Psalms 103:8-12 -- On Mercy and Grace

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."
Psalms 103:8-12


I like the "he hath not dealt with us..." line here.  I think it is very clear that God has treated us much better than our sins deserve.  It reminds me of Jacob 5 and the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees, and the servant saying "Spare it a little longer."   And the Lord does spare the trees, symbolically us, partially because the servant (Christ) asks it, partially because he made promises to our ancestors, but I think mostly because he loves all of us, and wants to give us a chance to change and become better.

Today, let's be grateful for his mercy... not just to us, but to everyone.  We ask sometimes in selfishness why bad things happen to good people, but the answer is in front of us.  Bad things happen because God is tolerating the bad things from us temporarily so that we can learn.  Everyone gets that chance--all of us, and we need to learn to work around the mistakes of others, even as others have to work around ours.  Let's be willing to let God make those decisions so that we have that extra time to get our heads on straight, and allow others that grace as well.