved.
Like Charles D. Brooks said in “Little Willy” that churchmembers came to him
and said to him: “Pastor, I would be good but it is those people in the church”
…. He said: “Why do you find them so attractive that it is all you look at?
Look at Jesus”.
Like a hen over her chickens and here in this psalm, like a father with his
children, so is the Lord’s compassion (103:13).
He knows our frame that we are a flower of the field or dust (103:14). Man’s
days are like grass (103:15). “For the wind passed over it, and it is gone” (103:16).
A miracle happened on this Sabbath in our congregation in the lonesome valley
of Yongwha church. Our headelder and his wife slept last night after our Daniel
meeting back home in two different rooms and not in the large room. Happen to
be that the big room fumed last night carbon dioxide from a leaking boiler and
this morning the headelder had to be taken with an ambulance to the nearest
hospital and only at 3 o clock he regained his consciousness. Praise the Lord!
We stay all the time with him until 5 and then returned home. He became 80
years old last weekend. “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to
everlasting upon them that fear Him” (103:17). Amen.
Today the Lord visited our church. We are only seven members with my wife and I
included and minus the elder and his wife only five. The keys of the church was
not there so we went to their house only to smell the strong carbon dioxide.
Did a short worship there and the catholic convert to be was asked to pray. He
said no and so did the other two old ladies. Asked him again and then
hesitatingly he prayed: “Dear God, I haven’t prepared a prayer to pray. I am
sorry. Please be with our headelder Sung. In Jesus name. Amen.” Heaven was
there with us. Satan wanted to create havoc in our church and with our
headelder but God stepped in and said: “enough. He will live!”
Those who fear God, keep His precepts and covenant with us (10318), He
certainly can step in and block too much carbon dioxide to eliminate us. Can He
not?
The establishment of His throne in the heavens was when Christ died on calvary
(103:19). The golden word hêkîn < kûn is used and is related to makôn,
nakûn, takûn, yakûn that we have encountered in the Psalms, prophets, and also
in Daniel 8:11. It is that “place” that Christ had to prepare for us. His
throne was established but our fitting into heaven has to be arranged as
acceptable and agreeable in heaven on His basis as our substitute, because this
psalm says our transgression are too many and too great. We are misfits in
heaven. We do not belong there except if Christ hauls us in.
The angels should also bless the Lord (103:20). They are hosts, ministers
(103:21).
All His works [all created beings] should bless Him, including the psalmist in
his soul (103:22).