He has sent redemption to His people

Psalm 111 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

^[Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the company of the upright and in the assembly.
² Great are the works of the Lord;
They are studied by all who delight in them.
³ Splendid and majestic is His work,
And His righteousness endures forever.
⁴ He has caused His wonders to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
⁵ He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will remember His covenant forever.
⁶ He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the inheritance of the nations.

⁷ The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are trustworthy.
⁸ They are upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in truth and uprightness.
⁹ He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.
¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
All those who follow His commandments have a good understanding;
His praise endures forever.

The psalmist begins saying: Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; They are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is His work, And His righteousness endures forever.   He ends: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
All those who follow His commandments have a good understanding; His praise endures forever.  The fear of the Lord is not that we are afraid of Him. It is a reverence and respect that comes through the acknowledgement of His greatness. We need not be afraid because: The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever. He has made known to His people the power of His works, In giving them the inheritance of the nations. The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are trustworthy. They are upheld forever and ever; They are performed in truth and uprightness.  

If God was only a God of righteousness and justice, we would have need to be afraid. If we received the justice we deserved for our unrighteousness and our disobedience to His commandments, it would indeed be a terrifying thing. Instead, God is gracious and compassionate. He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name. Ephesians 2:8-10 says: By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.  By God’s grace we do not get justice, but mercy. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  God’s love and compassion for us, is demonstrated in the passion of Christ on the cross. Isaiah 53:4-6 says: It was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, And our pains that He carried; Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, Struck down by God, and humiliated. But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all To fall on Him.  All that we deserved for our disobedience and sin was paid for by Christ on the cross. He died so that in Him we could live, so that by grace we received mercy rather than justice. 

Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; They are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is His work, And His righteousness endures forever. He has caused His wonders to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and compassionate…  He will remember His covenant forever. He has made known to His people the power of His works… The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are trustworthy. They are upheld forever and ever; They are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; All those who follow His commandments have a good understanding; His praise endures forever.  Amen.