Our God Is Kind and Merciful
In Psalm 103, the speaker praises the God whose graciousness has been shown in all moments of personal life – in actions of forgiveness and protection from life-threatening forces. God is holy. God pardons our sins, heals our ills and redeems us from destruction. Unlike our sense of justice, God is merciful. We will often fail in our mission to imitate God’s perfection and holiness, but God is infinitely patient and faithfully waiting for us to be merciful. As we pray this psalm, we praise and thank God for being merciful, gracious, slow to anger, kind, forgiving and compassionate.
My soul, bless God’s holy name!
My soul, bless the Most High, hold dear all God’s gifts!
Bless God, who forgives your sin and heals every illness,
who snatches you from death and enfolds you with tender care.
God, is tender and caring, slow to anger, rich in love.
Not according to our sins does God deal with us,
nor requite us according to our crimes.
As far as east from west, so God removes our sins.
As tender as a parent is to a child, so gentle is God to believers.
[verses adapted from The Psalter © 1995, Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications.]