Bless the Lord

 

Psalms 103:1-2 (NKJV)
¹ A Psalm of David. 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: That’s our problem, 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. “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 forgiveness from 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. He wants to forgive us all.

II. Benefit of Healing. “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 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. In that happy resurrection day, when Jesus comes and the “dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16), 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 varieties.

III. Benefit of Deliverance from Destruction. “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 are not dead. 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—and you might die today—but it cannot happen without God’s permission. Satan himself cannot touch you without God’s permission. Since all our days are written in God’s book (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. His angels encamp around us to deliver us from trouble. When the time comes to die, we will die. 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. “Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” We are crowned with the loyal, unending, 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. Tender mercies means God knows what we are going through and He meets us where we are. 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 lovingkindness and the tender mercy of God.

V. Benefit of Satisfaction. ” Psalms 103:5 (NKJV) 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 light 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 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’s good gifts to you. If you will let him, the Lord will give you something the world cannot match. The end result will be everlasting immortal life. God says, “I want to satisfy you—not with gold but with good.” Not with that which glitters today and is gone tomorrow but with that which is permanent, eternal, and ever increasing in value.

Conclusion: We can thank God for all His benefits toward us and show our thanks by living for Him each day. What a wonderful God we serve!

Invitation: If you do not know these benefits of God, just confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you from hell. He will not turn you away and it will be the greatest day of your life and you will receive all of God's benefits.