An insomniac's Psalm 103: Verse 8

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love."

Like a kid who comes at his parent with the secret weapon of all secret weapons---"You SAID!"---so I come to God several times a day with this verse, my favorite verse of this Psalm. A better man would perhaps favor another of the 22 pericopes, one which is more about His glory, disinterestedly separate from any benefit to man.

But as I now scroll through the verses of Psalm 103, it is remarkable that there is no such verse here. Everywhere the attributes of God are considered in relationship to man and God's benefits to man. How marvelously condescending is our God, that He should allow a song of praise about himself to be "contaminated," as it were, by mentions of us in every single verse---like a series of photos of Buckingham Palace in which some cheeky tourist has managed to stick his head or a toe into every frame.

Amazingly, God describes His very essence in terms of His relationship to us. He is "merciful." Surely there is no need of mercy within the Trinity, for the Father, Son, and Spirit never do anything condemnable that one should need to exercise mercy. He is "gracious," "slow to anger." These qualities of God are only necessary in connection with creatures needing graciousness and slowness to anger and steadfastness, lest they die.

This self-description of God is so important to Him that He restates it in other parts of the Bible so that we'll "get" it. My favorite is in Jonah 4:2, because it is such a backhanded compliment from a ticked-off prophet who would be happier if just for once God were not such a loving and merciful and gracious God, not when it comes to the heathen, at least:

"I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live" (vv.2-3).

The mercy and graciousness of God also slice through any preconceived, hard-and-fast notions about what God can and cannot do in our New Testament age. He can do whatever He pleases. Therefore I will ask whatever I please, unhindered by man-made theologies that put God in a box. If my hair is falling out like mad (which it is), I will ask for him to arrest it. On what basis? Mercy. Graciousness. God will answer as He pleases. But there is no harm in asking, and no one will steal my hope. No one---no matter how fancy his theological proofs and paradigms---will hinder me from asking anything of a God who describes himself as the source of all "mercy" and "graciousness."

To read "Verse 9," click here.

To hear commentaries by Andrée Seu, click here.