26. Forget Not All His Benefits (2), Psalm 103
Hymns: RHC 403 Count Your Blessings, 309 Thank You, Lord, 445 O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
Psalm 103 (KJV)
1 A Psalm of David 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 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. 6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. 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. 10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 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. 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. 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.
Forget Not All His Benefits (2)
OUTLINE
- What (v1-6)
- How (v7-10)
- Whom (v11-18)
- Who (v19-22)
INTRODUCTION
This is a psalm written by David. “To bless the LORD” is to “adore with bended knees” (BDB), it is a posture of worship with fullness of devotion. How you experienced with blessings of God in your life? This is a psalm of thanksgiving from the depths of a grateful heart. It stems from experiential knowledge of God’s goodness in his life.
The key phrase is “forget not all His benefits” (v2b). And the negative particle used emphasizes a strong emotional response that the psalmist urges us to take heed to. For all that our good God has done for us, let us not forget but be thankful. Return thanks to Him.
If you have sought the LORD, you will find that he never fails us. As Proverbs 10:22 reads, “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” He does not bless us and do us harm. Our LORD’S love for His people is very sure and most secure. Have you tasted it? For all who has, it behoves to praise Him, the least our hearts can do!
What are the benefits received? (v1-6), How has our God benefitted us? (v7-10), Whom does He benefit? (v11-18), Who has benefited? (v19-22)
- What (v1-6)
- How (v7-10)
- Whom (v11-18)
- Who (v19-22)
God’s blessings are upon them that fear Him.
continued…
- Whom (v11-18)
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
The terrible nature of sin demands a satisfactory payment for sin and God’s punishment for man’s sin is that man must die and go to hell. This is the satisfactory payment in the sight of a holy God whose anger and justice burns against sin.
For there must be a satisfactory payment for sin and God has deemed it fit to make a way to forgive all our iniquities by the penalty for sin that was paid by God’s own Son, the Christ prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament in the Person of Jesus of Narzareth.
Adrian Rogers said well, “He would take the sin of mankind upon Himself in agony and blood – a righteous judgment and substitute for sin. His wrath burned out on the cross when His only Son died as man’s propitiation (satisfaction) for sin. And this is love…when was the last time you thank God for not sending you to hell as you deserved?” As the psalmist, perhaps its time for us to do just that!
1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
God’s mercy is upon the God-fearer. This is the wisdom needed to find God. The God-fearer summarized by Jesus as one who has a poverty of spirit and mourns for his sins. Coming to God with a contrition of heart leading to repentance of sins finds with God fullness of forgiveness.
The breath and depth of God’s forgiveness is well described by the psalmist to the repentant soul (v11-12).
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 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.
Truly, this physical life that we have is at best very frail. As the grass and the flower in the field, we behold its beauty but for a short while and the flower is no longer there, the wind blows and it is carried away by the force of the wind. So is the human life and the brevity of it!
Solomon paints for us the reality of the end of a man’s life in Ecclesiastes 12:1-7.
He becomes weak, his teeth are few, eating becomes a burden, the eyes grow dim, the eyes slowly loses its strength – he needs a cataract operation soon he needs a magnifying glass, his hands and feet grow weak, and they tremble like the Parkinson’s disease, the old man suffers from insomnia, the voice is crackling and unsteady, and singing a song is out of the question, they develop acrophobia, that is, they are afraid of height, whether ladders, views from tall buildings, or plane rides, and terrors are in the way. They have lost self-confidence, are afraid to go out alone, or to go out at night, the blossoming almond tree is generally taken to picture the white hair, first in rich profusion, then falling to the ground (v5), the grasshopper is a burden, that is, even the lightest objects are too heavy for the old person to carry.
Desire fails in the sense that natural appetites diminish or cease altogether. Food no longer has flavour or zest, and other basic drives fizzles out. Sexual vigour is gone. This degenerative process takes place because man is going to his long-lasting home of death and the grave, and soon his funeral procession will be moving down the street.
Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Ecclesiastes 12:7-8 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
He speaks of the brevity of life. How we all must die. None can escape.
And so, the advice of the wise man is to remember the Creator before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
He did not say it directly in Ecc. 2:14-16, we have seen how Solomon presents for us an ultimate impasse in life that no wisdom seem to be able to overcome or conquer – the sting of death.
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.
God’s blessings or benefits comes upon His people whose sins are forgiven and who obeys His commandments (v18).
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
1 John 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
- Who (v19-22)
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.
The LORD whom we worship, is exalted high in the heavens. His undisputed rule over all the universe is alluded here.
When God created the vast universe, the earth was the focus. Just to give us an idea of the greatness of God, this is some statistics:
Object Diameter
Earth 7,900 miles
Earth-moon orbit 239,000 miles
Sun-earth orbit 186 million miles
Solar System 7 billion miles
Milky Way 100,000 light-years*
Universe 30 billion light-years[1]
Note: One light-year is about 6 trillion miles.
The greatness of God can be seen in His creative work and His condescension to dwell with man. This is the mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16), God coming in human flesh.
God’s rule over His creation is absolute. All of the universe, the stars and the moon and the planets are under His design and direction. All the angels and His servants are under His charge.
The Apostle Paul says that we are to stand against the scheming and craftiness of the devil. The Bible tells us that the devil is none other than Satan, Lucifer the fallen angel (Isaiah 14:12-15), the perfect, beautiful and anointed cherub (Ezekiel 28:12-18). He is called the dragon, the serpent, Satan and the Devil (Revelation 12:9). He is the chief adversary of God’s people.
Ephesians 6:12 – 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers (authorities), against the rulers of the darkness of this world (world-rulers), against spiritual wickedness in high places. (heavenlies)
It is not flesh and blood, the battle is not just physical but against Satan and his demons, it is against these demonic powers that we wrestle.
The word “principalities” means “beginning or chief” of rulers.
The word “powers” means “authorities”, chief princes and men in society.
It is further explained as the rulers of the powers of darkness of this world. It means a world-ruler. It described one holding power over the world; for devilish forces, spirit-beings who control parts of the world system world rulers.
…against spiritual wickedness in high places. Of the lower heavens, the sky or air as the seat of evil spirits.
As one late pastor Criswell puts it well, Satan is “the one king-sovereign ruler over all of the demons of disease, and darkness, and despair, and ruin, and destruction. There are many demons, many unclean spirits, but there is one great prince and ruler over them all…He is king over all the fallen host of the dark and evil world, in heaven and in earth called Abaddon in Hebrew and in Greek Apollyon, it means ruin and destruction and death. (Revelation 9:11). He is also the sovereign ruler over fallen men who reject God.”
Satan and his demons and all who are blinded by the evil one does not praise God. All who are consigned to the judgment of hell will not praise God, they will not bless the Name of the Lord.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
Nonetheless, for His people, we have much to thank God for. Bless the Lord, O my soul. May we not forget all His benefits. Amen.
[1] Donald B. DeYoung, Astronomy and the Bible – Questions and Answers, Baker, 1988, 36.