For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is his lovingkindness toward them that fear him.
9 sermons cite this verse
… or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. the east is from the west. So far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust. You might be thinking, Louis, I've made so many bad choices in my life. I've messed up so many times. There have been so many potholes in the journey. And I'm thinking, if I'm, you know, thinking rightly, what I'm going to get from God is I'm going to get wrath, rejection, condemnation, and a massive guilt trip. That's what I'm getting. But I want to tell you today, God is the one who's serving today. And what he's serving you, are you ready for this, is not what you deserve. there's so many people are not thinking man i know there's just a major guilt trips coming i'm ready for it i'm bracing for it and he goes no i have a heart of love for you and because of my great love i am not giving you what you deserve i am giving you grace because i love you And I want a relationship with you. …
… that are examples or definitions of God's mercy to you. Here's what it says, Psalm 103, verse 2 to 11. I will not forget the glorious things that God does for me. He forgives, you might circle that, he forgives all my sins. He heals me, that's mercy. He ransoms me from hell, that's mercy. He surrounds me with loving kindness, that's mercy. He fills my life with good things. He is merciful and tender. Toward those who don't deserve it, that's mercy. He's slow to get angry. I'm glad for that, that's mercy. He never bears a grudge. Aren't you glad for that one? Some of you don't believe that. You think that something you did a long time ago, God's still trying to get even with you for it. Anything bad happens in your life, go, God's getting even with me. God, it says, does not carry a grudge. He's not getting even. How many times have you heard me say, God is not mad at you, he's mad about you. …
… us according to our sins. Aren't you grateful for that? God doesn't deal with us according to our sins, nor has he rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is God's loving kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far God has removed our transgressions from us. How do you deal with reproofs in life. First of all, expect them. They're going to come because we make mistakes. Secondly, evaluate reproofs. Evaluate the criticisms, the negative events that come into your life. Now get this, not every negative event, not every criticism is because we're doing something wrong. But some of those negative events are the result of our doing. And that's why we need God's wisdom to evaluate the reproofs, the corrections that come into our life to see if there's some sin in our life that needs to change. In James 1.5, James said, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. Now, many of us have memorized that verse, but we've memorized it completely out of context. The context of that verse is found in verses two and three about going through trials in life. And James says, when you're going through trials in your life, ask for God's wisdom to know if these trials are the result of your doing, your mistakes, …
… And by entirely, I mean entirely. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103. I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my sake, and I will not, I will not remember your sentence. Isaiah 43. if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1. Oh, to every woman in this room who has had an abortion, hear this. Christ has paid the price for your abortion. He's endured the penalty for your abortion. He forgives you entirely. and he does not desire for you to live your life in pain and regret, but in peace and in joy. Yes, to hate the sin of your past. That's a good thing in any area of sin. The pain of sin from the past is oftentimes a powerful deterrent to sin in the future, but it cannot rob you. …
… Entirely. Psalm 103, verse 11 and 12. As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Isaiah 43, 25, God says, I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions for my sake. I will not remember your sins. I will not remember your sins. If we confess our sins, 1 John 1, 9, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, cleanse us from all unrighteousness. to every woman in this room who has had an abortion hear this Christ has paid the price for your abortion Christ has endured the penalty for your abortion to anyone who has been involved in abortion any of these other ways or not been involved this is the whole beauty of the gospel God on high has sent his son who has lived a sinless perfect life the life that we could not live and he has stood in our place he has taken all of the wrath and judgment do your sin and my sin upon himself. He has taken it all. All the guilt, all the condemnation of sin, he has taken upon himself. So that when you are in Christ, you are free from sin and forgiven of all your sin. I remember your sins no more, God says. Now we've talked about this before. We know this doesn't mean God has amnesia, that he has forgotten that you had an abortion, …
… Or repay us according to our iniquities. for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. He wiped them out. You know, it's interesting, when Luke was recounting Jesus saying, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they do, Jesus said a couple of other things in Luke's account. And one of the things he said was, I thirst. And so they took this pole and they put a sponge with sour wine on it and they held it up to Jesus' mouth. The pole, it says specifically in Luke, was a hyssop branch. You're like, who cares about the hyssop branch? What does it matter? It was a branch. It was a piece of wood. It came from a tree. The hyssop branch was first introduced to us in the Passover when the Jews were instructed by God to put the blood of an innocent lamb over the doorpost of their house so the angel of death would pass over. …
… He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. How can the psalmist say this? Because the prophets are coming and the prophets are speaking about what God is going to do. I love how we see it in Isaiah 53. And you should read the whole chapter of Isaiah 53. But let's zoom in on any point that you want to. Let's just look at verse 6. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him. God did it. God laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by his wounds, we are healed. …
… Yes. Verse 11, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who what? Who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as the Father has compassion on His children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him, for He Himself knows our frame. He's mindful that we are but dust." This is the most incredible news. God is angry with the wicked every day. No sin will go unpunished. Every sin will be accounted for and adjudicated by God in a just fashion. But God has compassion that is infinite. So how is it possible that we can tap into that compassion and that grace and that loving kindness and that forgiveness? How do we tap into that? By fearing Him, which is just another way to say believing in Him, trusting Him, committing our lives to Him. And that's the message of the gospel, isn't it? …
… He does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass. He flourishes like a flower of the field. The wind blows over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. but from everlasting to everlasting. The Lord's love is with those who fear him and his righteousness with their children's children, with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. This is God's word. Back in March, we looked at this passage, we looked at the whole psalm, but we looked at the beginning of it and it just killed me not to be able to go to the meat of it. …