Psalm 103:8 NKJV
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
The Heart of our Father
MY NOTES
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” — Psalm 103:8 (NKJV)
What a comfort to know this about God—that mercy is not just something He does, it’s who He is. The psalmist, reflecting on God’s dealings with His people, echoes the great revelation at Mount Horeb when God revealed Himself to Moses:
“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,’” — Exodus 34:6 NKJV.
In our world, we are used to “short fuses.” We see it in traffic, in social media comments, and sometimes in our own mirrors. We nurse grievances, keep track of debts, and often struggle to let go of a law-court mentality where every mistake must be immediately paid for.
But David points us to a character trait of God that changes everything: God is not like us.
When God revealed His “way” to Moses on the mountain, He didn’t lead with His power or His lightning bolts; He led with His heart. He described Himself as “slow to anger.” Think about that—God has every right to be “fast” to anger. He sees every sin, every hidden thought, and every deliberate rebellion. Yet, He chooses to linger. He tarries with “loving pauses,” giving us space to breathe, space to turn back, and space to repent.
Where human anger erupts quickly, God’s anger is measured, purposeful, and brief. His mercy, by contrast, is abundant, rich, and unending. His grace is the wellspring from which our hope continually flows.
Because God is merciful and gracious, we can approach Him with confidence—even when we’ve failed. His mercy does not excuse sin, but it rescues sinners. His grace doesn’t ignore justice—it fulfills it through Christ.
This truth changes how we treat others. If God, who is holy, is slow to anger with us, how much more should we learn to extend patience toward one another?
Key Takeaways
- God’s mercy is His nature. He doesn’t have to try to be merciful—He is merciful.
- He is slow to anger. God’s patience offers space for repentance, not license for sin.
- Mercy overflows. His compassion reaches from generation to generation, from creation to eternity.
- We are called to mirror Him. The more we receive His mercy, the more we’re able to extend it to others.
Cross References (NKJV)
- Exodus 34:6 “And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,’”
- Psalm 86:15 “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.”
- James 5:11 “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”
- Lamentations 3:22–23 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
- Micah 7:18 “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity… You do not retain Your anger forever, because You delight in mercy.”
- Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Prayer
Abba, I thank You that You are not a God of a short fuse. I am so prone to nursing grievances and reacting in haste, but You are slow to anger and rich in kindness. Thank You for the ‘loving pauses’ You have given me in my own life—the moments where You waited for me to come home instead of casting me away. Help me to rest in Your abounding mercy today. Let me remember Your Grace every hour, and help me to show even a fraction of that same patience to those around me. I thank You and ask You for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Things to Think About:
- The Slow Fuse: Think of a time recently when you expected God to be “quick to anger” with you, but instead you experienced His patience. How did that change your heart?
- The Mountain vs. The Ocean: Write down a few “mountains” (worries, sins, or regrets) that feel huge to you right now. Now, visualize God’s “abounding” mercy rising like a flood to cover them. What does “plenteous” mercy look like in your specific situation?
- Space to Repent: Is there an area of your life where you feel God is “lingering” or giving you a “loving pause”? How can you respond to His patience today?
- Mirroring Mercy: Who in your life currently “provokes” you? How might meditating on God’s slowness to anger help you deal with them with more grace?
Proverb for Today
My son, keep your father’s command, And do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, Proverbs 6:20-23 NKJV
Daily Scripture
Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” Daniel 9:17-19 NKJV
Bill
Please enter your email and click subscribe to be notified whenever I submit a new post.
Summary of Commentaries:
Psalm 103:8 reveals God’s enduring character—He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy. Spurgeon, Henry, Gill, and others emphasize that this reflects God’s nature first disclosed in Exodus 34:6–7. He patiently withholds judgment, offering forgiveness and grace through Christ. His mercy is rich, overflowing, and constant, extending to all humanity. Unlike human wrath, His compassion endures, inviting repentance and shaping believers to embody the same patience and mercy toward others.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“The LORD is merciful and gracious.” Those with whom he deals are sinners. However much he favors them, they are guilty and need mercy at his hands, nor is he slow to compassionate their lost estate, or reluctant by his grace to lift them out of it. Mercy pardons sin, grace bestows favor: in both the Lord abounds. This is the way of his which he made known to Moses (Exo 34:6), and in that way he will abide as long as the age of grace shall last, and men are yet in this life. He who “executeth righteousness and judgment,” yet delighteth in mercy.
“Slow to anger.” He can be angry and can deal out righteous indignation upon the guilty, but it is his strange work; he lingers long, with loving pauses, tarrying by the way to give space for repentance and opportunity for accepting his mercy. Thus deals he with the greatest sinners, and with his own children much more so: towards them his anger is short-lived and never reaches into eternity, and when it is shown in fatherly chastisements, he does not afflict willingly, and soon pities their sorrows. From this, we should learn to be ourselves slow to anger; if the Lord is long-suffering under our great provocations, how much more ought we to endure the errors of our brethren!
“And plenteous in mercy.” Rich in it, quick in it, overflowing with it; and so had he need to be, or we should soon be consumed. He is God, and not man, or our sins would soon drown his love; yet above the mountains of our sins the floods of his mercy rise. All the world tastes of his sparing mercy; those who hear the gospel partake of his inviting mercy, the saints live by his saving mercy, are preserved by his upholding mercy, are cheered by his consoling mercy, and will enter heaven through his infinite and everlasting mercy. Let grace abounding be our hourly song in the house of our pilgrimage. Let those who feel that they live upon it glorify the plenteous fountain from which it so spontaneously flows.
______________________________________________________
Enduring Word
Abounding in mercy: David’s statements remind us of God’s revelation of Himself to Moses in Exodus 34: The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6). (Guzik)
i. He will not always strive with us: “These very human terms point the contrast between God’s generosity and the heavy-handed wrath of man, who loves to keep his quarrels going (chide [strive] translates a term much used for disputes, especially at law) and to nurse his grievances.” (Kidner)
______________________________________________________
Albert Barnes
The Lord is merciful and gracious – See the notes at Psalms 78:38. The idea here is derived evidently from Exodus 34:6-7 – that great and glorious statement of God himself in regard to his own character. Our world is a different world under that statement from what it would be if that and kindred declarations had not been made. There is here a “progression” of thought; an “advance” on the previous statements. At first, the psalmist referred to his own individual experience, Psalms 103:3-5; then he referred to the dealings of God toward the Hebrew people, Psalms 103:6-7; and now he rises to the general contemplation of his character as it relates to all mankind. It was a characteristic of God in respect to all that he was kind, compassionate, and forbearing.
Slow to anger – That is, patient; not soon excited; bearing much, and bearing it long. See James 5:11; compare Exodus 34:6-7.
And plenteous in mercy – Margin, “great of mercy.” The Hebrew word means “much,” or great; and the idea is that mercy is not manifested by him in small or stinted measure. It is rich, full, abundant; overflowing; free.
______________________________________________________
John Gill
The Lord is merciful and gracious,…. So he made himself known to Moses, Exodus 34:6, and so David found him to be, and therefore calls upon his soul to bless his name. God is “merciful” in the most tender and affectionate manner; he has bowels of mercy, which yearn towards his people, as those of a tender parent to its child, as the word signifies; his mercy is free, without any motive or merit in men to engage it; he delights in showing it; he constantly bestows it; it is the source of all good things; it is communicated through Christ; all mercies temporal and spiritual come by him; and this lays a foundation for faith and hope: and he is gracious, as appears in the eternal choice of his people to salvation; in providing a Savior and a ransom for them; in giving all grace and the blessings of it to them in his Son; in giving him for them, and all things to them with him; in justifying them by his righteousness; in pardoning their sins for his sake; in taking them into his family; in regenerating, calling, preserving, and saving them.
slow to anger, or “longsuffering”; even to wicked men, to the vessels of wrath, to the old world, yea, to Jezebel, to whom he gave space to repent; which longsuffering being abused and despised, is an aggravation of condemnation: but rather here it intends God’s longsuffering to his people, as before conversion, waiting till the time comes that he is gracious to them; and after conversion, notwithstanding their backslidings and revoltings; and this longsuffering is their salvation:
and plenteous in mercy; large and abundant in it, as appears by the various instances of it, and ways and methods in which he shows it; in election, in the covenant, in redemption, in regeneration, in pardon and eternal life; and by the abundance of it which he bestows on every one of his people; and by the vast numbers which do partake of it.
______________________________________________________
Matthew Henry
It is in his nature to be so (v. 8): The Lord is merciful and gracious; this was his way which he made known unto Moses at Mount Horeb, when he thus proclaimed his name (Ex. 34:6, 7), in answer to Moses’s request (ch. 33:13), I beseech thee, show me thy way, that I may know thee. It is my way, says God, to pardon sin.
He is not soon angry, v. 8. He is slow to anger, not extreme to mark what we do amiss, nor ready to take advantage against us. He bears long with those that are very provoking, defers punishing, that he may give space to repent, and does not speedily execute the sentence of his law; and he could not be thus slow to anger if he were not plenteous in mercy, the very Father of mercies.
______________________________________________________
Miscellaneous Comments
The Lord is merciful and gracious — See on Exodus 34:6. Slow to anger — Not speedily punishing sinners, but patiently waiting for their repentance. He will not always chide — Or contend by his judgments with sinners, but is ready to be reconciled to them, namely, upon their repentance, as is manifest from innumerable texts, and from the whole scope and design of the Scriptures. Neither will he keep his anger for ever — The word anger, though not in the original, is necessarily understood here, as it is also Jeremiah 3:5, and in many other places. He hath not dealt with us after our sins — He hath punished us less than our iniquities have deserved. — Benson
“Merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.” O my soul, here are four properties spoken of to be in God, and are all so necessary, that we could not miss one of them. If he were not “merciful” we could hope for no pardon; and if he were no more but merciful we could hope for no more but pardon; but when besides his being merciful he is also “gracious,” this gives us a further hope, a hope of a donative; and then it will not be what we are worthy to receive, but what it is fit for him to give. If he were not “slow to anger,” we could expect no patience; but when, besides his slowness to anger, he is also “full of compassion,” this makes us expect he will be the good Samaritan, and not only bind up our wounds, but take care also for our further curing. What though he chide and be angry for a time; it is but our being patient a while with him, as he a long time hath been patient with us.
—Sir R. Baker.
- Exploring the Beauty of Psalms: Insights and Commentaries
- Monthly Breakdown of Our Blog Content
- Psalms Commentary: Faith and Inspiration
Leave a Reply