The Benefits of Blessing the Lord
Psalm 103:1-14
April 20-21, 2024
This is another one of David's psalms. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. One of the great ones. Very much quoted. It was a psalm to be sung, of course. I tell you, when I read this psalm, many worship songs come to my mind. Some of the great songs, look at the first verse, for example, you might recognize, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name." Do you all remember that song that we used to sing that was just so amazing, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name." Anybody remember that song? Yes. If you don't remember that song, then turn to somebody and say, "Was that song good because that didn't sound good?" Was that song good? Really? Was that good? No, that was good. That was, "Oh, we just love to bless the Lord." Now, interestingly, when David writes this psalm, and you can see there that David is writing to his own soul. Who is David speaking to? "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name." This is very interesting.
Do you speak to yourself? Of course, you do. Everybody talks to themselves. The question is, what do you say? See, David understands the strength of it. See, many, when they speak to themselves, everybody does, but many, when they speak to themselves, they oftentimes speak very self-critical, very harsh words to themselves, and they defeat themselves by their own manner of thinking within their own mind. David understands the strength of that. He understands how to speak faith to life by the words that he speaks to his own soul. Now, there are other examples of David. For example, when David was in his darkest hour, enduring the greatest difficulty of his life, and we've spoken of this before, this is when his own son, Absalom, had stirred up a conspiracy against him. When the people of Israel, over to Absalom, that he determined to defeat David and was going to march on Jerusalem, David's own son betrayed him, David's closest friends betrayed him, and David realized that he had to flee Jerusalem, so he fled Jerusalem. It was on the other side of the Jordan.
There in the wilderness, he wrote the words of Psalm 42, again, writing to his own soul, speaking faith to life in Psalm 42, "Why are you in so despair, O my soul? Why have you become so disturbed within me? Hope in God, man, for I shall yet again praise Him for the help of His presence. And I know that the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life." David understood the strength of speaking to his own soul.
When you come to Psalm 103, now he's back. God in the miraculous hand that moved on David's life has brought him back. He's defeated Absalom, and now, he's again reigning as king of Jerusalem. He looks back on his life. He is so thankful for all that God has done. He speaks life and worship to the living God within his own soul. He reminds his soul of the blessings that God pours out upon the one who blesses God out of the fullness of the soul within them. Let's read it. Psalm 103:1. We won't read all of the verses. There's quite a few verses.
I. Forget None of His Benefits
We'll read the other verses at our Wednesday verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter service. Let's begin Psalm 103:1. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits," and he's going to tell us what those are, "Who pardons all our iniquities, who heals all our diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The Lord performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed, downtrodden." Verse 7, "He has made His ways known to Moses, and His acts to the sons of Israel." The Lord is compassionate. These are the ways he has shown to Moses, and David is going to show them to us. "The Lord is compassionate and gracious." It is His way. "God is slow to anger, abounding and lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever."
In other words, He will not hold on to the anger. No, "He will not deal with us according to our sins, nor has He rewarded us according to our iniquities." Oh, are we thankful to God for that. "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him, to revere Him," who honor and respect Him. Then, verse 12 is that famous verse we have quoted many, many times, "As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as the Father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear, those who revere Him. For He himself knows our frame, and mindful that we are but dust," weak. Compassion says, "I'm mindful of that." Then, if you would, look to verse 19, which is the great grand finale of it all, "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty reigns over all." Oh, what a great psalm is this, still one of the great ones. There is so much for us to take hold of, to apply. Notice from the very beginning, "forget none of His benefits," but notice how he begins, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name." Then, "forget none of His benefits."
Now, the word benefits here is very important to understand correctly. It's most often, almost always in the Hebrew, it's used to express the idea of recompense or reward. In other words, something received in return for that which is given. For example, Proverbs 12:14 contains the same word where it says, "A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words." See, the fruit of your words. Fruit is sweet. When the words that come out of you are a blessing, they are filled with good.
Then, he says, "A man who is like that will be satisfied with good, it will come back to you," those who speak fruit out of their words. Then, he says, "And the deeds of a man's hands will return to him." There is the principle right there. See, God gives these blessings, these benefits to the one who understands, to bless the Lord, O my soul. David, see, understands, David delighted in the Almighty and loved to give expression to that delight by blessing the Lord out of the depths of his soul. God says, "I love that." When you bless the Lord out of your soul, and all that is within you blesses His holy name, I love that.
I want to pour out these blessings and benefits to those who understand how to bless the Lord, but would you understand David's perspective here? See, David is looking at God, how amazing is God. See, in other words, it's not about me, it's about Him. David says, "God, you are amazing. Your glory is beautiful."
Imagine, if you would, the scripture gives all of these places where it describes the throne of the Almighty. Can you imagine standing before the glory of the Almighty? You would be amazed. "Oh, glorious, how wonderful, how beautiful you are. Oh, this is not about me, this is about you. You are amazing." David understands this, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me. I want to bless your holy name for you are amazing."
See, David walked in this faith, this relationship to God for so many years, it became the condition of his soul. David understood what it meant to drink from the river of God's delight. See, once David understood, he didn't just drink once. You don't just drink once from the river of God's delight.
No, David understood, oh, that he could come and drink regularly from the living water, the river of God's delight, and you do that, and something happens in the soul. Now, we love, of course, to read of the benefits that we receive. Oh, we love to think about what God might give to us, but we cannot miss the premise and foundation, no, that these are the rewards and benefits that God delights to give to those who delight in Him. I love that. When you bless the Lord, O my soul, God says, "Oh, I delight in the one who delights in me, and I want to bless. I want to pour out these benefits." See, we must see it from that perspective personally. What about you? What is the condition of your soul? Understand this great depth of understanding. Oh, to bless the Lord from the fullness of your soul. All that is within me, I want to bless His holy name. You bless Him for what He is, who He is, and then what He has done in your life. See, David is so thankful. Oh, he is so amazed at what God has done. He looks back on his life.
He's so amazed. God, you have been absolutely amazing in my life and I want to just bless you. All that is within me wants to bless you for that. I'll tell you what, I can say the same, God has blessed my life. I am so thankful to God. He has blessed my life. Anybody else want to add your yes and amen to that? Can we give God praise? He's blessed my life. Consider all that God has done for you. The holy, righteous, almighty God seeks a sinner like me? Then, he says, "If you would just open the door of your heart, I call out your name. If you would open the door of your heart, I will come into your life. I will sup with you." That means we will have fellowship, we're going to have relationship. I'll pour out my glory, I'll pour my Holy Spirit, I'll walk with you in the course of this life, I'll pour out my glory. God has done such amazing things. We're so thankful for that. When you see what God has done, when you open your heart, you have relationship to you. You are amazed and you want to give Him thanks for it. You want to give Him glory for all that He's done for you. He gives you the Spirit that you would drink from the river of His delight. That's why you bless Him out of your soul.
A. Who pardons all your iniquities
All that is within you bless His holy name. Then, it says, "Then he loves to pour out the benefits, the blessings on those who will bless the Lord out of the fullness of their soul." Notice then he tells us what those are. Starting in Verse 3, "Who pardons all our iniquities." How can you have a relationship with God unless He pardons all your iniquities? God pursues sinners. You see, God knows that it is that sin and that iniquity that causes this great chasm, this great distance between man and God. God has compassion. God has grace and He pursues a sinner to come to Himself and find pardon for all your iniquities. See, when you bow the knee before the Father, when you open the door of your heart, He forgives, He pardons because of his Son, Jesus Christ, who has paid the penalty for every sin that you ever committed when He bled and died on the cross. He forgives, He pardons, and it says He no longer holds those sins against you. They are no longer written on your account. Notice Verse 12, "As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
That is amazing. That's why you want to bless the Lord out of the fullness of your soul. That's amazing. Now, it says a very similar thing. In the New Testament in Hebrews 8:12, "I will be merciful on their iniquities and their sins and lawless deeds, I will remember no more." They will not be written on your account. I will not remember them. He says, "I will remember them no more." Other people may remember, your mother-in-law may remember, but God says, "No. Your sins and lawless deeds, I will remember no more because they have been covered by the blood that Jesus shed to pay for them all." Then, it adds, "Forget none of his benefits, who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases." Last week, one of our dear sisters sent me a video. Interestingly, it fit right into the psalm. It was a video of the story of a pastor who loved to teach the Word of God but was stricken by a virus, and the virus scarred his throat so that he was no longer able to speak without great difficulty, the scarring and whatnot. He said it was like someone had a hold of his throat and he couldn't hardly speak anymore.
B. Who heals all your diseases
He had to quit being a pastor because he couldn't speak. He had great trouble, it was very hard. He had to quit the ministry. He could barely find a job at all. Years went by, and a pastor friend of his asked him if he would come and teach his Sunday school class. He said, "It's very hard for people to hear me. They don't like my voice." He said, "I want you to come. Please come." He agreed. He decided to speak on Psalm 103 because it's a glorious psalm. As he's teaching through Psalm 103, he comes to this verse, this very verse, "Forget none of his benefits, who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases." When he said those very words, he began to speak clearly. He said, "I don't know what's happening here. I don't know what's happening here. I haven't been able to speak for years." They knew, the people in the class. Interestingly, this was recorded. The people started to clap because they knew what was happening. God was healing him the very moment that he said those words. Let's give a little praise. Exactly right.
He went to the doctor later who says, "I don't even see any scar tissue."
He went back to the ministry, he went back to being a pastor, and even started a daily radio program. God redeems. I tell you, I believe that God still heals today. Amen. Can we give that a little praise? Amen. I want to speak to this also. If you have good health, then praise Him. Praise Him for your good health, for He's kept you from sickness and illness. I also understand that God can use doctors and physicians. However, I remember reading a medical book many, many years ago, written by a Christian doctor who says, "I can do a procedure, but there is no healing unless God is in it." Now, that is a biblical right perspective. Interestingly, Jesus said this in Luke 5:30-32, "The Scribes and the Pharisees complained saying, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Those who are well have no need for a physician, but those who are sick.'" Jesus said those who are sick need a physician. "I have not come to call the righteous. I've come to call sinners to repentance." We see that, but then we must also see the miraculous hand of God that still moves, that still touches, and still heals. God is able. God still moves.
C. Who redeems your life from the pit
I have seen it. I know. I've heard also many people give their testimony. They seen it, they know it, they experienced it. God still heals today. Pray and believe and ask God for God still heals today. Anybody believe? Amen. Then, he says, "Forget none of His benefits, who pardons all our iniquities, who heals all our diseases." Then, he says, "Who redeems your life from the pit." The word pit literally means, of course, a pit, but it's an expression that can mean deep trouble, dangers, even dangers to the point of death kind of dangers. It can also mean life's traumas, life's difficulties. We even say sometimes, "Oh, that's the pits." We understand life. There are times pits. People fall into a pit. Isaiah 30:17. It says, "It is you who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness." There are pits that people have fallen into. When someone falls into a pit, it grieves God. God is compassionate and gracious. When He sees the suffering of someone who's fallen into a pit, he says, "Please know that God is the one who redeems your life from the pit."
II. He Crowns You with Lovingkindness
If you'd only understand , he says, that what it means to bless the Lord. For all that He is, Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me, bless His holy name. He says, "God will redeem me from the pit." Marriages that start out with the best of hope that fall into a pit. God is grieved when a marriage falls into a pit. I tell you, when you look to God to help, when you bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, God will redeem your marriage from the pit. Here's why. Because when you understand that God is the one who will fill your soul with glory, when you have come to declare from that, "Bless the Lord, all my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name," you will be transformed by it. Something happens to the soul that blesses the Lord from all that is within you. Something happens in that soul. God will transform you. When God has transformed your soul, you will be way better at this husbanding thing. You'll be way better at this wifeing thing.
I know that's terrible grammar, but you get my point. That when your soul is transformed, God will transform you as a husband. When your soul is transformed, God will transform you as a wife, and God will redeem this marriage from the pit. If your marriage is in the pit, I'm here today to tell you that God wants to redeem it. Look to Him, have hope in Him. God will redeem this. Loneliness, despair is a pit. Despair has caused many people to try to medicate their troubles with alcohol, or they start abusing prescriptions or even hard drugs. Then, one day, they find themselves in a pit because they made it worse. They made it worse. Now their life is a mess. Praise God, He is the one who redeems your life from the pit. God can rescue, God can save. He is your deliverer. I tell you, you bless the Lord, all my soul and all that is within you, forget none of His benefits, and He will redeem your life. If you're in a pit of any type today, please know that God still redeems people, and God will still pour His glory, and God is the one with compassion and lovingkindness, and He will redeem your life from the pit.
A. Who satisfies your years with good things
Amen. Can we give the Lord praise? Amen. Would you see where he goes next? "Forget none of His benefits. Who pardons all our iniquities, who heals our diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, and who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion." What a great contrast. He crowns you with lovingkindness. See, what a great contrast. He redeems your life from the pit, and then He crowns you with lovingkindness. The crown, the glory of it. What a great thing. He takes the life of the one who's in the pit, redeems your life out of it, and then crowns them with lovingkindness, with glory. Then, he says, "Who will satisfy your years with good things." Literally with good. Verse 5. Now, the phrase, "Satisfies your years with good things," in Hebrew, it's very important to understand. The word years there is not literally the word years. He says, He crowns your ornament or the jewel of your life, the ornament. You say, "What does that have to do with years?" No, he's talking about the glory of the ornament years. He's talking about the glory of those who have grey hair.
It's the glory, he says, "I will crown the ornament years. I will satisfy the ornament years with glory." Those of you who are young, you ought to hope one day you get grey hair. It's the crowning glory, he says. Pastor, I think you're not talking Bible now. Oh, yes, I am. Proverbs 16:31, "A grey head is a crown of glory." It's right there in the Bible. It's Bible, people. He's talking about the crown of glory. God is the one who satisfies the ornament years, crowned you with glory. It's found in the way of righteousness. Those who walk steadfastly. Those who have learned to bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me. You walk in that steadfastly. Glory abounding in your soul. You will find your soul satisfied in your ornament years. Reminds me of Moses. When Moses was 120, God says, "You've come to the end. I want you to walk--" He was there in the valley camped with Israel. "I want you to walk to the peak of Mount Pisgah." From there, he would see the land that God had promised to give to Israel. He would not enter into it. There on Mount Pisgah, he would see that land that God had promised, and then he would sleep with his Fathers.
I wonder what that walk, that long walk alone, would have been like as Moses walked to the top of Mount Pisgah. What was that like? Was he saying to himself, "Oh my, Oh dear. It's come to this. It's come to this. Oh my, Oh, dear." Do you think he would say that? No, I don't think so. I think that he would say, as he took that long walk alone to the top of Mount Pisgah, I think he would have said, "Lord, it's been a good journey. It's been a good life. Oh, there's been up and downs. Those people that you gave me to lead. That people of Israel, they were a difficult people, but God, you showed me your glory. You showed me your ways. What you did in my life, it's been good. It's been a good walk, Lord. It's been a good journey. Thank you." Wouldn't you want to come to the end and look back and say the same? It's been a good journey, Lord. It's been a good walk. Oh, there have been ups and downs, but it's been a good journey. God will crown your ornament years. He will satisfy your ornament years with glory. Ah, it's been good. I want to look back. That's what I want. I want to look back on my life because I can say it right now.
I can say it right now, "God, it's been a good journey. It's been a blessed life. It's been a good walk, and I got a lot more to go." I have so much in my heart I want to do for the kingdom. God has blessed my life. I can say it right now. I want to say it even more when I come to the end and I look back, it's been a good journey. How many would say the same? I want that for my life. Amen. Yes, let's give that a little praise. Absolutely right. What a beautiful thing. He says, "He satisfies your crowning ears with good." Then he says that your youth is renewed like that of an eagle. You will find your soul. Even in your ornament years, you'll find yourself vibrant and alive. We just saw this. We just saw it in Psalm 92, another one of the glory Psalms. Psalm 92, we read in Verses 12-14, "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree." That's it. God wants your soul to flourish. When you come to understand how to bless the Lord, Oh my soul, all that is within me, your soul will flourish in the courts of the Lord. "Planted in the house of God," he says, "They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in their old age, and they will be full of sap and very green."
Now, Paul wrote something very interesting. Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 4:16, he says, "We do not lose heart, for though our outer man is decaying, yes, of course, as you get older, your outer body starts to weaken. These bodies are just temporary tents to dwell in. The soul," he says, "The inner man is being renewed day by day." There is a great key to life. Day by day, renewed within, like the strength of an eagle, renewed because you come to understand how to dwell in the lovely dwelling places of the Lord. Those who wait on the Lord will be renewed. You've come to see how lovely are your dwelling places, you will be renewed. Something in your soul arises of strength. Isaiah 40:31, "Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength." He's speaking here the spiritual bearing within the soul. "They will gain new strength. They'll mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not faint." Then, notice Verse 7, "He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel." David reminds, see, know His ways and you'll know Him.
B. Know His ways and You will know Him
Like, "I want to know you God, I want to know you more. What are your thoughts? I want to know the thoughts that you have. I want to know you. I want to know your ways. When you stand in awe, God you are amazing. Glory is abound-- I want to know you. I want to know your thoughts. I want to know the ways." He says, "He made known His ways to Moses." Well, that reminds us when Moses had brought Israel out of Egypt and brought them to Sinai at that mountain where Moses was on the mountain, those 40 days receiving the law of God, that the people, of course, you know the story that they had grown impatient, then began to sin there. Then, Moses came down, of course, saw them in this and was angry. Later, he was interceding, praying, interceding. In that praying and in that interceding, he asked for something for himself, something amazing. Exodus 33:13, "Now therefore, I pray, if I found favor in your sight, let me know your ways that I may know you." Later, show me your glory. I want to know you. I want to know your ways.
This is the heart of the one who delights in the Almighty, who's come to understand how to bless the Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name. I want to know you. David there in Psalm 103 then tells us the ways you want to know God. You want to know His ways. He describes for us some of the ways of God. Now for us who live in the new covenant of grace, it's wonderfully seen in Jesus. Jesus is the revealing of the ways of God. Notice, starting in Verse 8, where David describes the ways of God. "The Lord is compassionate and gracious." That is God's way. "God is slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness." That is the way. You want to know God, that is His way. "He would not always strive or contend with us, nor will He keep His anger." He wouldn't hold onto it. No. "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." God, we praise God for that. He says, "But this is the way of my heart, as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who give Him a revering."
God is holy and righteous, but He's compassionate and He's gracious. He does not treat us according to our sins. He does not treat us according to our guilt. That is the message of the gospel. That is the good news of Jesus Christ. That is the message of the cross. If you're here this morning and you've stumbled, you faltered, you are very much aware of your sin. You're very much aware. You might even be saying to yourself, "I'm so ashamed of what has happened this week. I'm so ashamed. I'm such a hypocrite. I'm not worthy even to go into that church. Do I dare even lift my eyes to heaven?" Well, this Psalm was written for you. I want you to know the ways of God, and I beg you to know that God is compassionate, that God loves you. That's why He set His Son to seek and to save that which was lost. God is pursuing you. God does not treat us, deal with us according to what we deserve, but He's compassionate. Then it says in Verse 9, "He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness."
You could be harboring things you know in your own heart and in your own mind, things you did years ago, and they're still there. You might even wonder, "Am I truly forgiven? Did Christ really forgive me? Did He really pay for all that I did on the cross?" The answer is yes, yes, yes. Yes, let's give the Lord praise. Exactly right. Yes. Says, God will not keep His anger forever. In other words, God will not point His finger at you forever and ever. God forgives. When God forgives, this matter is settled in heaven and it is settled for eternity. See, the one who wants to keep reminding you of your past is the enemy, the one who keeps reminding you of your sin and your failure is the devil, the enemy of your soul. He will keep reminding you. He wants to keep accusing you of your past because he doesn't want you to be free of it. He wants to keep you in chains, keep you bound so that you give up and quit, but God says, "I want you to know the ways of God. God is compassionate. God is gracious, and He has removed our transgressions from us as far as the East is from the West." That is what the cross is all about. You can go West to eternity and you'll never find East. [silence]
Then, David brings us to the grand finale of it all in Verse 19. Psalm 103:19, "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all." See, there is the grand finale. His sovereignty rules over all. He's the great king over all the earth. There comes a time to bow the knee before the great king, to bow the knees to recognize that He is the captain, the commander, the Savior. He's the glory of God revealed. Does God rule in your life? Is He the king of your life? Do you bow the knee? See, there comes a point of humbling where one says, "I bow the knee. I believe. I bow the knee. I believe you're the king. You're the master. You're the commander. You're the captain of my soul. I believe. I bless the Lord, oh my soul. All that is within me blesses your holy name for you are amazing. I bow the knee before the Father. He's compassionate. He's kind. He abundantly pardons, but it begins there, I bow the knee, I believe."
Comes a point of saying, "I believe. Yes, Jesus, I'm ready to say yes, Jesus. I'm ready to say I bow the knee. You are my king. You are the captain of my soul. You are the commander, you're the master, you're the Savior. You're worthy of it all. I bow my knee. I give you glory. All that is within me blesses your holy name, for you're worthy." God will transform a life like that. God delights in those who come to that point of saying, "I bow my knee for you are worthy of it all." Let's pray. Oh, Lord, my God, how awesome is your holy name? How amazing are you, God? Your glory is beautiful. We've come to see how beautiful is your glory. Your majesty reigns over all the earth. We bow the knee for the Father. You are the king. I want to bless you, Lord, oh, my soul and all that is within me. I want to bless Your holy name because I bow the knee. Church, would that be you today? Is God stirring you to just give Him that recognition, that glory of who He is?
Would you say to the Lord today, "I bow my knee, I believe You are the great King, the Sovereign King over all the earth, and You're the King over my life. I bow my knee. I say to You today, all that is within me, bless Your holy name. You are worthy of it all"? Is that you, church, would you say that to the Lord? If that is you, you would declare that, would you just raise your hand as a way of declaring that? Just saying that to the Lord today, I bow my knee, I give You glory. You're amazing, with all that is within me, I bless Your holy name. Thank You, Lord. We give You honor, praise for meeting us here, for showing us the ways of God. We give You praise. We give You glory. In Jesus' name, and everyone said. Can we give Him honor? Amen. Amen.