Psalm 103:8–18

⁸The Lord is tender and kind. He is gracious.

He is slow to get angry. He is full of love.

⁹He won’t keep bringing charges against us.

He won’t stay angry with us forever.

¹⁰He doesn’t punish us for our sins as much as we should be punished.

He doesn’t pay us back in keeping with the evil things we’ve done.

¹¹His love for those who have respect for him

is as high as the heavens are above the earth.

¹²He has removed our lawless acts from us

as far as the east is from the west.

¹³A father is tender and kind to his children.

In the same way, the Lord is tender and kind

to those who have respect for him.

¹⁴He knows what we are made of.

He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵People’s lives are like grass.

People grow like the flowers in the field.

¹⁶When the wind blows on them, they are gone.

No one can tell that they had ever been there.

¹⁷But the Lord’s love

for those who have respect for him

lasts for ever and ever.

Their children’s children will know

that he always does what is right.

¹⁸He always loves those who keep his covenant.

He always does what is right for those who remember to obey his commands.