Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
February 4, 1990
Psalm 103
THE BENEFITS OF BELIEVING
I. A hymn of praise to God.
A. Why praise him?
B. What are reasons to believe in him?
II. God is loving and compassionate. 103:8
A. Same words given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Exod 34:6
(Giving of 10 Commandments)
B. He disciplines, but only in love. 103:8
1) He does not hold grudges, like us. 103:9
My sister Kristy wanted to get into living room.
I was having a Boy Scout meeting.
She tapped on window with can-opener. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I ignored her.
Forty minutes later I opened the door.
She slashed me with the can-opener.
I still have the scar.
God is not like my sister.
2) He does not give us what we deserve.
a) We think we deserve the best, all our hearts desire.
b) We actually deserve wrath due to our sins.
III. Love as high as heaven. 103:11
A. Distance correlated with love.
1) For humans, distance gets in way of love.
2) Teenagers convinced they'll be married, but decide to wait
until after going to college.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder -
for one whole week.
Then they look up the chicks in the freshman dorm and write
a "Dear Sally/John..." letter.
B. For God, distance is no problem.
1) It becomes an image of how much he loves us.
IV. Forgiveness as far as east and west.
A. Our failures and weaknesses have a way of haunting us.
1) ["Better Shred Than Read"]
Two years ago "Modern Office Technology" printed an
article about the shrewd owner of a document shredding
service on the East Coast.
He had a real knack for attracting customers.
He simply rooted through trash bags collected from the local
dump by two young helpers.
After finding several pieces of sensitive correspondence, he
sent them to their places of origin with a note attached:
"Should I be reading this material?
If not, why did your company make it public by throwing
it away in one piece?"
It's not surprising that in most cases, he got a response
within 24 hours.
#914
2) God shreds our sins, so that no one can accuse us of them.
a) Jesus paid for our past, present, and future sins on the
cross.
b) How are we responding to this great news?
B. Since God forgives us, we should be able to forgive.
1) Forgive ourselves.
a) Too many Christians are defeated by guilt.
2) Forgive others.
V. Compassion that goes beyond human experience.
A. He has compassion like a father. 103:13
1) Tender and caring.
2) (Mothering is also an image.) According to Isaiah:
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has
forgotten me."
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no
compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
Isaiah 49:14-15
B. God knows our limitations.
1) We are dust. 103:14
a) Physical reality. At death we decay.
b) [Illustration - inside decaying crypt tomb in Boston.]
#1106
2) We are flowers fading in the wind. 103:15
a) Metaphorical for how little impact we have.
1> Are you significant? Put fist in a bucket!
C. God is eternal. 103:17
1) He remembers us forever.
2) He remembers us, and blesses our grandchildren.
a) [We lose track after a few generations. (genealogy)]
-- not used --
b) God does not lose track.
VI. Praise the Lord!
