Daily Devotionnfor May 26

Verse
Psalm 103:10–12 (ESV)
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.

Meditation
This psalm sings of the staggering mercy of God. Unlike man, God is not ruled by retaliation or repayment. He does not weigh out justice according to our guilt, for if He did, none could stand. Instead, His love stretches beyond measure, His forgiveness beyond our reach. “As far as the east is from the west”—an immeasurable, infinite distance—so far are our sins cast away. They are not minimized but removed. For those who fear Him, that is, who trust and reverence Him, the Lord becomes a Father full of compassion. This is not cheap grace but costly mercy—fulfilled in the cross of Christ, where justice and mercy kiss. In this truth, the broken find healing and the guilty find rest.

New Testament
1 John 1:9 (ESV)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Old Testament
Micah 7:19 (ESV)
He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Collect
Most merciful Father, who in steadfast love removes our sins beyond the measure of heaven and earth, cast out all guilt and shame from our hearts, that we may live in the freedom of Your forgiveness and walk as children of Your grace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn Verse
Thy love and grace alone avail
To blot out my transgression;
The best and holiest deeds must fail
To break sin's dread oppression.
Before Thee none can boasting stand,
But all must fear Thy strict demand
And live alone by mercy.
— From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee – LSB 607:2