The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
they shall lay their hands on their mouths;
their ears shall be deaf;
they shall lick the dust like a serpent,
like the crawling things of the earth;
they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;
they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God,
and they shall be in fear of you.
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
from the days of old.
Comment: In the first part of this oracle we see the surrounding nations thoroughly humbled and gradually crawling back to some sort of normality. Their previous armies truly humbled; crawling upon their bellies like slithering snakes; No boasting any more, but conscious of the greatness of Jehovah, God of the Jews and in fear turning, at least to some degree, to Him.
The second part doesn’t deny the harsh hand of God on His people but declares His character of fulfilling His promises, pardoning the past when the lesson has been learned. What a beautiful phrase is this ‘You will cast all of our sins into the depth of the sea.’ and as someone once said it seems as if He has put up a sign saying ‘No fishing allowed’. The forgiven past is meant to be finished with!
Prayer: Thank You, thank You for Your steadfast faithfulness to Your people, O Father God.
As I read it! 
Thank you Barry for your comments on this passage. We have a choice to make. Each day we can choose to go our own way, or we can choose to follow God, the One who loves us so much that He sent His Son to save us from our sin. The God who has forgiven our sin and cast it into the depths of the sea, to be remembered no more. What a gracious and loving God He is. God bless you.
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