Hi, Friend!

Welcome back! I’m excited to dig back into Psalm 103 with you, a psalm of praise that has inspired countless poems and songs. Yesterday, I asked you to take some time to reread Psalm 103 and make note of the qualities and actions that David praises God for possessing or doing. I hope you were able to do that; if you were, I encourage you to have those notes handy as we study together.

The rest of this week we’ll share in David’s admiration and praise of the Lord for His holy character and the loving kindness of His actions toward us. I’ll share my markings in the verse below; to spare your eyesight from all of the bold font, underlining, and highlighting, I’ll share on a day-by-day basis. Let’s begin be re-reading verses 1 through 5 below.

The Forgiving God
Of David.

1 My soul, bless the Lord,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 My soul, bless the Lord,
and do not forget all his benefits.

3 He forgives all your iniquity;
he heals all your diseases.
4 He redeems your life from the Pit;
he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
5 He satisfies you with good things;
your youth is renewed like the eagle.

6 The Lord executes acts of righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He revealed his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.
9 He will not always accuse us
or be angry forever.
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve
or repaid us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his faithful love
toward those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed
our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass—
he blooms like a flower of the field;
16 when the wind passes over it, it vanishes,
and its place is no longer known.
17 But from eternity to eternity
the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him,
and his righteousness toward the grandchildren
18 of those who keep his covenant,
who remember to observe his precepts.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord,
all his angels of great strength,
who do his word,
obedient to his command.
21 Bless the Lord, all his armies,
his servants who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works
in all the places where he rules.
My soul, bless the Lord!

Have you ever had to give your soul a pep talk? You, know those times when you know God is good, but things don’t feel good, right now? When you know God is working all things for good but you can’t see the good, right now?

I certainly know I have to give my soul a pep talk sometimes, and when I read verses 1 and 2, I get the feeling that maybe David had this conversation with his soul sometimes:

David: Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise His name!

Soul: Ugh, everything looks awful. Our enemies are everywhere. Nothing is going our way. Why should we praise God?

David: Don’t forget what He’s done! Remember all of His acts of loving kindness toward us!

Soul: I don’t see anything right now. What’s He done that’s so loving and kind?

David: Well, let me write a whole song about it!

And away David launches into writing Psalm 103.

I don’t know if it happened like that or not, but, friend, I know that’s how the conversation goes for me and my soul sometimes. Sometimes when my eyes just refuse to see goodness, when my soul is weary, dreary, and down in the dumps, I just have to sit and recite, write out, or pray back to God all of the good things that God has done for humanity collectively and for me, my family, and my friends individually.

Let’s look at a few of those acts of loving kindness that David lists; I have a strong belief that they apply to you and to me too.

• He forgives ALL our iniquity; the sins that we actually commit in thought or deed and EVEN our sinful motivations. (1 John 1:9; Isaiah 43:25; Psalm 86:5)
• He heals ALL of our diseases; He provides us with spiritual healing on this side of heaven and physical healing on this side of heaven or in heaven, all in His perfect timing and will. (1 Peter 2:24; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 146:8, 147:3)
• He redeems our lives from the Pit; through the virgin birth, life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sin debt has been paid. Hell, which David calls the Pit, has no grip on those who believe on Jesus. (1 John 2:2; Acts 13:38-39; Romans 6:23; John 3:16-17)
• He crowns us with faithful love and compassion; the King of kings and Lord of lords wore a crown of thorns upon His head so that He could place a crown of love and compassion on the heads of those who believe on Him! (Lamentations 3:22-23; Psalm 78:38-39; James 5:11; 2 Peter 3:9)
• He satisfies us with good things; those who believe on the Lord do not need to worry about what to wear or what to eat. He provides all we need as a good, good Father, grants us many of our wants as well. (Matthew 6:25-34; John 15:7; Matthew 7:9-11)
• He renews our youth like the eagle; He lifts up our spirits like an eagle floating on the wind and He gives us energy through boundless joy and peace, renewing our hope, our outlook, our purpose, and so much more. (Isaiah 40:31; Ephesians 4:22-24; 2 Corinthians 4:16, 5:17; Titus 3:3-8)

O my soul, why should you bless the Lord?

For starters, because God alone is worthy of our praise (Deuteronomy 10:21)!

But for those days when your soul needs a little extra convincing:

Bless God, praise His name, because of all of His benefits above, remembering that we have just scratched the surface on God’s holy character and His loving kindness toward us. On tough days, reread Psalm 103 and read the verses I’ve referenced above.

Truly, friend, regardless of what our eyes see, what our ears hear, what our hearts feel, the Lord God Almighty is deserving of all our praise.

My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

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References for the study of the word “bless” in Psalm 103:

Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1288/kjv/wlc/0-5/#lexResults

Holman KJV Study Bible. 2012. Holman Bible Publishers. Nashville, TN.