As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Parallel Translations
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As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
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As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
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As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Psalms 103:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
- 1 John 1:7 But 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.
- Micah 7:18 Who 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 delights in loving kindness.
- Isaiah 38:17 Behold, 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.
- Jeremiah 31:34 They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says Yahweh: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
- Hebrews 10:2 Or else wouldn’t they have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins?
- 2 Samuel 12:13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die.
- Jeremiah 50:20 In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the iniquity of Israel will be sought for, and there will be none; also the sins of Judah, and they won’t be found; for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.
- Isaiah 45:6 that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is no one besides me. I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.
- Psalms 113:3 From the rising of the sun to its going down, Yahweh’s name is to be praised.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain As great as the world is, so full is…
As great as the world is, so full is it of signs of God’s mercies toward his faithful, when he hath removed their sins.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from…
Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Ver. 12. As far as the east, &c.] And these we know to be so far asunder that they shall never come together. The space also and distance of these two is the greatest that can be imagined, Deu 4:32 Psa 113:3 Isa 45:6.
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So far hath he removed our transgressions] The guilt of them, whereby a man stands charged with the fault, and is obliged to the punishment due thereunto. See Isa 43:25; Isa 38:17 Mic 7:19 Eze 33:16. Peccata non redeunt. Discharges in justification are not repealed, called in again.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The guilt of our sins from our persons and…
The guilt of our sins from our persons and consciences. The sense is, He hath fully pardoned them, so as never to remember them more, as he promiseth, Jer 31:34; Heb 10:17.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Like as a father pitieth his children,.... When in…
Like as a father pitieth his children,.... When in any affliction, disorder, or distress: the Lord stands in the relation of a Father to his people; they are his children by adopting grace, through the covenant of grace with them; by a sovereign act of his own will he puts them among the children, predestinates them to the adoption of children; and sends his Son to redeem them, that they might receive it, and his Spirit to bear witness to their spirits, that they are his children; and towards these he has all the affections of a tender parent.
So the Lord pitieth them that fear him; not with a servile fear, which is unsuitable to the relation of children; but with reverence and godly fear, with a fear of him and his goodness, and on account of that; a filial fear, such a reverence as children should have of a father: and this character belongs to all the saints of all nations, Jews or Gentiles; and seems to be here given an purpose to include all; and that the divine pity and compassion might not be thought to be restrained to any particular nation. And, as the fruit of his tender mercy, he looks upon his children in their lost estate, and brings them out of it; he succours them under all their temptations; he sympathizes with them under all their afflictions: being full of compassion, he forgives their iniquities; and in the most tender manner receives them when they have backslidden, and heals their backslidings. The Targum in the king of Spain's Bible is,
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"so the Word of the Lord pities,''
&c. See Heb 4:15.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. As far as the east is from…
Verse 12. As far as the east is from the west] As the east and the west can never meet in one point, but be for ever at the same distance from each other, so our sins and their decreed punishment are removed to an eternal distance by his mercy.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain As far as the east is from the west…
As far as the east is from the west - As far as possible; as far as we can imagine. These are the points in our apprehension most distant from each other, and as we can conceive nothing beyond them, so the meaning is, that we cannot imagine our sins could be more effectually removed than they are. The literal meaning of the Hebrew is, “like the distance of the east from the west” or, “like its being far.”
So far hath he removed our transgressions from us - That is, he has put them entirely away. They are so removed that they cannot affect us any more. We are safe from all condemnation for our sins, as if they had not been committed at all. Compare the notes at Isa 43:25; notes at Isa 44:22.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. As far as the east is from the…
12. As far as the east is from the west—The antithesis denotes the extreme boundaries of the world or universe. For the figure, see on Psa_50:1. The phrase is proverbial for what is measurable, as in Psa_103:11.
So far hath he removed our transgressions—A testimony to the witness of absolute forgiveness and acceptance worthy of the New Testament.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. For similar language to denote the completeness of…
12. For similar language to denote the completeness of the removal of sin by pardoning grace cp. Isa_38:17; Mic_7:19.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain As far as the east is from the west,…
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. God"s mercy is the cause, the removal of sin the result. The two are commensurate, and are "described by the largest measures which the earth can afford.
Limitless forgiveness.
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What figures will best suggest the entireness of the removal of man"s sin, when God, in his infinite goodness and mercy, deals with it and removes it? That question is specially interesting because, when man is forgiven his sin, he finds it so hard to get rid of the memory of it. In a sense it may be said that a man "never forgives himself." There is always, therefore, the danger that a man will transfer his own feeling to God, and persuade himself that, though God may forgive, he never really forgets. The psalmist, speaking after the manner of men, and using terms for God which can only in strictness apply to men, declares that God can, and does, and will, utterly forget; " remember our sins no more." The voluntary Divine forgetfulness is a sublime conception. Jeremiah (Jer_50:20) has this declaration, "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, and they shall not be found." Three figures set before us the limitlessness of God"s forgiveness.
I THE DISTANCE OF EAST FROM WEST. (See text) "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." The distance from north to south can be measured. There are north and south poles fixed points. There are no eastern or western poles. From every point alike in the circuit of the world the east extends in one direction, the west in the other. Thus the traveller westward may be said to be ever chasing the west without coming nearer to it.
II REMOVAL BEHIND THE BACK. (Isa_38:17, "For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. Two ideas are suggested:
1. "Behind the back" is a strong figure for "out of sight" and "out of mind.
2. "Casting" behind the back implies resolute purpose. It is as if God had thoroughly made up his mind that he would never look upon them again; he had done with them forever.
III THROWING INTO THE SEA. (Mic_7:19, "Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Nothing brings to us the sense of hopeless, irretrievable loss, like dropping a thing into the fathomless depths of mid-ocean. If our sins are cast into the sea, we shall never see them more.
God"s gracious dealings with our sins depend on our right dealings with them. Only sins that we have put away from ourselves by repentance can God put away from us by his full and free forgiveness. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 12. As far as the east is from…
Ver. 12. 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 shade of fear of its ever being brought back again; even Satan himself could not achieve such a task. Our sins are gone, Jesus has borne them away. Far as the place of sunrise is removed from yonder west, where the sun sinks when his day's journey is done, so far were our sins carried by our scapegoat nineteen centuries ago, and now if they be sought for, they shall not be found, yea, they shall not be, saith the Lord. Come, my soul, awaken thyself thoroughly and glorify the Lord for this richest of blessings. Hallelujah. The Lord alone could remove sin at all, and he has done it in a godlike fashion, making a final sweep of all our transgressions.
Ver. l2. As far as the east is from the west. The expression taken from the distance of the east from west is pitched upon, saith Kimchi, because those two quarters of the world are of greatest extent, being all known and inhabited. From whence it is that geographies reckon that way their longitudes, as from north to south their latitudes. Henry Hammond.
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Ver. 12. When sin is pardoned, it is never charged again; the guilt of it can no more return than east can become west, or west become east. Stephen Charnock.
Ver. 12. "Plenary Absolution." See "Spurgeon's Sermons, " No. 1,108.
Ver. 12.
1. The union implied. Between man and his transgressions.
(a) Legally.
(b) Actually.
(c) Experimentally.
(d) Eternally, in themselves considered.
2. The separation effected.
(a) By whom? "He hath, "etc.
(b) How? By his own Son coming between the sinner and
his sins.
3. The Re-union prevented. "As far, "etc. When east and west meet, then, and not till then, will the reunion take place. As the two extremities of a straight line can never meet, and cannot be lengthened without receding further from each other, so it will ever be with a pardoned sinner and his sins. G. R.
Psalms 103:13*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain As far as the east is from the west,…
Psa_103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
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Plenary absolution
The doctrine of forgiving love is one of those necessaries of daily life, of which we may say that however frequently it be set before you, you would not tire of it. Therefore, in the simplest manner, we would speak of the great Gospel truth of the forgiveness of sins. Now, in our text which tells of it, notice--
I. The word of peculiarity. It is not all men who can say, As far as . . . from us. They are a specific people who can say this: they have felt the chidings of God in their conscience,--hence they say, He will not always chide. And they have been humbled into contrition, repentance and confession; hence they say, Neither will He keep His anger for ever. But they have tasted of Gods surprising mercy which baffles all human thought, and excites the adoring wonder of all who receive it, and hence come the words of our text. Can we all say them?
II. The word of positiveness. The psalmist does not indulge in vague hopes or fond wishes, but he declares that God hath removed our transgressions from us. He is quite sure about it. It is an actual fact. Now, there are many who think that we never can know in this world that we are forgiven. They are taught to go on asking for pardon as if they had never received it. But we are forgiven. Pardon is a fact, and there is nothing more sure to believers than this. It is far more presumptuous to pay respect to our own misgivings than to believe what God has so plainly said. How wretched it must be not to know: how can a man do anything whilst he is in doubt about whether he is forgiven? And we can be sure, for we have the plain word of God. Not the evidence of sense, for that may often deceive: and still more may feeling. But we have the evidence of Gods word. If I have trusted my soul with Jesus, then I am forgiven, and our text is true of me. And over and above the written word, God gives to believers the inward witness in the deep peace they feel in their souls. They may not be able to fix the date when they were forgiven, but whenever they look to the Cross and see the incarnate God bleeding thereon, they get a renewed assurance of complete absolution. Some love always to gaze upon their crucified Lord, as if they had never before looked upon Him. They stand and kiss those bleeding feet and look up to that dear face bedewed with drops of grief and that dear brow crowned with thorns, and say, Thou art my Saviour! Dear lover of my soul, I rest in Thee. Happy are they who can thus stand at the Cross.
III. Note the comprehensiveness of our text. I do not find any list of sins here. Only these two words, our transgressions. I am not skilful in matters of common law, but I remember hearing a lawyer make this remark about a mans will, that if he were about to leave all his property to some one person, it would be better not to make a recapitulation of all that he had, but merely to state that he bequeathed all to his legatee, without giving a list of the goods and chattels, because in so doing he would be sure to leave some of them out. In one instance, a farmer who desired his wife to have all, recounted, as he thought, all his property; but he actually omitted to mention his largest farm and the very house in which they lived. Thus his attempt to be very particular failed, and his wife lost a large part of the property. Let us be thankful, then, that in our text God speaks in this broad way which takes in the whole compass of enumeration. Our transgressions--that sweeps them away all at once. Like as the Israelites saw with joy all their enemies dead upon the sea-shore. Not one of them left. Well might Miriam dance and sing.
IV. The perfection, the absolute perfection of the pardon. As far as the east is from the west. Who can tell how far that is? Not any distance measurable on this earth, or in our solar system. It is just infinite distance. That is how far God hath removed from us our sins. Some think that after men are pardoned they may yet go to hell. It does not seem to me worthy of a God or even a man. Poor is that pardon which may be followed by eternal torment. I have heard of the Duke of Alva pardoning a man, and then hanging him; but to think that God should do this! And God means by our text that He has forgotten our sins, so far has He put them away. Your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Note--
V. The ray of divinity, full of hope for us, in our text. It is God that thus forgives. God is the great remover of sin. No priest can do this, God alone.
VI. Its touch of personality. Our sins are removed not only from Himself, but from us. I sometimes see believers troubling themselves as if all their sins were laid up in an iron safe in some part of the Lords house. It is not so. They are all gone. See Zechariahs vision of Joshua the priest. We moan and fret ourselves about what does not exist. I saw two men yesterday handcuffed to be taken off to prison. But suppose I had walked behind them, with my wrists close together, and had never opened my hands, nor stirred them, and said, Alas! I committed, years ago, some wrong, and had handcuffs put upon me. You would naturally says, Well, but are they not taken off? And I reply, Yes, I have heard they are, but somehow, through habit, I go about as if I had them on. Would not every one say, The mans insane? But this is what we too often do as to our sins. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The believer separated from his sins
I. In what respects? He is separated from his sins as regards--
1. The sentence they procured--the sentence of death. What this sentence implies. How was it removed?
2. The power they wielded--that is, their reigning power. Sin shall not have dominion over you.
3. The alienation they caused. From God, hence from His favour, family, fellowship, kingdom.
4. The prospect they commanded. Of wrath to come, of exclusion from heaven, of endless destruction.
II. To what distance? As far as the east is from the west--one side of infinite space from the other--infinity intervenes.
1. An infinity of merit intervenes--the atoning merit of Christs sacrifice intervenes. What? How?
2. An infinity of rectitude intervenes--the rectitude of the Divine nature.
3. An infinity of faithfulness intervenes--Gods faithfulness to His word, covenant, purpose.
4. An infinity of love intervenes--Gods love, which is infinite, eternal, unchangeable, sovereign. All these infinities must be exhausted and cease to exist before his sins can be reunited to the believer. Learn--
(1) That separation from sin is necessary to admission into heaven. There shall in nowise, etc.
(2) That the separation here described is the work of God--of His grace, righteousness, word, spirit.
(3) That separation from sin requires active exertion on our part. Work out, etc.
(4) That the separation we have been considering is the privilege of only true believers. (N. Macdonald.)
No Eastern or Western poles
The distance from north to south is measurable. In every sphere there are north and south poles--both fixed points; and on the earth the distance between them is about twelve thousand miles. So that had the psalmist said, As far as the north is from the south, our conceptions would have been thus limited. It is otherwise with the east and the west. There are no eastern and western poles. From every point alike in the circuit of the world, the east extends in one direction, the west in the other. Thus, the traveller westward, for example, might be said to be for ever chasing the west without coming nearer to it. The psalmist himself might not have known this astronomical fact; yet, regarding his words as dictated by the Spirit of God, we are surely permitted to read them in the light of modern science, and so to discern in them the most forcible illustration that can be imagined of the illimitable distance to which God has removed the iniquities of His people. (Cyclop. of Nature Teachings.)
Forgiveness a delightful remembrance
Like some black rock that heaves itself above the surface of a sun-lit sea, and the wave runs dashing over it; and the spray, as it falls down its sides, is all rainbowed and lightened; and there comes beauty into the mighty grimness of the black thing; so a mans transgressions rear themselves up, and Gods great love, coming sweeping itself against them and over them, makes out of the sin an occasion for the flashing more brightly of the beauty of His mercy, and turns the life of the pardoned penitent into a life of which even the sin is not pain to remember. (A. Maclaren, D.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Removed our transgression from us
Removed our transgression from us
Three Hebrew words are trans. forgive, forgiven: kaphar, to cover; nasa, to lift away; salach, to send away (cf). Lev 16:21; Lev 16:22 the fundamental O.T. idea of forgiveness being not the remission of penalty, but the separation of the sinner from his sin.
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Psa 103:12 expresses this.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.