Most of the time, we read Psalm 103 and we think of our worship of God. And that is a correct view of this psalm, but it falls short of completely understanding this passage. In this psalm, we not only see worship, but we can see why we are to worship.
David wrote this psalm as a song of worship to God, and in the first few verses, he gives us at least four reasons to worship God based on his mercy. But that’s not all this psalm offers. In the next segment of this psalm, David expounds upon God’s grace. This is the why behind the how of worship. God’s grace is why David offers his praise; and he realizes that he is really unworthy of it at all.
Look at verse 6-13:
The Lord performs righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the sons of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
In these verses, David shows us three characteristics of God’s grace.