Psalms 103:8-17

8The Lord is compassionate and merciful; he is patient and demonstrates great loyal love.

9He does not always accuse, and does not stay angry.

10He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.

11For as the skies are high above the earth, so his loyal love towers over his faithful followers.

12As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us.

13As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.

14For he knows what we are made of; he realizes we are made of clay.

15A person’s life is like grass. Like a flower in the field it flourishes,

16but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears, and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.

17But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, and is faithful to their descendants,