“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.” Psalm 103:10 (NKJV) The power of this particular passage contained within this Psalm of David is so powerful, that the magnitude of it does not necessitate unlocking events or the episode surrounding the writing of the text. Nor is it needful to glimpse even if ever so briefly through the prism of the historical context. While we tend to spend much of our time in praise and acknowledgement of what God has done, there are two things that He hasn’t done that ultimately allows Him to do all of the things that He has done on our behalf. The text is a statement to every believer, and every child of God that we have received an immediate benefit because of its far reaching benefits and implications. When we sin and come short of the glory of God (notice not if), He has a choice of how He determines to deal with us. Under the strictest application of the Old Testament, the wages of sin was death. But the good news is that He does not deal, nor has He “dealt” with us in this manner, which is to say not only does God not kill us when we sin but He does not deal with us according to the sins that we have committed. This is to say that He has not “detained us, nor imprisoned” us because we have “missed the mark.” Missing the mark suggests that at least we were aiming at the target, but for those who are not even aiming He does not deal with us in a damnatory way. Then He has not punished us according to our iniquities. Iniquities suggest that these sins are deliberate, habitual, and even goes farther to say that in many cases intentional. They were planned, circled on the calendar, premeditated, and thought out with a degree of malice and wickedness. But as dark and deep as the iniquity was, is, or may have been God does not punish us in the same manner, or with an equal recompense. No not at all. He allows us to miss what we rightfully deserve and escape the punishment deserving for the crime committed against His holy word. So what shall we say to these things? Here’s a suggestion. Thank you Lord! As we stand before Him guilty as charged, and out of all the options that God has at His disposal there are two things that He rules out as it relates to our text. He does not deal with us nor does He punish us in ways that we rightfully deserve. Now He is not granting us permission to misbehave without receiving the consequences of our actions, not at all. While He is a God of grace and mercy, He can and will administer justice at a time and place of His choosing should that be His sovereign desire. But more times than none, He demonstrates His patience, His love, and His compassion. Out of all the things that He has done that we enjoy on a daily basis, they pale in comparison to the two things that He has not done. If He had done the two things that He has not done then it is fair to say that we would not be available to receive all of the wonderful things that He has done.
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 10:01:29 +0000
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