A couple weeks ago I wrote a devotional based on the early part of Psalm 78. It’s the second-longest poem in the inspired collection, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I found many wonderful nuggets of truth contained in the text. Here’s another one…
But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
(Psalm 78:38)
The context is in reference to the Israelites, who left Egypt by the miraculous and generous power of God, and who responded to that generosity by being a bunch of spoiled, whiny babies. Though the people gave the Lord many opportunities to punish them, many times He turned His anger away and did not stir up all His wrath against them. God is a merciful God, holding back from giving His disobedient children those things that they deserve. He forgave them whenever they sought for it, which is more than most of us would have done, I imagine. I think most of us would have forgiven the people the first time, but then, when they turned back and showed themselves to be insincere (as Israel did, time and again), most would cut them off and never forgive them again. Be thankful that God’s mercies are new every morning.
That leads to the Psalmist writing this beautiful thought…
For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
(Psalm 78:39)
Why do people sin? When you distill it down to the most basic elements, people sin because they lose perspective. People sin when they consider short-term pleasure more worthwhile than long-term reward. We, being human, struggle to grasp the concept of eternity, and the Devil takes advantage of that, distracting us with temporary fun, all the while leading us down a path that will lead to eternal misery.
God, on the other hand, perfectly understands the concept of eternity. He knows the stakes of the soul far better than any mortal man. Why does God show mercy as much as He does? The poet here tells us: God knows that we are but flesh. We are a wind that passes away and comes not again. We have only one life to live, and if our lives end in rejection of God, then our life will be wasted, and we will dwell forevermore in eternal suffering. God understands that, and God—being loving—doesn’t want that to happen. We are so blessed to be loved by a merciful, forgiving God!
~Matthew