Psalms 103:9

9 He shall not be wroth [into] without end; and he shall not threaten [into] without end. (He shall not be angry forever; and he shall not threaten forever.)

Psalms 103:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 103:9

He will not always chide
He sometimes does chide his children, though never but when they have done a fault; always for their sins, in order to bring them to a sense and acknowledgment of them, and to depart from them; not for chiding sake, as some parents, to gratify their passion and ill humour, who correct for their own pleasure; but the Lord chides and corrects for the profit of his children, that they may be partakers of his holiness; he ever does it for their good, but he will not always chide, or continue it ever: or "he will not always contend" F5, strive with them, litigate a point with them, hold out a controversy, not being able to stand before him; he knows their frame, their weakness, and frailty; see ( Isaiah 57:16 ) ,

neither will he keep his anger for ever;
though he does with the wicked, yet not with his own people; that endures but for a moment, and is rather seeming than real; and what does appear is soon turned away; he does not retain it long, he is quickly pacified towards them for all they have done, and smiles again upon them, ( Micah 7:18 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F5 (byry) "contendet", Pagninus, Montanus; "litigat", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "litigabit", Vatablus, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Psalms 103:9 In-Context

7 He made his ways known to Moses; his wills to the sons of Israel (his deeds to the Israelites).
8 The Lord is a merciful doer, and merciful in will (The Lord is a giver of love, and a giver of mercy); long abiding, and much merciful.
9 He shall not be wroth [into] without end; and he shall not threaten [into] without end. (He shall not be angry forever; and he shall not threaten forever.)
10 He did not to us after our sins; neither he yielded to us after our wickednesses. (He did not do to us what we deserved for our sins; nor did he punish us for all our wickednesses.)
11 For by the highness of heaven from earth; he made strong his mercy on men dreading him. (For as high as the heavens be above the earth, is how strong his love is, for those who fear him/for those who revere him.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.