5. Who can measure his majestic power? Who can tell the whole story of his merciful actions?
6. We cannot add to them; we cannot subtract from them. There is no way to comprehend the marvellous things the Lord has done.
7. When we come to the end of that story, we have not even begun; we are simply at a loss for words.
8. What are human beings? Of what use are they? The good that they do — the evil that they do — what does it all mean?
9. A person who has lived a hundred years has lived an unusually long time,
10. but compared with all eternity, those years are like a drop of water in the ocean, like a single grain of sand.
11. That is why the Lord is so patient with us, why he is so free with his mercy.
12. He looks at us and knows that we are doomed to die; that is why he is so willing to forgive us.
13. A person can show compassion to a neighbour, but the Lord shows compassion for all humanity. He corrects us; he disciplines us; he teaches us. Like a shepherd tending sheep, he brings us back to himself.
14. He will have compassion on us if we accept his guidance and are eager for him to show us where we are wrong.