7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
We are continuing a Summer Psalm meditation on Psalm 103. In it, David unpacks his highest praise for who God is and what He has done for His people.
Our God is a God who is interested in and has been active in the affairs of humanity. That’s pretty amazing to consider if you imagine the vastness of God’s wisdom, power, and creation. You might be thinking of another quote from David, in Psalm 8,
“When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?”
But God is there and He is not silent. Moses, a friend of God, once asked to be able to see God’s glory. God told Moses he was crazy because God’s glory will kill a man. But He made a special concession for His friend. He told him,
“There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” (Exodus 33:21-23).
And when the Lord’s glory passed by, God proclaimed His glory with words as well and He said,
“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” (Exodus 34:6).
So David in Psalm 103 is remembering that account, thinking about how good God is to his friends. He makes Himself known: through creation, through scripture, and through the miracles and wonders He performs when He acts supernaturally in the natural world.
Of course the greatest way God acted on behalf of His people is through the incarnation of His Son. For when Christ walked the earth, His friends said,
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14).
They got to see God’s glory, face to face, and live. They got to see and experience His ways: merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
God is still there and He is still not silent. The same God who was friends with Moses. The same God who put on flesh so that His glory wouldn’t kill us. The same God who actually died in the flesh so that we could live in His glorious presence forever. He wants to be your friend too.
That is downright miraculous. That makes me want to say “Bless the Lord because,
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.