Slow To Anger (Psalm 86:15)

 


Wednesday, August 6, 2025


Psalm 86

2 Samuel 15:7-23

John 11:38-54


Observance: The Transfiguration Of Our Lord


Slow To Anger (Psalm 86:15)


But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.


The fact that God is “slow to anger” is claimed many times in many books throughout the Bible. It is a promise that we hold onto tightly, to reassure our souls that in spite of our many stumblings, our Creator still loves us. So let us take this opportunity to remind ourselves once again of what it means for God to be “slow to anger”.


It suggests, very strongly, that God’s usual demeanour is to not be angry. If God is slow to get angry, then that means he is slow to move to that place of anger, which means he starts in a place where he is not angry. How often do we need to be reminded of this! God’s natural and comfortable disposition towards us, his creatures, is one of steadfast love and grace. I wonder what our emotional “home base” is like? What disposition do we usually find ourselves in? Are we naturally happy, or sad; do we find ourselves in a state of worry, or ambivalence? God seems to find it natural to simply love us and shower us with his grace. He is slow to anger, but abounding in steadfast love.


But sometimes we might consider ourselves to be such abject failures that, in spite of God’s slowness towards anger, we have given him more than enough time, and he might very well be angry at us. Consider then the poetic phrasing of this verse. The Psalmist repeats himself three times, presumably to emphasise three points. First, he is addressing God, the Lord: two terms meaning the same thing. This God is both merciful and gracious – these terms are very similar, in that they are both gifts which are free and good. Then comes the term in question: God’s slowness to anger is the same as his steadfast love and faithfulness. God’s slowness to anger is as true as his love, which is steadfast, and his faithfulness, which is trustworthy. No matter how much time we think God has had to be angry with us, his anger is still slower, because his love is always steadfast, and his faithfulness is forever.


Do you ever find yourself impatient with your spiritual growth? How do you think that compares with God’s patience over you?


O God, our Lord, you are good and forgiving: listen to our plea for grace, and grant strength to your servants, that we may see a sign of your favour and be assured of your steadfast love for us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32)

Image
  Monday, February 3, 2025 Psalm 78:16-38 Genesis 18:22-19:11 Luke 2:1-7 Observance: First Anglican Service at Sydney Cove, Conducted by Richard Johnson, Sydney, 1788 For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32) From this wonderfully pastoral tableau, of the old man and his wife entertaining three divine guests, comes a dark shadow. Approaching from the valley below them comes the cries of iniquity of the cities of the plain: Sodom and Gomorrah. Rising from their feast, the three men turn from blessing Abraham and Sarah to executing divine judgement. And the story just gets darker from here. But Abraham, in his boldness, has this immortal conversation with God, a conversation that uncovers for us whispers of Jesus’ words about people who are “salt” and “light”. God desires that none should perish, but that all should turn from their sins and live. And for the sake of just ten righteous people, the disaster about to befall Sodom and Gomorrah could be turned away...
Read more

Monday, July 25, 2022

  Monday, July 25, 2022 Psalm 62; 63 Hosea 1 Romans 4:1-12 He only is my rock and my salvation: my strong tower, so that I shall not be moved. The prophecies of Hosea are rich with vivid imagery. Look at these names: firstly, “Hosea” means “salvation”. So too do the names Joshua and Jesus. Then Hosea has three children: “God scatters”, “Not pitied”, and “Not my people”. This is because the children are part of the marriage between Hosea and Gomer, which is an image God is showing to the nation. It is to our profit that God has used real-life events to communicate spiritual imagery and divine truths. We find it very easy to understand our relationship with God as being a faithful wife to a loving husband. We can reconcile this message with what Paul has to teach us today in Romans. He makes the very important observation that Abraham was given God's righteousness as a result of his faith before, not after, his circumcision. Again, this is God using real-life events...
Read more

Friday, July 22, 2022

  Friday, July 22, 2022 Psalm 51 Amos 9:1-6 Romans 3:9-20 (Feast Day: Mary Magdalene) Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin. Folk wisdom has it that for us to know where we are going, we need to know where we have come from. Sometimes we also need to be reminded about where we are. Today's readings, if they existed in a vacuum, would be the most terrifyingly miserable thing we could ever come across. It holds two positions that we must always keep in mind: firstly, that we have an infinitely powerful and holy God, and secondly, that we as His creatures come nowhere even close to that standard of perfection. This makes many Christians uncomfortable. We want to run away from today's message and jump straight into tomorrow's. Yes, tomorrow Paul will turn our frowns upside down with the glorious message of how God fixed our broken relationship with Him. But tomorrow's message of salvation is lessened without today's lesson o...
Read more