to widen (in any direction) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
east
מִ֭זְרָחMiz.roch
H4217
sunrise · noun, common masculine singular absolute
west
מִֽמַּֽעֲרָ֑בmi.ma.'a.Rav
H4628
the west (as a region of the evening sun) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
removed
הִֽרְחִ֥יקhir.Chik
H7368
to widen (in any direction) · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
transgressions
פְּשָׁעֵֽינוּpe.sha.'Ei.nu
H6588
a revolt (national · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us…
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his…
Isaiah 38:17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all m…
Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the…
Hebrews 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
2 Samuel 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not…
Jeremiah 50:20 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah,…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 103:6-18
Hitherto the psalmist had only looked back upon his own experiences and thence fetched matter for praise; here he looks abroad and takes notice of his favour to others also; for in them we should rejoice and give thanks for them, all the saints being fed at a common table and sharing in the same blessings.
I. Truly God is good to all (Psa 103:6): He executes righteousness and judgment, not only for his own people, but for all that are oppressed; for even in common providence he is the patron of wronged innocency, and, one way or other, will plead the cause of those that are injured against their oppressors. It is his honour to humble the proud and help the helpless.
II. He is in a special ma…
As far as the east is from the west,.... Which Kimchi thinks is mentioned because it contains the length of the habitable world; and therefore it is not said as far as the north is from the south; since a man can go from east to west, but not from north to south, because of the extreme heat and cold. But this distance is not given with respect to those opposite parts of the earth, which scarcely exceed 12700 miles; but with respect to those opposite points in the heavens: and the meaning is, that as far as the eastern point of the heavens is from the western point of them; which more illustrates the matter in hand, or the blessing later mentioned, than the other.
So far hath he removed our…
Psalm 103:9-12
9. He will not always chide: nor will he keep his anger for ever. 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11. For in proportion to the height of the heavens above the earth has been the greatness of his goodness [169] upon [170] them that fear him. 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
9 He will not always chide David, from the attributes ascribed to God in the preceding verse, draws the conclusion, that when God has been offended, he will not be irreconcilable, since, from his nature, he is always inclined to forgive. It was necessary to add this statement; for our sins…
The Church Fathers
"Look, how wide the east is from the west; so far has He set our sins from us" [Psalm 103:12]. They who know the Sacraments know this; nevertheless, I only say what all may hear. When sin is remitted, your sins fall, your grace rises; your sins are as it were on the decline, your grace which frees you on the rise. "Truth springs from the earth." What means this? Your grace is born, your sins fall, you are in a certain manner made new. You should look to the rising, and turn away from the setting. Turn away from your sins, turn unto the grace of God; when your sins fall, thou rises and profitest....One region of the heaven falls, another rises: but the region which is now rising will set after twelve hours. Not like this is the grace which rises unto us: both our sins fall for ever, and grace abides for ever.
"O wretched person, you have estranged yourself completely from the Lord. But the Lord is good, and he never 'kept his anger for a testimony, for he delights in mercy,' and he is 'able to sink our sins in the depths of the sea,' for 'as far as the heavens are from the earth, so far away does he set our sins from us. For he desires not the death of the sinner but his repentance,' and that the person who has fallen should not remain in his fallen condition but should rise up, and that he who has turned away should not go far off but return quickly to him. Therefore, despair not of yourself; 'there is hope' of salvation. For, as it is said, 'if a tree is cut down, it will sprout again.'45 Then, if you will even now listen to me in everything I say to you, you shall have forgiveness from God." He answered with tears, "In all things I will listen to you from now on, O father!"
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
East — (1.) The orient (mizrah); the rising of the sun. Thus “the east country” is the country lying to the east of Syria, the Elymais (Zech. 8:7). (2). Properly what is in front of one, or a country that…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The ingenious figures in Psa 103:11. (cf. Psa 36:6; Psa 57:11) illustrate the infinite power and complete unreservedness of mercy (loving-kindness). הרחיק has Gaja (as have also השׁחיתו and התעיבו, Psa 14:1; Psa 53:2, in exact texts), in order to render possible the distinct pronunciation of the guttural in the combination רח. Psa 103:13 sounds just as much like the spirit of the New Testament as Psa 103:11, Psa 103:12. The relationship to Jahve in which those stand who fear Him is a filial relationship based upon free reciprocity (Mal 3:11). His Fatherly compassion is (Psa 103:14) based upon the frailty and perishableness of man, which are known to God, much the same as God's promise after…
The Lord’s love and forgiveness are infinite and complete.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. O glorious verse, no word even upon the inspired page can excel it! Sin is removed from us by a miracle of love! What a load to move, and yet is it removed so far that the distance is incalculable. Fly as far as the wing of imagination can bear you, and if you journey through space eastward, you are further from the west at every beat of your wing. If sin be removed so far, then we may be sure that the scent, the trace, the very memory of it must be entirely gone. If this be the distance of its removal, there is no sh…
