Psalm 103 Devotional

Compassion for Creatures of Dust

“For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.”Psalm 103:14 (BSB)

David begins by speaking to himself. He calls his own soul to bless the LORD and not to forget any of his kind deeds (103:1-2). Then he lists them: forgiveness of every sin, healing, rescue from the pit, and a crown of loving devotion and compassion (103:3-4). Praise here is an act of remembering, because forgetting comes easily.

At the center of the psalm is the character God made known to Moses: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, rich in loving devotion (103:7-8; see Exodus 34:6). God has not repaid us as our sins deserve (103:10). He has removed our wrongs as far as the east lies from the west (103:12). Like a father with his children, he shows compassion, because he knows how we are made and remembers that we are dust (103:13-14). Our lives are as brief as wildflowers, but his love stretches from everlasting to everlasting (103:15-17). When your soul runs low, you can do what David did and tell it again what God has done.

To think about: Which of God's kind deeds listed in this psalm do you most need to remind your own soul of today?