Psalm Chapter 103

A Psalm of David.

Psalm 103:1 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:

We sometimes hear about unions and workers fighting the companies they work for to obtain benefits such as health care, paid holidays and paid vacations but this is nothing compared to the benefits we receive through faith in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

David is this Psalm is describing the salvation one receives through faith in Jesus the Son of God. I don't know if he was aware of what he was saying or understood fully that he was prophesying that which was to come, but this is the description of Jesus. He is the only man born of a woman that forgive iniwquities and heal diseases. He is the only one that can grant us eternal life. Here are just some of the benefits described in this Psalm.

Forgiveness of sins
Healing of disease
Strength renewed - the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Not everyone automatically has these things but only those that come to God and receive His plan of salvation. David had reason to rejoice in God because God forgave David many times. Why? Because David acknowledged God, feared God and believed God. He trusted in God to send the savior to the world.

Psalm 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

This will occur at the coming of Jesus Christ upon the earth to set up His kingdom.

Psalm 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

Moses knew of the coming Christ. He wrote of Him.

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

God revealed to Moses that He was sending one from heaven that the people were to listen to and receive. Whoever did not receive would be separated and lost.

Psalm 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

Through Jesus, God shows us mercy. He has mercy to those that repent. To repent means that we have the attitude that we do not want to sin and desire to get rid of sin. When we come to Jesus whom God sent to us, for deliverance from sin, we can be saved. When we have this attitude of wanting to be free from sin, we can be helped. God gives us power to overcome sin. Before it was not possible but through faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Ghost, we can now have access to power over sin.

Jesus Christ and faith in Him made that possible. This is more than a head knowledge religion. It is power. It is a change of lifestyle. It is a new beginning, a new birth. David looked forward to this time. His psalms are full of praise and worship because he knew what was coming to save not only Israel but the whole world who would believe in the coming Messiah.

Psalm 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Jesus suffered for our sins so the mercy of God is shown to all who believe. We don't have to pay the just penalty for our sins because Jesus did that for us.

When we read the book of Revelation we see the judgment and anger of God. The reason is that by that time, mankind has rejected the plan of God to save them. The attitude of some in Revelation is a refusal to repent even when they saw the judgment coming. They still preferred to hold onto their sin and reject Jesus Christ. This made God angry. The sad part is that in the future time when the book of Revelation is fulfilled, many know what is coming, they know who Jesus is but they reject Him anyway and even curse God because of the plagues and judgment coming upon them.

He didn't have to send Jesus to pay the price for our sins. He didn't have to save anyone. Yet He loved us enough to save us and offer us eternal life. He didn't want us to die in sin and lose the right to live eternally in Heaven Sin brought in death not only to the physical body but to the soul. The soul does not die so it has to go to a place where it cannot sin anymore. This is a place of torment. God sent Jesus to make a way for us to escape that fate and enter into eternal life. When we reject this, God cannot do anything more to save us.

Psalm 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

This mercy is granted only to those that fear the Lord. To fear the Lord is to acknowledge His commandments and have respect to His ways. If we broke just one of them, we would tremble because we recognize that God is real, is just and that His word is truth.

Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

This describes what happens when a soul is saved from sin the day he or she trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Psalm 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

A comparison is made here. God loves us and has mercy on us. We can understand this when we see how much we forgive our children when they do mischief.

Psalm 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

God knows we are weak. That is why He sent such a powerful way to deliver us from sin.

Psalm 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

Our life on the earth is very short in light of eternity.

Psalm 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

Eternal life is granted to all that fear the Lord and keep His commandments. One commandment is that we believe on the one God sends to deliver us from sin. This is Jesus Christ.

John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

This is the simplicity of the way to be saved and inherit eternal life. It is so simple a child can understand better than anyone. Tell them to believe something and they do. The beginning of our walk with the Lord is just to believe what He says. Believe in Jesus who God sent. This is more than a mental acceptance that something is true. Believe means to receive, embrace, accept and begin to live by what we believe.

Psalm 103:19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

If you ever wonder why some groups of people are always praising the Lord, this is the reason. They have met this man called Jesus. They have found the joy of salvation and freedom from the curse of sin. They have been born again by the wonderful spirit of God. This is available freely to all who will believe and come to Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter whether you are Jew, Gentile, white, black, man, woman or child. This salvation and gift of eternal life is for all who will come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness of sin and receive Jesus as Lord. -DC

Psalm 104

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