God’s Freeing Forgiveness

Praise the Lord, my soul!

All my being, praise his holy name!

Praise the LORD, my soul,

and do not forget how kind he is.

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.

He keeps me from the grave

and blesses me with love and mercy .

He fills my life with good things,

so that I stay young and strong like an eagle.

The LORD judges in favor of the oppressed

and gives them their rights.

He revealed his plans to Moses

and let the people of Israel see his mighty deeds.

The LORD is merciful and loving,

slow to become angry and full of constant love.

He does not keep on rebuking,

he is not angry forever.

He does not punish us as we deserve

or repay us according to our sins and wrongs.

As high as the sky is above he earth,

so great is his love for those who honor him.

As far as the east from the west,

so far does he remove our sins from us.

As a father is kind to his children,

so the LORD is kind to those who honor him.

He knows what we are made of;

He remembers that we are dust.

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him.

Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his sons---this was his pleasure and purpose. Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! For by the sacrificial death of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which he gave to us in such large measure!

There is no other God like you, O LORD; you forgive the sins of your people who have survived. You do not stay angry forever, but you take pleasure in showing us your constant love. You will be merciful to us once again. You will trample our sins underfoot and send them to the bottom of the sea! You will show your faithfulness and constant love to your people, the descendants of Abraham and of Jacob, as you promised our ancestors long ago.