Psalm 103:2-5 - October 7, 2009

Ps 103:2-5 "Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits — 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." NIV

Praise the Lord and don’t forget! There is power in praise that not only brings pleasure to the Lord but also to shape the human heart. In Psalm 103 the psalmist is calling God’s people to praise the Lord but he attaches a very significant context to it. “As you praise, don’t forget all that the Lord is to us!” When a believer lifts their voice in praise their own heart is strengthened. As we consider the great things the Lord has done, worshipping Him because of His manifold blessings our own hearts are refreshed and enlarged. In any relationship it is easy to lose sight of the good attributes of that relationship during the hard times. The power of praise is that it helps to direct our perspective. It keeps our point of view attached to the good things that the Lord has done and will do for us.
King David is writing this psalm of praise and reflecting on the multitude of benefits that come with serving the Lord. His remembrance reflects both on what God does and the impact that this has upon the life of the believer. David is an imperfect King with a heart that is passionate for God and this makes for a powerful opportunity for the Lord to demonstrate His kindness and mercy. David has failed many times, sinned with another man’s wife, experienced sickness, witnessed God’s hand of judgment upon His people, rejoiced in the triumph of battle, tasted bitter persecution from the hand of those who should have loved him and so much more. In all of this David has been well seasoned and knows the presence of God as a lifelong experience. Because of this he speaks from a depth of personal experience as he calls to us saying “forget none of God’s benefits.”
It is no accident that the first benefit that David extols is God’s willingness to forgive. David knows his own history of failures and divine discipline as a result his heart is deeply impacted by the mercy that he has received from God’s hand. He does not stop with forgiveness however which is the snare of so many Christians. For many who believe in the Lord their enjoyment of God revolves around His forgiveness alone to the neglect of the multitude of other benefits that come with knowing the Lord. With forgiveness comes healing as a parallel attribute that every believer needs. But even this is not the conclusion of what God has provided for us. David celebrates God’s divine intervention in his life circumstances. He has spent years on the run, living in caves, hiding in a foreign land, struggling to survive and it is from the remembrance of this season that he can confidently say that the Lord “redeems your life from the pit.” Even more so, the Lord is not content to merely remove the negative from our lives. God does not stop at deliverance. With God there is impartation!
David transitions the nature of his praise in verse 4. He shifts his attention from what God has delivered him from to instead focus upon the blessing that God has brought him into. David has seen the Lord take him from the promise to the pit to the palace. His heart is moved by the knowledge of God’s love and compassion that is the driving force behind God’s dealings with him. “He crowns my life, he satisfies my desires!” There is such a thanksgiving reflected in these words. David understands with a heart of gratefulness the things that the Lord has done for him. This is reason to praise! Expect that God will place a crown of his compassion upon your head. Lift up your desires before Him and don’t forget the benefits that come from placing our lives in His hand. Praise him with the remembrance of what He has done and keep your eyes on Him in every circumstance.