Living in Christ
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Pastor Dick Moes
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March 29, 2009, AM
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Psalm 103:9-12
. . . ap art fro m m e yo u can d o not hing (John 15:5)
On our way to Easter, we celebrate the blessing of the forgiveness of all our sins.
A. The need to celebrate God’s
blessings.
Have you ever heard of sensory
deprivation? Someone once defined
sensory deprivation as. “[T]he
intentional removal of stimuli
affecting one or all of the five
human senses.” And he added, “In
its simplest form, sensory
deprivation may be merely tying a
blindfold over someone’s eyes,
rendering the sense of sight
useless.” I mention this because
Psalm 103 speaks about not
forgetting all the benefits or
blessings of I AM (v. 2). This
means that if we forget I AM’s
blessings, we can slip into a sort of
spiritual sensory deprivation where
we become deaf, dumb, and blind
to the daily miracle of God’s
blessings all around us and in us.
In order to combat this potential
spiritual sensory deprivation to
God’s blessings, the David, the
author of Psalm 103, exhorts
himself to bless or praise I AM’s
holy name and to remember all his
benefits. Reflect: How sensitive are
you to God’s daily benefits or
blessings? How often do you daily
remember them? How thankful are
you for them? How often do you
bless or praise God’s holy name
and remember his benefits?
B. Celebrating the blessing of the
forgiveness of sins.
After having exhorted himself to
bless I AM’s holy name with all
that is within him and to forget no
any of his benefits, David proceeds
to list God’s blessings. God has
blessed both his body and soul
because He not only forgives all his
sins, but also heals all his diseases
(v. 3). Moreover, I AM will continue
to bless him in the life hereafter,
because He will redeem his life
from the grave (v. 4). Moreover, I
AM honors him with steadfast love
and mercy (v. 4), wraps his life in
goodness (v. 5) and makes him
resilient and tireless like the eagle.
Having listed I AM’s personal
benefits to him, David moves from
the singular to the plural and lists I
AM’s blessings to all of his
covenant people. Our text lists one
of these blessings, viz. the daily
forgiveness of sins. I AM gives this
daily blessing to his people because
He is a God who does not endlessly
nag and scold (v. 9). In other
words, I AM is not a God who is
irreconcilable when He has been
offended. Instead, He is always
willing and ready to forgive.
Nor is I AM a God who forever
holds a grudge (v. 9). He does not
cherish revenge in his heart or wait
for an opportunity to retaliate.
Instead, He daily forgives and
forgives and forgives. Moreover, I
AM gives this daily blessing of the
forgiveness of sins because He does
not treat us as our sins deserve nor
repay us back in full for our wrongs
(v. 10). In other words, I AM is a
God who “does not rigidly
[demand] from us what strict
justice might demand,” i.e. our
destruction. Instead, He patiently
bears with us day in and day out
while we continue to offend and
provoke his wrath. Why, God does
not just patiently bear with us day
after day, He has removed our sins
or separated us from our sins as far
as the east is from the west. And He
does this because his steadfast love
towards those who fear Him is as
high as heaven is over the earth. In
other words, it is immeasurable. In
fact, it is infinite. This steadfast
love will follow us all the days of
our lives till we shall finally dwell
in the house of I AM forever (Ps.
23:6). David wants God’s people
not to forget this daily benefit of
the forgiveness of sins. Instead, he
wants them to bless or praise I AM
for it. Something they should have
been able to do because they were
daily reminded of this blessing in
the daily sacrificial service in the
temple. And yet, there is a constant
refrain in the Scriptures that shows
us just how they suffered from
spiritual sensory deprivation.
Reflect: How spiritually sensitive
are you to the fact that you daily
offend and injure God? How
sensitive are you to the fact that you
daily grieve God with your sins?
How spiritually sensitive are you to
the fact that God is so much
different than we are? We can
endlessly nag and scold; God does
not. We can forever hold a grudge;
God never does. We treat others as
their sins deserve; God does not.
How spiritually sensitive are you to
how reconcilable, patient, and
loving God is? How spiritually
sensitive are you to the fact that
God has infinitely separated you
from your sins? In which of these
areas might you be suffering from
spiritual sensory deprivation?
C. On our way to Easter we
celebrate the blessing of the
forgiveness of sins.
This is the fifth Sunday of Lent.
This means that we are on our way
to Easter. Lent, as we have seen,
can become a very effective
spiritual discipline as we
intentionally remind ourselves of
the significance of the cross and
resurrection in our lives and renew
our joy for what Jesus Christ has
accomplished for his covenant
community with his death and
resurrection. For the reason why
David was able to exhort himself
and the congregation to bless I AM’s
holy name and not to forget the
daily blessing of forgiveness of sins
was because he looked forward to
the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus
Christ would on day make on
Calvary’s cross. And the reason
why we can bless I AM’s holy name
and not remember the daily blessing
of forgiveness of sins is because we
look back to the sacrifice that was
made once and for all.
Surrey Covenant Reformed Church