Psalm 103:6–12
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
In this section we see the psalmist explaining God's covenant faithfulness and unfailing love as He directs it towards the community of his chosen people, Israel. These verses are just loaded with good stuff and I'd like to comment on all of it, but I'll try to keep it reasonable and refer you to other resources.
In verse 6 the psalmist states as plainly as possible that "the LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed." As this is the transition to the community aspect of God's hesed we see undeniably that God is concerned for societal justice and righteousness being done towards the weakest and most vulnerable in society. The resources I've linked you to below take a deep dive into these topics. With all the talk today around social justice and critical theory I would strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with the biblical concept of justice and righteousness so we can truthfully and faithfully engage in the cultural conversation around these topics. I've found none better than Tim Keller to help us on these topics.
Next, the psalmist goes into how God has made his character known to Moses. Verse 8 describes the central characteristics of God. See the video below and Exodus 34 for the context of these verses. So God's hesed directed toward the people of Israel is based in God's own character.
The idea of verse 9 is the same as Psalm 30:5 "his anger is for a moment, his favor for a lifetime." God's wrath and punishment as a part of his justice are temporary, but his love and mercy are never ending, never failing. God doesn't nurse a grudge or sit and stew in his anger towards his people.
In verse 10 the community of Israel is in view. This is seen in his use of "us" and "our", replacing the "your" of verses 1-5. This verse is an admission of guilt coupled with a declaration of God's grace and mercy. This is the heart of repentance—an admission of guilt (contra our persistent attempts to always justify ourselves and our actions) and acceptance of God's mercy. We should also note the community orientation of this repentance and admission of guilt as well. This concept is foreign to us in our western culture which emphasizes individualism over the community, yet it is biblical. Keller discusses this more thoroughly in his article that I have linked you to below.
The implication of verse 10 is that God is completely justified in terminating his relationship with the people of Israel, yet he does not. Their sin violates the stipulations of the covenant relationship yet God remains faithful to them.
Verses 11 and 12 provide the reason ("for") why God doesn't "treat us as our sins deserve and repay us according to our iniquities." This is a beautiful and oft quoted picture of God's love and forgiveness.