Hello everybody! Today is day three of part two of the Wings Bible Study with me series, which is a fancy way of saying we’re going to read the Bible today and I’m going to talk about what it means to be a child of God. Yeah. So this week’s study series just study topic is about being a child in the house of the Father is in the thread throughout all of scriptures of God describing himself as our father and us as his children. So we’re going to study today, Psalm 103 verse 13 and Isaiah 64 verse 8, which both of these verses have to do with God’s compassion towards us as children, as his children. So, yeah, let’s begin.
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Study time!
We’re going to Start with verses 8 through through 14. Verses 8 through 14. Psalm 103 verses 8 through 14:
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always tide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are about the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As the father shows compassion to his children, so the the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust.
So, to start off with verse eight, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding and steadfast love. That is a direct repetition of Exodus 34:6 where Moses, one of the most well-known figures in the Bible who led the people of Israel out of Egypt and was super duper close with God. He asked God to see his glory. He says, “Show me show me your glory.” And the Lord says, “Well, I can’t show you my full glory because you would die because you are a human.” So instead, I will walk past you and you will see the back of me… We don’t entirely know what that means because God is not a human. He’s a spirit, but you know, that’s just what it says. And as he’s doing this, he says, the Lord the well, let’s just read it. It’s better to read it. Exodus 34:6.
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed. The Lord, the Lord, a God mercy merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding at steadfast love and faithfulness. Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But who will by no means clearly guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation.
There’s a whole lot to unpack here. We are going to do this all and so. But basically, saying language, merciful and gracious is slow to anger abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Yeah. He will not always chide nor will he keep his anger forever, which is very fatherly. The best fathers will eventually seek restoration even when they’re angry. I hope that you had a decent childhood with parents who knew how to show you that they loved you. And when you were put in timeout because you did something bad or you did something that made them angry, that they eventually came back and everything was okay again. That is what this verse reminds me of.
As far as the east is from the west. Verse 8. In the previous verses, David describes the righteousness and justness of God which are in perfect balance with his mercy and graciousness. His anger comes but slowly and after much mercy has been shown. Verse 9, he will not always chide. Contrast between God’s generosity and the quarrelsome nature of humanity from a theologian named Kidner. As high as the heavens are above the earth, verse 11. Either from the ground to the sky into space or onto the place where God dwells. Either way, more huge than we can comprehend. Which in Old Testament theology, there were three heavens. That’s what I was talking about. From the ground to the sky, beyond the atmosphere into space or into the place where God dwells. As far as the east is from the west, verse 12. If you start moving east, you will continue moving east forever. If you go north, you will eventually hit the north pole and start going south. Therefore, our transgressions are utterly removed because of God’s compassion grace. I wrote Isaiah 55: 8 through 9.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways, my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55: 8 through 9.
One more note from Psalm 103. “Though he knows your trials will work for your good, yet he pities you. Though he knows that there is sin in you which perhaps may require his rough discipline ere you be sanctified. Yet he pities you. Though he can hear the music of heaven, the songs and glees that will ultimately come of your present size and grease. Yet still he pities those groans and wails of yours.” Spurgeon. So poetic. So basically this is playing off of the theme of this verse God God’s ways are harder than our ways. His thoughts are great greater than our thoughts. He knows that all things are going to work together for our good (Romans 8:28). But he still has compassion when we are struggling.
On to verses 13 to 14:
As a father shows compassion to his children. So the Lord chose compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust.
I wrote, he knows our limitations. And then like a father picking up and carrying a worn-out child or patiently teaching her how to do something for the first time. That’s a very sweet image. I might to draw that. Oh yes, I definitely there is a father and daughter that I saw at church like a month ago. And she was tired out and he picked her up and was just carrying her with her head over his shoulder and I suddenly took a picture cuz it was just so sweet and I really wanted to draw them.
Isaiah. 64 first two. Okay. All of this is from a sermon series that my church did last year. And this is today’s study. Yes, okay. Isaiah 64. Like I’m just going to read for seconds. But now, oh Lord, you are our father. We are the clay and you are our potter. We are all the work of your hand.
So the first section of Isaiah is talking about the coming judgment, what’s going to happen. and then it switches to narratives about the suffering servant which is pointing to Jesus, especially in chapter 53. And then in like the later part of it, I think 54 to the end of the book pretty much. It’s talking about how God will bring his people back from exile and establish a new kingdom on earth. Some of that’s pointing to the Messiah and the Messiah coming the first time. Some of that’s parallel almost directly with Revelation. So that’s the context. But this particular verse is just I wrote way back on the 17th of August last year. I wrote prayer for the other side of exile. God is sovereign to bend and shape his people according to his will like a potter with clay. Matthew 8:1 through four. Ooh. That’s Luke. All right. Oh. Huh. I don’t know if that’s Interesting. I don’t know why I quoted that because Matthew 8: 1 – 4 is about Jesus he like a leper. I’ll read it anyway just for curiosity’s sake. Matthew 8:1 – 4
When he came down for the mountain, great crowds followed him, and behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I will be clean.” And immediately his immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go. Show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses committed for a proof to them.
So, I wonder if the pastor was referring saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean and I will be clean.” That is the only connection I can see, but still. Cool. I think I’m just going to write that. Lord if you will You can make me clean. I will be clean. Okay, so here’s some notes from David Gulzik. Verse 8. But now, oh Lord, you are our father. A father is always a father. He can never truly disown his children. A clay pot only exists because of the potter who made it. So, we owe our existence to the Father, to God. And this passage is Isaiah sort of verbally reminding himself. God doesn’t need the reminding, but he is reminding himself and sort of reminding God. Calling God’s attention to it, maybe that’s Yes, because in the Old Testament, when God remembers something, it means he returns act of attention to it. It does not mean that he forgot. So maybe that’s what this is sort of doing. But now oh, Lord, you are our Father. Remember, you are the one who made us. We owe our existence to you, all these things. We are the clay and you are a potter. Lord, we are like clay in your hands. Deal gently with us and mold us according to your mercy. Yeah. We are all your people. We are all sinners and deserve your judgment, but we are still your people. So yeah, it’s just a prayer for mercy appealing to the compassion of the Father.
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for your word. Thank you for every single line and every single verse even when we don’t understand exactly what it means. It all points back to you and it all points forward or backwards to Jesus and it’s work for us. Thank you for the many many, many, many, many, many, many times that you remind us that you are a God who desires relationship beyond what we can do for you, beyond anything we think we can give you. You want a relationship with us and you have done the absolute most to make sure that that is possible. If there is anyone listening who does not have a relationship with you, I pray they will feel the calling of the Holy Spirit to confess their sins and ask you to be the Lord. praise of life. In Jesus name. Amen. See you next time.