"who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases."
"who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion."
"the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love."
"He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities."
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him."
"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him."
And then it gets to my favorite part: vs 14"for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." Oh, how I LOVE that the Lord understands me perfectly. In him, I am known. And not only that, He knows my weakness, he recognizes the finiteness of his people, causing him to have great patience and compassion. In a world where we are constantly told to "have it together," I found complete joy when I was reminded that I can't "have it all together." I will NEVER "have it all together." I don't know why I try to convince myself that I must be perfect, that I must hide my imperfections from others, and walk around acting as if I've got this whole "walking with God" thing figured out. The Lord knows me more deeply then even I know myself; for he was there when I was formed and he remembers my weakness and frailty. I love this about Him! And I love that in this, I can recognize that I need love and compassion each day, because I am messy and broken; and I will, forever be making mistakes.
I can't tell you how many times I try to convince myself that I can earn God's love. Of course, that is completely against every bit of theology that I find to be true in His word, but often I still find myself trying to gain my own righteousness. The Lord has been reminding me lately that His grace is not dependent on my obedience. Of course I am called to obey and pursue holiness out of a love for the Lord, but I can't tell you how many times I have dropped at his feet to say "father, I've messed up again." I always expect him to be so dissapointed in me...again. And while, often times he does discipline me out of his love, He always seems to look at me and smile and remind me that I am just dust and I need his saving each day.
The Psalm continues on for several verses, talking about God's everlasting love in a world that will soon fade. And it ends just the way that it began: "Praise the Lord, O my soul."
How could I not praise Him?
