Read
Psalm 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
10He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities.
11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.
12As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13Like a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
14For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.
Notice
East and west stretch the imagination toward a distance beyond measure, expressing how far God has removed the sins that can feel so close.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does the distance between east and west suggest about the forgiveness described here?
Write on thisWhere, if anywhere, do you find tension between remembering your sin and believing God has removed it?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 43:25I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.Both passages describe God taking away transgressions, using distance in the psalm and blotting out in Isaiah.
1 John 1:7But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.Both describe sin being taken away; John speaks of cleansing through the blood of Jesus as believers walk in the light.
Micah 7:18Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger forever, because he …God's removal of transgressions in the psalm shares Micah's theme of pardon rooted in God's loving kindness.
Isaiah 38:17Behold, for peace I had great anguish, but you have in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for you have cast all my sins behind your back.Both use spatial images for forgiveness: sins removed as far as east from west, and sins cast behind God's back.
Jeremiah 31:34They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their …Both describe God's forgiveness of sin, with Jeremiah expressing it as God's promise to remember sin no more.
Psalm 103:4who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,Within the same psalm, removal of transgressions joins redemption from destruction among the acts of God's mercy.
Hebrews 10:2Or else wouldn’t they have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins?Both concern release from sin, though Hebrews asks about the worshiper's consciousness of sins while the psalm pictures their removal.
2 Samuel 12:13David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin. You will not die.Nathan's declaration that the LORD has put away David's sin shares the psalm's language of God removing transgressions.
Isaiah 44:22I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.Both portray God removing transgressions through vast images: the distance between east and west, and the blotting out of a cloud.
Psalm 32:5I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.Both speak of God dealing with transgressions through forgiveness; Psalm 32 also records the speaker's confession.
Micah 7:19He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.Both picture sins taken far away, using the distance between east and west and the depths of the sea.
Jeremiah 50:20In those days, and in that time,” says the LORD, “the iniquity of Israel will be sought for, and there will be none, also the sins of Judah, and they won’t be …Both describe God's pardon as the removal of sin; Jeremiah portrays Israel's and Judah's sins being sought and not found.
Where this verse fits
Guilt and confession. gratitude.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Remembering a sin does not mean God's forgiveness has failed. In this psalm's account of his compassion toward those who fear him, God has removed their transgressions beyond measure.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 103:12. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 103 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).