Psalm 103:9 NKJV
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
Finding Peace in God’s Discipline
My Notes
“He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.” — Psalm 103:9 (NKJV)
Have you ever felt like you were in a “divine wrestling match”? Sometimes, when we wander into sin or harbor attitudes contrary to God’s heart, we feel a tension in our spirits—a sense that God is “striving” or “chiding” us.
It’s a humbling truth: God could contend with us endlessly and be perfectly justified. We offend Him daily—through impatience, pride, fear, and forgetfulness—and yet, His mercy prevails. David declares here that God’s correction is real but not unending. His discipline is purposeful, rooted in love, and always tempered with compassion.
The Hebrew word translated “strive” (or “chide” in the KJV) is rîyb (רִיב), meaning to grapple, debate, or contend. It paints the image of a legal dispute or relational conflict—a back-and-forth argument. The psalmist says God will not “always strive” with us; in other words, He will not keep the argument going forever. Though He disciplines His children, He does so not to destroy but to restore.
Isaiah echoes this same reality:
“For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls which I have made.” — Isaiah 57:16, NKJV
There’s such tenderness in that verse. God recognizes our frailty. He knows we can’t withstand an endless season of rebuke or distance from Him. His heart moves from anger to mercy with divine swiftness, eager to bring healing once repentance softens us.
Spurgeon wrote, “As soon as they turn to him and forsake their evil ways, he will end the quarrel.” That’s the heart of the Father. Unlike human anger—prolonged, prideful, slow to release—God’s anger serves love, and when its work is complete, He delights to forgive.
Micah captures it beautifully:
“Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.” — Micah 7:18, NKJV
God’s anger is momentary; His mercy is everlasting. When He corrects you, it’s not a sign He’s abandoned you—it’s proof you belong to Him. Like a father whose heart aches even as he disciplines his child, God’s end goal is reconciliation, not wrath.
So when you feel the sting of conviction or a season of divine correction, remember this: His striving will cease when His purpose is complete. The Father never stays angry; He’s always preparing to embrace.
Key Takeaways
- Purposeful Correction: God’s “striving” is never for His own pleasure or to vent “ill humor.” It is always targeted toward our restoration and growth.
- The Limit of Wrath: To the believer, God’s anger is momentary, but His favor is life-long. He does not harbor “divine grudges.”
- Compassion over Controversy: God values our spirit’s survival over His own “right” to be angry. He ends the debate because He desires to press us to His bosom once again.
- A Pattern for Us: We are called to mirror this character. If God, who has every reason to stay angry, chooses to let it go, we should be “slow to chide” and quick to forgive in our own relationships.
Cross References (NKJV)
- Isaiah 57:16
“For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would fail before Me, and the souls which I have made.” - Micah 7:18
“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.” - Psalm 30:5
“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” - Isaiah 54:8
“With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.”
- Psalm 78:38: “But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath.”
Prayer
Lord, I thank You that You are a Father and not a harsh judge. Thank You for the times You have ‘striven’ with me—for not letting me stay in my sin or my pride. I am grateful that You do not keep Your anger forever and that You are more eager to show mercy than I am to receive it. If there is a ‘quarrel’ between us today, help me to yield quickly so that I may feel the warmth of Your smile again. Teach me to be like You—to be someone who lets go of resentment and refuses to harbor grudges. I pray for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Things to Think About:
- The Divine Tussle: Is there an area in your life right now where you feel like you are “striving” with God? What is at the heart of that controversy?
- The Speed of Mercy: Reflect on a past season of discipline. How did God show you that His “anger” was temporary and His love was permanent?
- Mirroring the Father: Is there a relationship in your life where you have “kept your anger” too long? How does God’s example in Psalm 103:9 challenge you to end that quarrel?
- The Spirit of Adoption: When God stops “chiding,” He replaces the spirit of bondage with the spirit of adoption. How can you step into that sense of “belonging” today?
Proverb for Today
I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me. Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. Proverbs 8:17-21 NKJV
Daily Scripture
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 NKJV
Bill
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Summary of Commentaries:
These commentaries highlight that while God rightfully rebukes sin, His discipline is fatherly and temporary. He corrects for our profit, not out of malice, quickly ending “the quarrel” to show mercy. Unlike humans, God bears no grudges; He abandons anger to restore His children with everlasting compassion.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“He will not always chide.” He will sometimes, for he cannot endure that his people should harbor sin in their hearts, but not forever will he chasten them; as soon as they turn to him and forsake their evil ways, he will end the quarrel. He might find constant cause for striving with us, for we have always something in us which is contrary to his holy mind, but he refrains himself lest our spirits should fail before him.
“Neither will he keep his anger forever.” He bears no grudges. The Lord would not have his people harbor resentments, and in his own course of action, he sets them a grand example. When the Lord has chastened his child he has done with his anger: he is not punishing as a judge, else might his wrath burn on, but he is acting as a father, and, therefore, after a few blows he ends the matter, and presses his beloved one to his bosom as if nothing had happened; or if the offense lies too deep in the offender’s nature to be thus overcome, he continues to correct, but he never ceases to love, and he does not suffer his anger with his people to pass into the next world, but receives his erring child into his glory.
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Albert Barnes
He will not always chide – Rebuke; contend; strive; for so the Hebrew word means. He will not always contend with people or manifest his displeasure. See the notes at Isaiah 57:16; notes at Psalms 78:38-39. This implies that he may chide or rebuke his people, but that this will not be forever. He will punish them; he will manifest his displeasure at their sins; he will show that he does not approve of their course, but he will show that he “loves them,” and does not seek their ruin.
Neither will he keep his anger forever – The words “his anger” are supplied by the translators, but not improperly. The meaning is the same as in the former member of the sentence. He will not cherish hatred when the object of the chastisement is accomplished. It is not his character to retain anger for its own sake, or for any personal gratification.
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John Gill
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 humor, 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”, 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 forever; 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.
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Matthew Henry
He is not long angry; for (v. 9) he will not always chide, though we always offend and deserve chiding. Though he signifies his displeasure against us for our sins by the rebukes of Providence, and the reproaches of our own consciences, and thus cause grief, yet he will have compassion, and will not always keep us in pain and terror, no, not for our sins, but, after the spirit of bondage, will give the spirit of adoption. How unlike are those to God who always chide, who take every occasion to chide, and never know when to cease! What would become of us if God should deal so with us? He will not keep his anger forever against his own people, but will gather them with everlasting mercies, Isa. 54:8; 57:16.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“He will not always chide.” Certainly it is as unpleasing to God to chide, as it is to us to be chidden; and so little he likes of anger, that he rids his hands of it as fast as th can: he is not so slow in coming to it, but he is as quick in getting from it; for chiding is a bar to mercy, and anger an impediment to compassion; nothing is so distasteful to God as that any block should lie in the way of his mercy, or that the liberty of his compassion should have any cause of restraint: and then we may be sure he will not himself lay a block in the way with chiding, nor be a cause to restrain his compassion by keeping his anger.
—Sir R. Baker.
“To keep anger for ever,” corresponds with the French phrase, Je lui garde, Il me la garde, (*”I am watching him, as he has watched to do a bad turn to me”) which we use when the man, who cannot forgive the injuries he has received, cherishes secret revenge in his heart, and waits for an opportunity of retaliation. Now David denies that God, after the manner of men, keeps anger on account of injuries done to him, since he condescends to be reconciled.
—Calvin.
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