BLESS THE LORD O MY SOUL
From The HeartPublish date: 11/29/2004
Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits--3 Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy; 5 Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]! 6 The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but] for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses, His acts to the children of
The word bless in this psalm is the Hebrew word “barak” which means to kneel and to bless God as an act of adoration. Psalm 103 is a psalm of praise, adoration, and thankfulness for all that God has done for us.
You bless the Lord for His benefits, reminding yourself of what He has done and what He has promised. Why is it so important to remind yourself of what the Lord has promised? You must remind yourself so that you don’t ever forget. You don’t live in heaven yet. You have a devil to deal with. He would like you to forget the word and promises of God so that he can take advantage of you and kill, steal, and destroy. The devil knows that if you know God’s word and promises, you will recognize his attack and you will take authority over him and not allow him to continue with his plans and so he tries to keep you ignorant and if he can’t keep you ignorant, he will try to get you to forget and then to become ungrateful.
Many people have a false idea of Who God is and what He will do. They believe that He is a hard, unfair, judgmental God, Who is sparing with His blessings, Who holds grudges against us forever and Who condemns us to hell. They think that our works are what counts with God, but His word tells us another story. He tells us not to forget His benefits.
What are the Lord’s benefits? He forgives every one of your iniquities, He heals every one of your diseases, He redeems your life, pours His love and mercy on you, provides for you, satisfies you, and executes righteousness and justice for you. The Lord is righteous and just and He wants you to know this and to and expect it. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness. He does not nag you, argue with you, or remind you of all your faults and failings. He is not angry for long and He definitely does not hold grudges. He loves you so much, that He has not dealt with you after your sins nor rewarded you according to our iniquities. Rather, He has chosen to forgive you and to forever forget the bad things you have done. He has removed your transgressions from you, as far as the east is from the west and He loves you like a father loves his children. He understands all your shortcomings, failings, and weaknesses and He still chooses to love you with all His heart!
Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, you are in covenant with Almighty God and He will never forget this covenant - any promises He has made you will be fulfilled - therefore you can rejoice and praise Him, bless Him, and thank Him everyday as you enjoy all His benefits!