Forget Not His Benefits

1 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, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, 18  to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
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Every time I read through Psalm 103, I am reminded of how grateful I am to know, love, and serve a God that has called me unto Himself for the sole purpose of glorifying Him with my life. The beautiful part in all of this is that as I strive to do those very things, this psalm is an amazing picture of all the benefits He pours out upon our lives. In the Psalm, David is not just calling others to worship but he is also reminding himself to rejoice in the covenantal benefits of the Lord. Just like David, we are reminded of these beautiful benefits as they unfold in the scriptures.

Look at verse 3. One of the first benefits that we are reminded of is the Lord’s forgiveness. It is not a partial or even a conditional forgiveness but it is one of totality. We rejoice in justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is a reminder that the Lord does not overlook sin, rather, He atones for it through the finished work of Christ.

As we continue reading in verse 3, we see that He also heals our diseases. This doesn't necessarily refer to an immediate physical healing but leans towards the idea of a redemptive restoration. We are continually being built up in Him. If we are to be brutally honest, our biggest or greatest disease is our sin, and our greatest healing is holistic in the sense that He redeems both soul and body.

I am so thankful that He crowns us with steadfast love and mercy. It is an amazing reminder that He is faithful. His love is not temporary but is grounded in HIs immutable character and His promises. We should rejoice in the fact that He is faithful even when we, at times, are not. The scriptures go on to say that He satisfies us with good. This simply means we are satisfied in our souls through His goodness. He is not only the gift but He is also the gift giver. Our union with Christ, as believers, is a beautiful declaration of the goodness of that very gift, Himself.

We get to verse 6 and we see that He works righteousness and justice for the oppressed. We also see how He reveals Himself to His people. We have His Word, His Spirit, and we have the community that we find in His church. Not only does He reveal Himself to His people, but He is merciful and gracious in the process. We read all through the Scriptures that He is slow to anger and that He is abounding in love and does not deal with us according to our sin. This is His mercy being put on display, once again, in the finished work of Christ as our substitution.

So let us reflect upon and remember His covenantal benefits and rejoice. As believers, we have been forgiven, justified, adopted, sanctified, and one day we will be glorified.

Forget not His benefits!

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