Psalm 103 is one of my favorite psalms! It’s all about praising the Lord for all He’s done for us. There’s a beautiful hymn, “Bless the Lord, O My Soul” which I’ve shared at the bottom. That brings me back to when I sang in the choir in Miami. Another uplifting song based on this psalm is “Bless the Lord” from Godspell. That takes me back to my college days when as part of the Madrigal Singers, we toured New England performing a medley of Godspell songs. I’ve got that one for you at the bottom as well. Let’s praise the Lord! You can’t be depressed, anxious, or upset while you’re worshiping and praising God!
I’m going to do this post differently as this psalm covers many of the “benefits” of a relationship with our Creator. I’ll quote some of the psalm, and then expand on it. Additionally, my church covered this psalm as part of their Summer of Psalms. I have that video at the bottom, too.
This one is powerful! Let’s dig in…
Psalm 103
A psalm of David.
1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
Psalm 103:1-5 NLT
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
5 He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
Praise the Lord!
This is a love song to the Lord, but isn’t that what our praise and worship should be? We often forget all that God does for us. Another version states the end of verse 2 as “And forget not all His benefits…” A few years ago I did a series of podcasts with 22 Benefits of Salvation (besides Heaven). King David here is thanking God for all that He’s done for him:
- Forgiveness
- Healing
- Redemption
- Love and mercy
- Good things
- Vim and vigor
See, David was persecuted by King Saul for years. Finally, what God promised him — that he would be king of Israel — came to pass.
Regarding the healing of “all my diseases” in verse 3, Pastor Sandy Adams elaborates…
God promised Old Testament Israel immunity from disease, but He made promises to Israel he never made to the Church. God promises His Church spiritual health. At times, He heals us physically – but disease-free living is not a component of His New Testament benefits. One day, when we get to heaven, God will heal all our diseases, but not in this life. Right now we’re as subject to germs as the sinner next-door.
Pastor Sandy Adams
At age 69, I suffer from osteoarthritis and a few other ailments. However, though I pray every day for God to heal me, I am assured that when I die or I’m Raptured — whichever comes first — I’ll be no longer in pain. Going on…
6 The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.7 He revealed his character to Moses
Psalm 103:6-10 NLT
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
The Fair Judge
You might think, “Wait! Some so many people are oppressed and treated unfairly! Where is their justice?” Yes, but here David is referring to God rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Thus, he talks about Moses and his encounter with God at Mount Sinai. We find that story in the Book of Exodus.
Yes, God is compassionate and merciful. He gives us so many second chances to turn our lives around and obey Him. He’s been letting us live with our sins. Imagine if God’s wrath struck us each time we sinned! We’d be dead right after our first “white lie”! Why? Because of His unfailing Love and His gift of Grace through Jesus Christ…
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
Psalm 103:11-12 NLT
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
Notice, the psalmist doesn’t say “as far as the north is from the south.” The earth is round, so you can travel north to a point, and eventually start south again. But you can go east forever. North and south meet – not east and west. That’s why verse 12 says God has taken our sin as far as the east is from the west. In Christ our sin is gone once and for all – and forever!
Pastor Sandy Adams
13 The Lord is like a father to his children,
Psalm 103:13-18 NLT
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14 For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust. (Study Ecclesiastes)
15 Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
16 The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
17 But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
18 of those who are faithful to his covenant,
of those who obey his commandments!
The Brevity of Life
Life is short. I know, I just attended a memorial service for a friend who was 5 years older than me. Nevertheless, Jesus offers us Eternal Life, which starts the moment we surrender our lives to Him. I know I’ll see my friend in Heaven someday. In the meantime, I keep seeking God’s purpose for my life — faithful to His Covenant and obeying His Commandments.
19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne;
Psalm 103:19 NLT
from there he rules over everything.
With this verse, we are assured of a few things…
- God is in control. No matter who is president, prime minister, king, or shah, Jesus rules!
- He controls the course of world events.
- He removes kings and sets up other kings.
- Being omnipresent, He is EVERYWHERE.
- Being omniscient, He KNOWS AND SEES EVERYTHING.
Everyone Praise the Lord!
Psalm 103:20-22 NLT20 Praise the Lord, you angels,
you mighty ones who carry out his plans,
listening for each of his commands.
21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels
who serve him and do his will!
22 Praise the Lord, everything he has created,
everything in all his kingdom.Let all that I am praise the Lord.
As this modern worship song says, “As long as I’m breathing, I’m going to praise the Lord!”
Praise the Lord
Where is the Gospel?
Finally, I turn to the folks at Spoken Gospel to expand on the Gospel message in this psalm…
Like David, we should remind ourselves and the people around us of God’s remarkable compassion. One way to do this is to remind ourselves of all the ways God has protected and provided for us in his love. But God’s ultimate act of compassion was demonstrated when God sent Jesus to forgive undeserving people like us.
When we look at Jesus, we see God’s compassion towards his people. Jesus’ earthly ministry was marked by forgiving sins, healing diseases, and raising people from the dead (Matthew 4:23; 9:20-25). But just like their forefathers, the people of Jesus’ day hated and rebelled against his displays of compassion and forgiveness. But Jesus was so slow to anger he refused to defend himself and allowed them to torture and kill him. Abounding in compassion, he even asked God to forgive his executioners as they nailed his hands and feet to a cross (Luke 23:34). But in his death, Jesus was doing more than simply being slow to anger. Jesus was dying as rebels deserved so that rebels like us could live as if their sins had been wiped off the map. Jesus then rose from the dead to show God’s compassion extends beyond the grave. And since Jesus now lives forever, God’s loving compassion towards his people never ends either (1 John 5:11-13).
We have all done things that have disqualified us from God’s love. But we can still sing Psalm 103 to our souls because, in Jesus, God does not treat us as our sins deserve. Because of Jesus, we are children of God who have been swallowed up in our patient Father’s never-ending compassion and love (1 John 3:1).
See for Yourself
I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who does not treat us as our sins deserve. And may you see Jesus as the one who died and rose to show God’s loving compassion never runs out for his children.
Spoken Gospel
Isn’t it about time you let Him in?
Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Bless the Lord from Godspell
Bless the Lord, Godspell, 1973
Oh bless the Lord my soul!
His praise to thee proclaim!
And all that is within me join,
To bless His holy name!
Oh yeah!
Oh bless the Lord my soul!
His mercies bear in mind!
Forget not all His benefits,
The Lord, to thee, is kind.
He will not always chide
He will with patience wait
His wrath is ever slow to rise
Oh bless the Lord
And ready to abate
And ready to abate
Oh yeah!
Oh bless the lord
Bless the lord my soul
Oh bless the lord my soul! He pardons all thy sins
Prolongs thy feeble breath
He healeths thine infirmities
And ransoms thee from death
He clothes thee with his love
Upholds thee with his truth
And like an eagle he renews
The vigor of thy youth Then bless His holy name
Whose grace hath made thee whole
Whose love and kindness crowns
Thy days
Oh bless the lord
Bless the lord my soul
Oh bless the lord my soul! Bless the lord my soul
Oh bless the lord my soul!
Bless the lord my soul
Oh bless the lord my soul!
Bless the lord, bless the lord
My soul!
Bless the lord my soul!
Last Update: June, 10th 2013
