Steamtown Church | Psalms 50,90,103: Psalm 103

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Psalms 50,90,103: Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
²Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
³Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
⁴Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
⁵Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
⁹He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
¹²As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
¹³As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
¹⁴For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
¹⁶For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.^[a]
¹⁷But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
¹⁸To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

¹⁹The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.

²⁰Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
²¹Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
²²Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

That’s Psalm 103. The Psalm is a blessing to God. We don’t talk often enough about the art of blessing God. Nor do we talk to our souls enough. We need to tell our souls to bless God. Not only to we need to tell our souls, but when we bless God we need to do so with all that is within us.

Our praises to God are blessings to Him, not because He is egotistical, (as if that designation could land anyway), but because He deserves to be blessed for what He had done for us simply because He loved us. Everyone, because we are made in the image of God, likes to be appreciated; likes to be blessed. God in His mercy had blessed us and so appreciates a blessing of gratitude.

The benefits of being blessed by God are the forgiveness of sins, the healing of our diseases, our redemption from destruction, our crown of mercy and kindness, the daily renewal of our strength and the constant provision of sustenance with the added bonus that food is pleasurable!

“The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.”

How do we know this?

“He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.”

“⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
⁹He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.”

If Psalm 90 was the only thing ever written then our idea of God would definitely not be complete. Psalm 103 is a good counter-balance. Although life is hard, and God is big; and although wrath is deserved, and God is just; good news! God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love! A big God angry is a fearful thing. So what shall we say of an infinite God who is loving? How far can an infinite God extend love and mercy? Although he is abounding in mercy (what is the limit of God’s abundance?) His anger is indeed limited.

“He will not always strive with us.”

“Nor will he keep His anger forever”

The answer to the question of how far an infinite God can extend love and mercy is answered in verses 11 and 12. As high as the heavens; as far as the east is from the west is as far as our sin has been removed from us. It’s only logical. An infinite God extends infinite forgiveness, and our sin farther from us than the farthest galaxy.

Verse 13 tells us that God feels for us like a father feels for his child. He is our disciplinarian. But He is ready to give mercy. Most fathers don’t enjoy punishing their wayward children. They do it out of necessity. Most fathers will give their kids a break or treat them every once in a while, if for no other reason than it just feels good to bless. It is blessed to give, especially undeserved mercy. We don’t like to admit it, but we are rather pathetic creatures, and God pities us in our plight. He understands that we are dust and that inside we feel this dustiness, this call from the dust to return to it, and He feels for us.

The LORD’s mercy is on those who fear Him. The one’s for whom God is a non-issue have no use for mercy. Those who see God for the all-powerful, eternal God that He is, compared to the fragile and finite beings that they are, will bow before Him and receive His infinite mercy. And those who fear Him, naturally they keep His covenant commands (v.18)

For the LORD’s throne is already established. What is the main theme of Psalm 50, 90, comes to the fore again in Psalm 103. “His Kingdom rules over all.” God is sovereign. God’s Word is final. God’s Word for those who fear Him is mercy, for the oppressed who call on his name; justice. And His sovereignty confirms our faith that our God is for us and will come through for us in the end. Like in Psalm 50, we have nothing really to offer God, considering everything, except our praise. Praise is what God will receive.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Regardless of whether or not we praise God, His works and His spiritual servants praise Him. But if the angels praise God, and His works praise Him, then surely it is time for us, since He is over all things including us anyway, to bless Him with all that is in us.

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