Psalm 103 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. 14 For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass he blooms like a flower of the field; 16 when the wind passes over it, it vanishes, and its place is no longer known. 17 But from eternity to eternity
the LORD’s faithful love is toward those who fear him, and his righteousness toward the grandchildren 18 of those who keep his covenant, who remember to observe his precepts.

When you see a good father, you are seeing a picture of God. God designed human fatherhood to be a portrait of himself. He was God the Father before he was God the Creator. He knew what he wanted to portray before he created the portrayal.

A clear implication for all of us fathers is that we were designed to display the fatherhood of God, to our children, our families, and the world around us.. And that implies that we today learn to be fathers by watching God father his children. Children today learn what God’s fatherhood is like largely by watching us.

When David says fathers are like dust; he remembers that we are dust”, it causes David to reflect on the shortness of human life and how important it is for father to use their time wisely in leading their children.

Fathers need to realize that they won’t always be around. And their children won’t always be around. The question a father should ask is: How can I help my children see how they can benefit forever from the love of God?

The steadfast love of God and the righteousness of God will be there for our children and future generations if we can make sure that they know and understand three things from God’s Word.

They must fear God, Keep His covenant and obey his Word.

They Must Learn to Fear God

Fearing God means that God is so powerful, holy and awesome to us that we would not dare to run away from him, but only run to him for all that he promises to be for us. They must learn to come to God because He has the best in mind for us, willing to help, and nothing or no one could ever have better things in mind for us.

God comes to us knowing we have nothing on which we can offer that He can not do without.

Keeping God’s Covenant Today

His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant.
What does keeping the covenant of God mean today?

At the Last Supper, Jesus lifted up the cup representing his own blood and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20).

There is now a new covenant between God and his people, and it is as binding as the old one was. What the new covenant provides from God’s side is the blood of Christ to cover our sins and the power of the Spirit to enable us to walk in newness of life. What the new covenant requires from us is that we be united to Christ by the new birth and that we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord

Fathers. it implies today that our children must be brought to receive Christ as the supremely valuable Savior and Lord of their lives. They will not get this idea from anywhere outside of Christians.

They Must Learn to be Obedient to God’s Word

verse 18: “to those who remember to do his commandments.”

This means that faith in the redeemer must be real. Real submission to his rule, and understanding the value of his worth changes our lives. So the requirement of obedience in verse 18 is simply the requirement that our fear of God and our trust in Christ be real, effective, and fruitful.

It’s Christ, blood and righteousness, that forgives and justifies us. But our obedience, our righteousness, imperfect as it is, shows that God has saved us, that our faith is real. Our obedient lives show that we are truly covenant keepers.

One thing that this psalm stresses more than anything else that we fathers should lead our children to this condition of blessedness.

We must teach them what David speaks of in the first verses; to Bless the Lord.

The psalm begins and ends with the psalmist preaching to his soul to bless the Lord, and preaching to the angels and the hosts of heaven and the works of God’s hands.

What does it mean to bless the Lord?

It means to speak well of his greatness and goodness. It is almost synonymous with praise.

David is saying that speaking about God’s goodness and greatness must come from the soul. Blessing God with the mouth without the soul would be hypocrisy. Jesus said, “This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). David knows that danger, and he is preaching to himself to prevent it from happening.

Let each of us remember how important it is for us to bless the Lord, praise the Lord. Fathers. Let us make sure that we teach our children these Biblical truths.