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:
I started doing these Pastor Chats in March 2020 when the
world was hit with the Covid pandemic, and we were locked down in isolation. The
whole world was overwhelmed with fear as daily reports were broadcast of how many
people were dying every day. I wanted to connect with as many people as I could
with the purpose to connect them to God’s Word and the comfort and strength
that we find in it during difficult days.
Today, we are living in one of the insecure and fearful
times in the history of the world. In my lifetime I’ve never experienced the anxiety
and fear that exist everywhere because of the current tension in the world and
especially the Middle East. It appears that the whole world is about to
collapse into a global conflict between the forces of evil and good. Jesus
prophesied that in the last days that “men’s hearts would be failing them
for fear…” (Luke 21:26).
If there was ever a time we needed to connect to the LORD
in our personal lives and in our families, it is now! I’m convince that the way
to seek and find God, is through His Word and remembering Who He is and what He
has already done for us in the past. That is exactly what Psalm 103 helps us do
today! In these first six verses of Psalm 103 David is remembering all Jehovah’s
personal benefits that he has experienced and enjoyed over his lifetime.
First, David encourages us to "bless the LORD". This means to delight God’s heart by
expressing love and gratitude for all He is and all He does. Parents are
pleased when their children simply thank them and love them, without asking for
anything. True praise comes from a grateful heart that sincerely wants to
glorify and please the Lord. It is so sad that today we live in a culture that
emphasizes “entitlement” and “rights” rather than “responsibility” and “gratefulness”.
Romans 1:21-25 describes exactly what happens to our
culture or society when we do not have grateful hearts: “Because, although
they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became
futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to
be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into
an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and
creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts
of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the
truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
David said that he was going to “bless that LORD with all
that is within me". This means
that all of our inner being is focused on the Lord. This includes and
encompasses our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:28-31). It also means
that we are prepared to obey His will after our praise has ended.
The word "all" is found at least nine times in
the psalm (vv. 1-3, 6, 19,21-22), for the psalm is a call for total commitment
to God. We give thanks to the Lord before we receive our food, and this is
right, but the Jewish people were also to give thanks after they had eaten and
to remember that the Lord had given them their food (Deut. 8:7-20). At least
fourteen times in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses admonished the people to
remember the Lord and what He did for them, and nine times he cautioned them
not to forget. (See Deut. 32:18.)
It was when the third generation of Jews came on the scene
and forgot the Lord that the nation began to decay (Judg. 2:7-3:7). It appears
that is what has happened in America and most of the world today! And sadly, many
of us have forgotten too.
Today we need “to remember” and delight ourselves in
the LORD and “not forget all His benefits”!
God bless!
