Bless the Lord

 

Psalm 103:1-2 (NKJV) ¹  Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! ²  Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Bless means to praise highly as holy; to glorify, which means to honor with praise, admiration, or worship. Our problem is we forget so easily! We must think before we can thank. We must ponder before we can praise. We must remember before we can rejoice. Here are five blessed benefits of the Lord that we must not forget.

I. There’s the Benefit of Pardon [v:3] “Who forgives all your iniquities!” David begins by reminding us that God forgives all our iniquity (sin -wickedness). Our greatest problem is the guilt we feel because of our sin, and our greatest need is to know we have been forgiven by the Lord. David says that God forgives “all” our iniquity. That’s good news, isn’t it? Some of us have really blown it big time, and we have messed up over and over and over again. And we’ve done the same dumb things repeatedly even after promising never to do them again. I’m glad the word “all” is included because it means that God intends to forgive my future sins. When Christ died, all our sins were in the future. And when we come to Christ, all our sins are forgiven, even the yet-to-be-committed sins. But we must not let our forgiveness be a license to sin! What a God we serve! What grace! He forgives all our sins—past, present and future. He’s more willing to forgive than we are to be forgiven. He is eager and ready to forgive us all.

II. The Benefit of Healing [v:3] “Who heals all your diseases.” After doctors and nurses have done all they can do, and after we have used all the latest technology and taken the newest drugs, healing must come directly from the Lord. Good medicine and good prayer go together. That’s why we pray for the sick. We may be healed by medicine or by surgery or by some other course of treatment or we may find healing through prayer or by a miracle from the Lord. All of those things are possible. And remember that any healing in this life is limited and temporary. Our ultimate healing comes when we are raised immortal and incorruptible. Then at last we will be totally, completely, and finally healed once and for all. Between now and then give thanks to the Lord for every bit of healing you experience. “Do you believe in divine healing?” That’s the only kind there is. It just comes in many different ways.

III. Benefit of Deliverance from Destruction [v:4] “Who redeems your life from the destruction.” To redeem means to rescue from danger in the time of trouble. Destruction refers to death itself. That you are here today is proof positive that you have been saved from destruction. God has preserved you to this very moment and has protected you every step of your journey. If God willed it to be so, you would die today, but it cannot happen without God’s permission. Satan himself cannot touch you without God’s permission. We have been saved from the destruction of hell. Since all our days are written in God’s book according to (Psalm 139:16), and He alone knows how our earthly journey will end, we don’t have to live in fear of the future. Every day the Lord rescues us in a million ways that we don’t see. Psalm 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. When the time comes to die, we will die, but we are immortal until our work on earth is done. God is constantly at work behind the scenes, working to protect us from trouble, to clear the way ahead, and to give us strength for each new day.

IV. Benefit of a Coronation [v:4] God crowns us with loving-kindness and tender mercies. We are crowned with loving-kindness, the loyal, unending, affectionate, unchanging love of God. He heaps up his blessings—and then he pours them out on us. Then he crowns us with “tender mercies.” Mercy implies our failures and defeat. God doesn't give us what we deserve. Tender mercies means God knows what we are going through and He meets us where we are. He is sensitive toward us. If we were to receive what we truly deserve from God, we would stand no chance. Instead of justice or fairness, God give us “tender mercies.” The crown reminds us of our position as the children of God. Only kings and queens wear crowns, but it is the privilege of every Christian to be crowned with loving-kindness and the tender mercy of God.

V. Benefit of Satisfaction ” Psalms 103:5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So your youth is renewed like the eagle's. God satisfies your life with good. That means there is nothing on earth that can satisfy us deeply except God Himself. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights with whom is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:17) But the emphasis is not on what we possess but on what possesses us. To be satisfied means to be so full of God that you need nothing else. Here David speaks of satisfaction deeper than anything the world can offer. God says to His children, “I will give you whatever you need so you can soar like the eagle.” All of us need this. I know I need it. There is a way to renew yourself, your energy, your outlook and your attitude. And what is this “miracle cure”? Fill your life with God and His good gifts to you. If you will let him, the Lord will give you something the world cannot match. The end result will be blessings now and also everlasting immortal life.

Conclusion: We need to daily thank and bless God for all His benefits toward us and show our thanks by living for Him each day.

Invitation: Have you taken advantage of God's love in the salvation of your soul? If not, confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and invite Him into your life right now. Don't put it off. It's later than you think.