Focal Passage: Psalm 103:1-5, 8-13, 17-19
The focal text for this study is Psalm 103:1-5,8-13,17-19. For so many believers, Psalm 103 expresses their deepest heartfelt gratitude toward God.
When we consider the vast number of ways that God has expressed His love for us, it should compel us to bless the Lord with the entirety of our soul. When I consider verses 1-5, my heart immediately goes to the many benefits that we receive because of God’s limitless grace. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”
The central message of Psalm 103 is that we can’t begin to “bless” God enough for all that He has bestowed on us through Jesus Christ.
We have not only been forgiven, but we have been redeemed from the curse and from the weight of our sin. In Galatians 3:13 Paul confidently declared, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” That is why verse 5 says, “I am renewed like the eagle.”
It is promised in Isaiah 40:31, “but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles.” We soar as an eagle because of the benefits bestowed on us by a good and gracious God.
In verse 8 we see the eternal nature of God’s faithful love and compassion toward humanity. The psalmist is bringing into focus the same words that were spoken to Moses on Sinai and echoing the ongoing grace and forgiveness of a loving and compassionate God.
For those who fear God there is the infinite love of God with the backdrop of our sins being removed and forgotten forever.
In verses 9-13 there is this continuous theme of an unchanging God who is faithful in His love and compassion toward those who lovingly revere Him. This not a crouching distant fear of God, but a loving reverence that a child would have for their father. There is an expression of deep gratitude for God, who has not dealt with us according to our iniquities but has shown compassion as a father would to his children.
In verses 17-19 the psalmist reminds us of the eternal nature of God. The Lord is forever in His love, He is forever in His righteousness, He is forever in His covenant, and He is forever on His throne.
When we carry the psalmist’s description of God’s eternal nature over to the person of Jesus Christ, we should be very humbled.
These three verses should carry our thoughts to Philippians 2:8-11, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross. For this reason God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We should most definitely respond with “my soul bless the Lord” in response to the eternal God of Glory humbling Himself and giving His life on a cross. B&R