Bless the Lord, O My Soul

 

Psalm 103

 

8-23-2022

 

 

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.  The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.   He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.   He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.   He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.   For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.   As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

 

If you ever wonder why God said David was a man after His own heart.  As you read this Psalm you have a good understanding of why God said that.  In that first paragraph, you see what Jesus told us to do; Jesus himself said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. ' ” (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV).  

 

When we get to the word chide, not a word I use but it means express disapproval or rebuke.  Are you not excited when you read that He does not deal with us according to our sin, nor repay us according to our iniquities?  I come to believe we are all messed up we all sin, and often we are shown compassion.  

But who does God show compassion to those who fear Him?  My dad always gave us one change, but often we hoped he would not find out we did the same thing again and that meant a bathroom meeting with his belt,  So I grew to fear my dad, now I love him and I knew he loves me too much to not discipline when I broke his rules.  My dad was a man who loved people and he loved God and did the best he knew how at being a dad.  But God so loved us that He gave His only Son to step out of heaven where He was worshiped and sent Him to earth to teach us about His Father and how to love Him.  That was a threat to the religious leaders and they lied about Him and turned Him over to the Romans to be killed.  That is how much God loves us.  All that David said and more, but once we are His child, he must discipline us when we act like He does not see are hear.  See Dad was not all-knowing but God is, Dad did not have the ability to see my heart, but God can, and does.  Yes, I love God, but I also fear Him, for I have no delusion, I fall short in many areas of this life.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice