March 19, 2006 - Rob Kirk, Concord United Methodist Church

March 19, 2006

Psalm 103
Rob Kirk, Concord United Methodist Church

Read the passage and respond to these questions:

David lists six benefits from the Lord that are reasons to praise Him. What are they? (v. 2-5)

David lists one condition required from us in order to receive God’s compassion and love. What is it? (v. 11, 13, 17)

What are the two behaviors that prove we fear the Lord? (v. 18)
“As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:11).

Go to Yosemite and stand at the top of Vernal Falls. Get close to the edge. Look down from the terrifying height. Feel the gusting wind and hear the roar of the water. Lean a little weight against the skinny guardrail separating safety from death. But don’t lean too hard! Vernal Falls is beautiful, terrifying, powerful, unforgiving, enormous, sublime. It was there before we were born. It will be there long after we’re dead. It has the power to thrill us. It has the power to kill us. When I stand at the top of Vernal Falls, I fear it.
That fear is a mixture of awe, respect, fear of dying, fascination, beauty. It is a faint shadow of what we should feel toward God. God is way bigger, more beautiful, awesome and dangerous than Vernal Falls. Yet how many of us truly fear Him? Psalm 103 reminds us that we are dust, no more significant than grass that dries up, blows away and is forgotten. Fear of the Lord begins by recognizing that fact. It means having the humility to recognize that “we are dust,” and therefore our pride is delusional. It means having the sense and honesty to admit that we don’t define sin, God does, and therefore our only hope is to obey His law. It is because God is incomprehensibly awesome that we must fear Him.

But when we do, then the benefits of His mercy will follow: forgiveness, healing, salvation from death, love, satisfaction, and restoration of youth.

“Now all has been heard. Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)prayer
Today, and always, pray for an increase in your fear of the Lord.