Sermon Notes-God is Provider and Merciful from Psalm 103:1-12
We are continuing our series, God is….which will look
at what some call the attributes of God or the character or God or what makes
God, God. Previously, we discussed God is Creator, Good, Great, Holy, Loving.
Introduction: A.W. Tozer writes, “What comes into our
minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. And the
second is what we think God thinks of us.”
Opening: The Longest List: God has provided for me…financially
(numbers don’t work, house in Iola), protection (basketball goal that fell on
Molly, finger surgery/recovery), blessing (wife, children, family, church),
spiritually (this summer in preaching, growth in who God is, what He has done)
We
praise God for His Provision
·
Vs. 1-Praise Yahweh, O My soul
o
Barak-to
praise, to bless, To “bless” is more than to praise; it is to praise with
affection and gratitude.[1]
o
Soul- the part of a person that thinks,
feels, wills, and desires. It is deeper than just physicial.
·
Vs. 1-Praise His Holy Name
o
Thanks to God for His Name-not just who He
is but also what He does. All glory to Him!
·
Vs. 2-Praise the Lord, O My Soul is
repeated.
o
Don’t forget-
to lose (or seemingly lose) memory or remembrance of.
o
His benefits-his
doings, something that aids or promotes well-being.
o
How often do I forget what God has
done? My lack of praise could be the result
of me forgetting the provision of God in my life.
o
Why I resonate with songs that talk about
who God is and what He has done-We Will Remember, In Christ Alone, Gospel Doxology,
Lord, I Need You, Prince of Peace, My Rescuer, How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace,
Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Jesus Paid It All, Mercy, The Power of the Cross, He
Will Hold Me Fast, Your Great Name, Jesus is Better, It is Finished
·
Vs. 3-Forgives all your sins
o
for reconciliation with him is the
fountain from which all other blessings flow[2]
o
All-“kol”-total, in all, the whole,
everyone, everything
o
not just some of his iniquities! The
forgiveness of God covers ‘all’ iniquities. [3]
·
Vs. 3-Heals all your diseases
o
Heal- to cure -to provide a
cure for or make healthy again (whether physically or spiritually).
§ Diseases-
disease n. — an impairment of health or a condition of
abnormal functioning.
o
God heals
§ in
the past—on the cross-By His Wounds, we are healed-Isaiah 53:5
§ in
the present- The Lord can and does heal His people[4]-Timing,
wholeness
·
To be healthy means to be whole, and to be
healed means to be restored to wholeness (Mt 12:13). Central to this idea of
health is the concept that a person exists as a unity, one single person, but
has several parts.[5]
§ in
the future—no more death, mourning, crying, pain-Revelation 21:4
·
Vs. 4-Redeems your life from the pit
·
Vs. 4-Crowns you with love and compassion
(mercy)
o
He regarded his life as having been made
beautiful and attractive by the many expressions of God’s kindness.[6]
·
Vs. 5-Satisfies your desires with good
things
o
Conversation with my kids--Difference between
a want and need
·
Vs. 5-Your youth is renewed like the
eagle’s
o
the very picture of buoyant, tireless
strength which Isaiah 40:30f. takes up[8]
We
praise God for His Mercy
·
What is mercy? Simply put, we don’t get
what we deserve. We deserve judgment,
wrath, punishment, but God instead gives us mercy. Mercy is given towards all creation, toward
all humans (Matthew 5:45) and for those who are part of the family of God (Pink
pg. 70)
·
Vs. 6-Righteousness and Justice for
oppressed
·
Vs. 7-His ways to Moses, His deeds to
Israel
o
God gave the Law (His ways) to Moses and
showed His deeds that we read in Exodus of the plagues and crossing of Red Sea.
·
Vs. 8-Compassionate, gracious, slow to
anger, abounding in love
o
almost word for word-Yahweh’s self-description
from Exodus 34:6
o
His mercies (compassions) are new every
morning-Lamentations 3:22-23
·
Vs. 9-10-He will not always accuse, harbor
his anger forever. He does not treat as our sins deserve or repay us according
to our iniquities. Why?
o
He does not deal with believers according
to their sins because he has dealt with Jesus in their stead. Jesus bore their
sins on the cross (1 Peter 2:24) and received the wrath of God for those sins.[10]
·
Vs. 11-High as the heavens-so great is His
love
o
The form of expression is equivalent to
saying that God’s mercy towards us is infinite.[11]
o
Or as Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story would
say “To Infinity and Beyond”
·
Vs. 12-East to West-Sins removed from us
o
Metaphor that expresses an amazing truth.
How far is the east from the west?
§ The
point being, God knew the distance between the poles could be measured, but you
cannot measure the distance between the east and the west. Though there is a South Pole and a North
Pole, there is no East Pole and no West Pole.
Closing:
Because God is provider and merciful, I am
·
Blessed-“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in
Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
·
Gifted-“We
have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of
us.”
·
Not
Condemned-“Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1)
Communion:
A
reminder of God’s mercy to us through Jesus’ death on the cross and His
provision for us through the life of Jesus as well as His resurrection.
[2]
Calvin, J., & Anderson, J. (2010). Commentary on the Book of Psalms
(Vol. 4, p. 126). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[3]
Ellsworth, R. (2006). Opening up Psalms (p. 133).
Leominster: Day One Publications.
[4]
Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 945).
St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.
[6]
Ellsworth, R. (2006). Opening up Psalms (p. 134).
Leominster: Day One Publications.
[7]
Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E.,
… Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ps 103:4).
Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8]
Kidner, D. (1975). Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary
(Vol. 16, p. 398). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[9]
Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 946).
St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.
[10]
Ellsworth, R. (2006). Opening up Psalms (p. 135).
Leominster: Day One Publications.
[11]
Calvin, J., & Anderson, J. (2010). Commentary on the Book of Psalms
(Vol. 4, p. 135). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
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