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By David.

1Praise Yahweh, my soul!

All that is within me, praise his holy name!

2Praise Yahweh, my soul,

and don’t forget all his benefits,

3who forgives all your sins,

who heals all your diseases,

4who redeems your life from destruction,

who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,

5who satisfies your desire with good things,

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6Yahweh executes righteous acts,

and justice for all who are oppressed.

7He made known his ways to Moses,

his deeds to the children of Israel.

8Yahweh is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.

9He will not always accuse;

neither will he stay angry forever.

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 Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him.

14For he knows how we are made.

He remembers that we are dust.

15As for man, his days are like grass.

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

16For the wind passes over it, and it is gone.

Its place remembers it no more.

17But Yahweh’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him,

his righteousness to children’s children,

18to those who keep his covenant,

to those who remember to obey his precepts.

19Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens.

His kingdom rules over all.

20Praise Yahweh, you angels of his,

who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word,

obeying the voice of his word.

21Praise Yahweh, all you armies of his,

you servants of his, who do his pleasure.

22Praise Yahweh, all you works of his,

in all places of his dominion.

Praise Yahweh, my soul!

Authority to Forgive Sins

Authority to Forgive Sins

Passage Study | Mark 2:7 | John Lee

The authority to forgive sins is ascribed only to Israel’s God in the Old Testament (Ps 130:4, 51:1-3; 85:2; 2 Sam 12:13; Ps 32:1-5; 51:3-4, 9-11; 103:3; Isa 44:22; Dan 9:9; Zech 3:4; cf. 1QS 2:8f.; 11.14; CD 2:4-5; 3:18; 4:6-10). In Isa 43:25, YHWH declares himself as the forgiver of Israel’s sins: “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins” (NASB). Micah 7:18 links the act of forgiving sins with the rhetoric concerning God’s uniqueness: “Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity [a]nd passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?” (NASB) Mark’s Gospel itself includes Jesus’ teaching that corresponds to these Old Testament passages: “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions” (11:25 NASB [emphasis added]). If Jesus’ authority to forgive sins as portrayed in Mark 2:1-12 is read alongside 11:25 and the noted Old Testament passages, Mark the author is seen to view Jesus as participating in God’s unique prerogative of forgiving sins, and such a view undoubtedly reflects Mark’s high Christology. -John Lee