Slow to Anger

Devotional

“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:8-12

In our text David speaks directly to his own soul, reminding himself of how God has dealt with him. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love. These are not abstract truths; they are realities David had lived. These are images that stress how unexpectedly merciful God has been:

“slow to anger” (he had to wait long for justice)

“abounding in hesed” (covenant love that keeps giving)

“not dealt with us according to our sins” (the ledger has been torn up)

“as far as east is from west” (an irreversible distance)

David has experienced the double gift of forgiveness and relief from the punishment his sins deserved. David had lived both sides of that mercy: he had failed spectacularly (Bath-sheba, Uriah, the census) yet had not been crushed. The psalm is therefore a first-person response: “I deserved worse, but this is how Yahweh actually treats those who fear Him.”

Those who turn to the Lord in reverent fear and covenant loyalty find a mercy that wipes away condemnation. Those who cling to Christ find sins removed forever through the cross. The reality is both sobering and liberating: sin is real, judgment is real, but mercy in Christ is greater than both. Through the cross, this psalm finds its fullest expression. Our sins have been carried away once for all, and the pardon we receive is secure. We are invited to walk daily in the joy of that freedom, remembering His mercy more than our failures, and living as children who have been set free.

Forgiveness is real and final for the repentant. God said to the children of Israel: “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Isa 43:25
He repeated: “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer 31:34

It worth saying that verses 8-12 are not a universal promise that every human being will automatically be treated this way; they describe how God does act toward people who turn to Him in reverent trust. The cross-event secures that removal of sin, but the appropriation of that pardon is conditional on continuing covenant loyalty; that is ”fear of the LORD” expressed in repentance and faith.

The truth is that we can not continue in sin. Same Psalmist also mentioned that Persistent, high-handed sin still evokes wrath. “God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses His wrath every day.” Ps 7:11. The Bible emphasizes: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36. So many passages that warn us to stay focus and not continue sining:

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” Heb 10:26