Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2760 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Today, we continue our ascent up the magnificent peak of Psalm One Hundred Three. We are exploring the heart of the psalm, verses seven through eighteen, in the New Living Translation.

In our previous trek, we heard King David preaching a sermon to his own soul. He commanded himself to "Bless the Lord" and not to forget His benefits. We listed those benefits: He forgives all sins, heals all diseases, redeems us from the Pit, and crowns us with love and tender mercies. It was a celebration of what God does.

But today, David goes deeper. He moves from God’s acts to God’s nature. He asks the question: Why does God do these things? What is it about His character that makes Him forgive a sinner like me?

In this section, David gives us the definitive theology of the heart of God. He takes us back to the mountain of Sinai to hear God’s own description of Himself. He uses the vastness of the cosmos to measure God’s love. And then, he looks at us—frail, dusty, fleeting humanity—and explains why God’s response to our weakness is not judgment, but fatherly compassion.

So, let us stand in awe as we measure the dimensions of grace.

 

He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel.  The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

David begins by grounding his praise in history. He isn't guessing what God is like; he is remembering what God said.

Specifically, David is quoting Exodus Thirty-four, verse six. This moment occurred right after the Golden Calf incident—Israel’s great act of spiritual adultery. Moses asked to see God’s glory, and God passed by and proclaimed His name. This declaration in verse eight—"The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love"—is the most quoted verse in the entire Old Testament. It is the Jewish Creed of Grace.

Let’s break down these four pillars of God’s heart:

This is who Yahweh is. In the Ancient Israelite worldview, the gods of the nations were often depicted as capricious, easily offended, and needing to be appeased. But the God of Israel reveals Himself as a God who is naturally inclined toward mercy, not wrath.

 

He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.  He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

Because God is "slow to anger," His interactions with us are marked by restraint.

The imagery here is legal. The word "accuse" (rib) means to bring a lawsuit or to contend in court. God is the Judge, and He has every right to bring a case against us constantly because we sin constantly. But David says God does not press His case to the bitter end. He is not a prosecutor looking for a conviction; He is a Father looking for restoration.

This is the most comforting, yet humbling, verse. If God were fair—in the strict, retributive sense—we would be consumed. We deserve (gamal) judgment. We deserve to be cast out. But God breaks the law of karma. He introduces Grace—receiving what we don't deserve—and Mercy—not receiving what we do deserve.

Notice the tension. David doesn't say we don't have sins. He admits we "deserve" harsh dealing. The Gospel is not that we are innocent; it is that God chooses not to settle the score.

 

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.  He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

David now calls upon the cosmos itself to help us measure this mercy. He uses two dimensions: Height (Vertical) and Width (Horizontal).

First, the Vertical: "For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth."

Look up at the night sky. In the ancient mind, the "heavens" were the highest conceivable thing—the dwelling place of the Divine Council, the realm of the stars. It represents infinity. David says, "Try to measure the distance from the dirt you stand on to the highest star. That is the magnitude of God’s Hesed (love) for you." It is a love that transcends our smallness. It is overwhelming, massive, and insurmountable.

Second, the Horizontal: "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west."

This deals with our guilt. When God forgives, He engages in spatial separation. He takes the sin—the "twistedness"—and flings it away.

Why East and West? If David had said "North and South," there would be a limit. If you travel North long enough, you eventually hit the North Pole and start going South. But if you travel West, you never start going East. You just keep going West.

East and West never meet. They are infinitely separated directions. By using this imagery, David is saying that God puts an infinite distance between the sinner and his sin. He does not keep it in His back pocket to use against us later. It is gone.

 

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.  Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.  The wind blows, and we are gone— as though we had never been there.

Why does God show such infinite mercy? Is it because we are so valuable? No. It is because we are so fragile. David shifts the metaphor from a Judge in a courtroom to a Father in a nursery.

This is the heart of God. A father doesn't crush his toddler for stumbling; he picks him up. Why? Because he knows the child is weak.

The word "weak" refers to our "frame" or our "formation" (yetzer). It harkens back to Genesis Two, verse seven, where God formed man from the dust of the ground. God remembers his creative work. He knows He didn't make us out of steel or granite. He made us out of mud and breath.

In the Divine Council worldview, there is a clear distinction between the Elohim (spiritual beings) and humans. We are earth-bound. We are fragile. God does not expect us to have the strength of angels. He calibrates His expectations to our constitution. When we fail, He isn't shocked. He says, "I know. You are dust. Let me help you."

David then paints a poignant picture of this frailty: "Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die."

We think we are mighty oaks, but God sees us as wildflowers. A flower is beautiful, yes, but it is terribly temporary.

The word for "wind" is ruach—which can mean wind, breath, or spirit. In the arid Middle East, the hot desert wind (the sirocco) can scorch a flower in an hour. One blast, and the place that knew it knows it no more.

This is the reality of human mortality. We are here for a moment, vibrant and alive, and then—poof. We are history. This realization destroys human pride, but it also magnifies God's pity. He sees our brevity, and it evokes His compassion.

 

But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children’s children  of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!

Here is the great contrast. Verse seventeen begins with the glorious "But..."

Man is dust. Man is grass. Man is wind.   "But the love of the Lord remains forever..."

The Hebrew phrase is "From everlasting to everlasting is the Hesed of Yahweh."

Everything about us changes, decays, and dies. But God’s Covenant Love is the solid rock in the river of time. It predates us, and it outlasts us. It anchors our fleeting existence to His eternal nature.

David adds a generational promise: "His salvation extends to the children’s children."

Because God is eternal, His righteousness can bridge the gap between generations. When a father fears the Lord, that relationship ripples forward in time, blessing grandchildren who are not yet born. This is the legacy we talk about here on Wisdom-Trek! Our dust may return to the earth, but the Hesed shown to us continues to work in our lineage.

However, there is a condition. This is not a blanket promise for everyone regardless of their heart. It is for:

This is not legalism; it is loyalty. God’s love is free, but it is a covenant love. It requires a relationship. You cannot claim the benefits of the King while fighting for the enemy. The "Fear of the Lord" is the open hand that receives the gift of mercy.

 

As we pause here at verse eighteen, consider the equation David has laid out for us.

On one side, you have Humanity:

On the other side, you have God:

When you add these two sides together, you don't get judgment. You get Fatherhood. You get a God who bends down to the dust, breathes life into it, and when that dust gets dirty, He washes it clean rather than sweeping it away.

This is the God we serve. He knows your frame. He knows you are tired. He knows you are struggling. And He says, "I know. I am your Father. And my love for you is taller than the sky."

So today, do not be afraid of your weakness. Let your weakness be the very thing that drives you into the strong arms of the Father.

If you found this podcast insightful, please subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of, ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.   As we take this Trek of life together, let us always: Live Abundantly.   Love Unconditionally.   Listen Intentionally.   Learn Continuously.   Lend to others Generously.   Lead with Integrity.   Leave a Living Legacy Each Day.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, reminding you to’ Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday! See you next time for more daily wisdom!