What does Psalm 103:11 mean?

David describes the Lord's unfailing love for those who reverence Him. This is an example of how Scripture uses the concept of "fear" somewhat differently from the modern world. This is not an abject terror, or a panic-inducing dread. Rather, this is the healthy and humble respect that comes with recognizing that God is God, and we are not.

Scripture says the Lord's love is as high as the heavens are above the earth. It was common for David to gaze up at the heavens and marvel at the Lord's creative power (Psalm 8:3–4; 19:1). He spent much of his life in the open outdoors, both as a shepherd caring for his father's sheep and as a fugitive from hateful Saul. David probably didn't understand the mind-boggling distance from earth to the stars, as we do today. Yet he recognized them as extremely distant from the earth, and knew God's love for His people stretched even further.

The death of Christ on the cross for us is the best measure of God's love for us. John 3:16 tells us God's love was potent enough that He gave His only Son. Furthermore, no power on earth can destroy His love for us. Tribulation, distress, persecution, nakedness, danger, and sword cannot divide us from God's infinite love (Romans 8:35–39). Those who accept Christ are saved (Acts 4:12), and those who reject Him are lost (John 3:18; 3:36).