"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT PURITY"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT PURITY"

Psalm103:11For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
Psalm103:13 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm103:14 As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.

Some explanatory notes, application and a prayer:

1. David begins this Ps, by talking about two very real things, things that we can see, to help us understand a truth about God and those who fear Him. What is it? The heaven and the earth. Look at what He says, Psalm103:11a "For as the heavens are high above the earth" Well, first of all, the heavens are very, very high above the earth. The word high here, means to be high, higher, exalted, and lofty. We don't have to really try and imagine just how high they are, we can just go outside and look up, and see for ourselves. In fact, we can at night see beyond the immediate cloudy heavens, and see the start twinkling and the moon etc. Just to give you and idea of how far or high the nearest planet is from our earth, it would take light 4 1/2 years to get from earth to that planet. Can you imagine traveling that long, 4 1/2 years. It would take billions of years of travel to get to the farthest known planet traveling at the speed of light, which is some 186,000 miles per second. Think about all that for just a moment.

2. Now, in the last part of that same verse, here's what is said, Psalm103:11b "So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him" So, using the distances of the heavens being high above the earth, which is more then we can really understand, it's very, very high, God says so great is my mercy is toward those who fear Him. That would mean, God's mercy is immeasurably great. God's mercies are in fact, from everlasting, to everlasting. And, they are towards those who fear Him, those who hold Him in reverence and awe, and seek to honor Him, and obey Him, and allow God to rule in their lives. He has great, great mercy, or pity, and care towards you.

3. Now onto the next verse. And, this deals with how God has made us pure in His sight. Psalm103:13 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Here again, God uses something we can understand to some degree, we can see it with our own eyes, the east from the west. We can look east, and then look west, and say within ourselves, "Wow, those two directions are separated from one another, and each of them goes on infinitely. They are far, far apart. There is actually no end to them. Well, that's what God has done with our transgressions. He has removed them from us.
Transgressions, comes from a word meaning, to offend, to rebel, to trespass, or to violate. Which of course we have done. But, God has removed our transgressions from us, and placed them on Jesus Christ, who then paid for them, by dying on the cross, and now those transgressions are gone. Justice has been served, by Christ paying the price.

4. Lastly David mentions a third truth we can relate to, actually two truths. Here they are once again. Psalm103:14 As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. A father pities his children, and the Lord pities those who fear Him.
Pities, means, mercy, compassion, love, mercy, to love deeply, to have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection for, to be shown compassion. Well, again, the Lord is full of mercy, and He has demonstrated that mercy by saving us, through Christ taking our place for the punishment and payment of our sins, and then, He has made us alive in Christ, to live forever with Him.

A prayer:

Father, in our strength, we could never be pure and accepted by You. We cannot remove our sins. And, if we were to pay for them, then we would be forever separated from You in the lake of fire. But, You have changed all that. You have provided the way, the truth and the life for us. You have given us a mediator, the man Christ Jesus. And, You have made us accepted in the beloved. You have purified us. And, You call us to walk in purity day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute. And, what a joy it is to walk in that way. We love You Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.