Psalm 103
By Bro David Petersen
The Book of Psalms
Introduction |
Psalm 1 |
Psalm 9 |
Psalm 23 |
Psalm 30 |
Psalm 33 |
Psalm 34 |
Psalm 46 |
Psalm 96 |
Psalm 103 |
Psalm 119
To bless the LORD means to praise him, to offer thanksgiving and to speak well of him and his mighty works.
"When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee." Deut 8:10.
The heathen may rage and the leaders of this whole world may conspire against the LORD and against his anointed to break his bands, but "bless the LORD O MY soul".
Let everything in me bless the LORD. Not just with my lips, but "bless the LORD O my SOUL".
It's amazing that some 3000 years ago David knew that the LORD's holiness was one of the coolest things about him there is to delight in. Babes is Christ may praise God for his goodness, mature Christians praise him for his holiness.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
On Your Feet Soul-dier!
Here in this second "bless the LORD O my soul" David is psyching himself up to bless the LORD. If he didn't wake up on the first one, this one will get him fired up. How can I sit back and be complacent? How can my soul slack off when it comes to blessing the LORD?
Don't be a couch potato my soul! On your feet 'soul-dier'! Bless the LORD! Stand up for Jesus: all that is within me.
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
The Forgiveness Benefit
What benefits? Well we can start with forgiveness. For the Christian forgiveness is prerequisite to all the benefits of God that follow. For example you can't enjoy the peace that passes understanding, until you know the forgiveness of sins.
The empahsis in this verse is on the word "all" which appears twice.
It's good to have the gift of forgiveness. I believe that this is a special spiritual gift that I have from the LORD.I know that God forgives me because I trust what Jesus did to pay for all my sins. I trust in the promises of God that say that we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.I have a bi-directional gift of forgiveness. I am able to accept forgiveness for the things that I did.
And I am able to freely forgive others for the things that they have done to me.
There is great relief and spiritual health in both of those. I know people who are always beating themselves up; tearing themselves down with guilt for the things they have done. I have done a lot of bad things, but I have accepted God's gift of forgiveness and he has lifted the weight of guilt off my shoulders.
I don't have to carry a grudge or have hatred in my heart for anyone who has wronged me. I know that God will set all things right at the last day. Everyone will either accept his mercy or be subject to his justice.
It sets me free so that I don't have burdened, grieved when I am wronged. I can pray for those who despitefully use me. It's all so good, so "bless the LORD O my soul".
Who Healeth All Thy Diseases
Still addressing his own soul, David says "who healeth all thy diseases". Our souls have a spiritual disease. It's called sin. The LORD heals our souls' diseases. He provides spiritual healing through Christ.
When the cause is gone, namely iniquity, the effect ceases.
We are gradually conformed to the image of his Son. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
The forgiveness and healing of verse 3 would not be complete without the redemption from destruction in verse 4. Ultimately we are delivered from this body of death when this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on immortality.
But God doesn't just save us by the skin of our teeth. He lifts us up by crowning us with lovingkindness and tender mercies.
As Hannah said in her prayer "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory." 1 Sam 2:8.
Look at the crown in verse 4 and see that he has lifted us up from the dunghill and set us among princes.
Jesus didn't go to the dollar store to buy our salvation. The Lord didn't give us the economy version of redemption. He put the icing on the cake. He added all the bells and whistles. His salvation is fully loaded. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (Heb 2:3).
" For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Rom 8:18.
But then you have to fall down before him who sits on the throne and worshp him who lives for ever and ever and cast your crown before the throne and say "Thou art worthy, O Lord". Because he did it all. He redeemed your life from destrution and crowned you with lovingkindness.
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Satisfieth Thy Mouth With Good Things
Last summer we were all sitting around the kitchen eating watermelon. There was Marisa age 9, Sarah age 6, their mom Lucia and myself. We all love watermelon. There was little Sarah just devouring her watermelon like the Tasmanian Devil. Her mom says to her "Sarah, why don't you slow down and enjoy your watermelon?". Sarah retrorted with great enthusiasm "I enjoy it by filling my mouth with it!".
Of course then you have to eat watermelon until you are absolutely stuffed with it. There is no such thing as too much watermelon. In a similar way God fills our souls with good things.
Have you tasted of the heavenly gift?. Have you tasted the good word of God? (Heb 6:4-5). Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious? (1 Pet 2:3). What is your consumption of the "good things" of God like? Are you consuming mass quantities? Are you devouring God's goodness like the Tasmanian Devil? Or are you nibbling at the good things of God like a 3 year old nibbles at brussels sprouts?
"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." John 6:35.
Renewed Like The Eagle's
Just like when I eat something my physical strength is restored; so when my soul is filled and satisfied with good things from the Lord, then my spiritual strength is restored. When my soul has had it's fill and is satisfied, it will be envigorated and will soar.6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
The LORD will set all things right at the judgment. The Bible doesn't say that vengeance is a bad thing. It just says that it belongs to the LORD. Vengeance is mine: I will reapay saith the Lord. So we are not to avenge ourselves, but give place to wrath.
When his people were in Egypt he heard their groanings and brought them forth, but he overthrew Pharaoh in the Red Sea.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
This is his way that he made know to Moses: the way of mercy and grace
Ex 34:5-6
5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
The LORD is "plenteous in mercy". He needs to be with us. If he weren't we exhaust his supply of mercy rather quickly. God's goodness requires him to judge sin.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
East From West
I'm not recommending that anyone go out and sin so that they can appreciate the power of this verse. But you have to have know depth of sin to really place the proper value on east from west. You have to recognize your own depravity. With people in this world your sins will follow you around. They stick to you. People will bring them up in conversatin. They will hold them against you. They will use them against you. They will harbor resentment..
But the LORD isn't like that. When the LORD removes our sins, they don't cling to us like static cling. He just doesn't wash our stains out, he shouts them out. They're at the bottom of the sea. It's not coming back.
So if he has removed your trangressions he is not holding them against you. When he looks at a saved person, he doesn't see sin; intstead he sees the righteousness of Christ.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” 1 Peter 1:24-25
Our life on this earth is very short. And we are in our prime for a much shorter time than that. “The glory of man” is like a flower: we bloom for a brief time and then begin to wither.
What meaning is there in life? What is the purpose? Is life all about eating and drinking, entertaining yourself and having fun? Does the greatest fulfillment come from pursuing career and raising a family? Life stinks and then you die. Is that all there is to it?
No matter how great your accomplishments are in this life, if they are not done for the glory of the Lord, then ultimately, in the final analysis they won’t matter one bit. The human death rate is 100%. If we cease to exist at death, then our short lives here are utterly meaningless. If we go into oblivion and have no memory of others, or ourselves then this life is completely futile.
Chances are that just 80 years from now, no one on this earth will remember you. If you should become famous like Ronald Reagan, you may be remembered longer but 10,000 years from now you will be completely forgotten. The Pharaoh’s of ancient Egypt left behind massive pyramids in memorial to themselves. But time and erosion are grinding down those structures and someday they will be no more. Even the universe itself is getting old and decaying. Nothing on this earth stands forever. Except one thing that is: “the word of the Lord endureth forever.” The Bible does not teach that we cease to exist when we die. Instead, it teaches that there will be a judgment day. Every prophecy in his word will be fulfilled including the final outcome. It "endureth" forever.
You don’t have to be driven by the philosophy of despair. The opposite of despair is hope. Your life can have meaning and be filled with blessed hope. The things that you do can reap eternal benefits. Your accomplishments can produce dividends that multiply forever and ever. In the meantime you will have love, joy and peace in this life. The way to gain this abundant eternal life is by knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior . Then you will have the great privilege of serving him as Lord. As someone once said:
“Life is short and soon it will be past. It’s only what you do for the Lord that will last.”
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
Verse 17 contrasts immensity eternity with the fading flower of verse 15. The mercy of the LORD is what connects our human frailty to eternity. In our frail human state, we are not suited for eternity. We're already falling apart.
Our believing children and their children for ever will find the word of the Lord the same. He will make his mercy and righteousness available to them just like he did to us. Notice that the next verse adds in keeping his covenant as a condition of the blessing.
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
A Call To Bless The LORD
The last 3 verses of the psalm are a call to worship. The call becomes increasingly broader in scope on each verse. First he calls the angels, then he calls all the LORD's servants and finally he calls all creation to bless the LORD.
Angels are powerful beings. More powerful in intellect and physical strength than we humans are. They behold the face of God (Matt 18:10).
But there is something that we know that the angels don't: what it's like to be redeemed. God didn't provide salvation for the angels who fell.
" For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham."Heb 2:16
It is a mystery to them. How can God take sinful creatures like men and make them into his sons who will inherit salvation? How can sinful men who have never seen the Lord's face praise him with everything that is in them?
1 Peter 1:12
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Eph 2:4-7
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 3:8-10
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.
God is making his wisdom known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places through the church. He's going to use his work of redemption in mankind to give the angels a lesson or two.
21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
The Book of Psalms
Introduction |
Psalm 1 |
Psalm 9 |
Psalm 23 |
Psalm 30 |
Psalm 33 |
Psalm 34 |
Psalm 46 |
Psalm 96 |
Psalm 103 |
Psalm 119