Psa 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The preacher came over to visit unexpectedly. Wanting to make a good impression, the lady of the house instructed her little daughter, “Please run and get that good book we all love so much and bring it here.”
The daughter tottered off and then returned in a minute with triumph on her face and the Sears catalogue in her hands!
The biggest Thanksgiving killer, is the day after when Christmas shopping begins in earnest and we stop thinking about what we have and start thinking about what we want.
Many of us like to peruse the Christmas catalogue looking at all the neat stuff we want. We ought spend more time looking at the neat stuff we already have. In Psalm 103 we find Gods Catalogue of Mercies, not a Christmas catalogue but a Thanksgiving Catalogue.
6 things we can Praise God for.
This is DAVID’S “Hallelujah Chorus.”
* It contains twenty-two verses—the same number of verses as there are letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
* The covenant title “Lord” (Jehovah) occurs just half that number of times.
* It is what we call an envelope psalm—it ends in exactly the same way as it begins—the subject matter being thus enclosed or enveloped between the opening and closing words: “Bless the LORD, O my soul.”
* In the original text the verses are all of uniform length and all contain two lines each.
Any time we have trouble praising the Lord we should turn to this psalm, get down before the Lord, and recite it back to Him.
The First item we find in God’s Thanksgiving catalogue is the Remission of Sins:
Psa 103:3, “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;”
The word “iniquities” is a strong one. It does not mean “mistakes.” What if the Bible said Christ died for our mistakes? God forgives our iniquities, all our ingrained perversity, all the bentness of our being. Now, there is an item for praise!
David sees the believer as a forgiven pentinent. “He forgiveth all our iniquities.”
The measure of His Forgiveness.
Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
That is the horizontal measure. We take a point on this planet and we draw a line horizontally, but we must be careful. We must not draw the line from north to south because that is a finite distance. Light travels from pole to pole fourteen times a second. The north-south measure is finite, not so the east-west measure. If we travel north from a given point, sooner or later we will reach the north pole, a definite point; then we travel south to the south pole, another definite point. East and west are a different matter. We can start to travel east and there is no point, so long as we continue in that direction, at which we start to travel west; or we can start to travel west and, no matter how long we continue, there is no point at which we start to travel east. West is always west; east is always east.
Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
A little over a century ago, when pirates roamed over the seas between the southern states and the Spanish main, the brig “Nancy” was pursued by the British warship “Sparrow.” She was suspected of being engaged in illicit trade and piracy, but when captured, not a scrap of incriminating evidence could be found among her papers. It was thought that she would have to be released, but the question was referred to the authorities at Kingston, Jamaica, into which port she was brought.
Meanwhile another vessel (Ferret, Lieutenant Michael Fitton) a tender of the British frigate “Abergavenney,” had been cruising the same waters off the coast of Haiti. Harpooned a shark, found a parcel of papers, tied around with string.
These papers (Which are still on display in the Institute Museum of Jamaica) were found to relate to the doings of a ship called the “Nancy” and thinking they might serve an useful purpose, the officer (Lieutenant Michael Fitton?) preserved them till they reached Kingston, which was the next port of call, arriving there just as the case of the “Nancy” came before the courts.
The consternation of the “Nancy” captain and crew may be imagined, when, jubilant at the prospect of release, they were suddenly confronted with the misdeeds—in the papers which they had thrown overboard when pursued by the warship, and which they thought were buried in the depths of the sea! —H.P.Barker
A wealthy English merchant who lived on the European continent was satisfied with nothing but the best. this attitude extended even as far as the cars he owned. His pride and joy was a Rolls-Royce coupe that he had owned for years and that had given great service all that time. One day, while driving down a bumpy road, his car hit a deep pothole resulting in a broken rear axle.
The owner had the car shipped back to the Rolls plant in England and was surprised by the quick repair that was performed. He received no bill for the work and, knowing his warranty had run out, he had expected one. He waited for months and still no bill came. So he finally communicated with the company about the bill for his car repairs. Again the response from the factory was immediate. The reply said, “We have thoroughly searched our files and find no record of a Rolls-Royce axle ever breaking.”
This is a case where the integrity and excellence of that company would not permit a flaw in workmanship or materials to be made known. The excellence of Christ does not permit our flaws to be made known to the Father. He accomplishes our forgiveness. —Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Michael P. Green, pg. 154
1. Remission of Sin
The Second item in God’s Thanksgiving catalogue is: Restoration of Health
Psa 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
In a well-known poem entitled “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Coleridge depicts the plight of some ancient voyagers whose ship has drifted off course. A beautiful seabird, the albatross, accompanies the ship and brings favorable winds—a good omen. But when one of the sailors shoots the bird with a crossbow, the winds die along with the albatross. The dead bird is hung around the neck of the guilty sailor as a constant reminder of his foolish error.
Israel, too, could have hung a dead albatross around her neck as a reminder of her frequent (and tragic) mistakes.
What albatross do you have around your neck? What sin from the past sneaks up to haunt you? Read verses 8 and 44 (Psalm 106), underline the word nevertheless, and complete this statement: “Even though I have _________, nevertheless God has forgiven me.” Fill in the blank with a sin from the past, and realize you’re forgiven!
This is the answer to the prayer in Psalm 102; &32:3, 4; 38:3; James 5:15 (psychosomatic effects of unconfessed sin). What is the answer? Forgiveness which begins with confession!
“Who healeth all thy diseases.” Psychotherapy doesn’t cure any (Guilt, fear, doubt, depression, anger, lust, hate, jealousy, spite, and greed are some of them.) Hans J. Eysenck examined over 8,000 cases and concluded that “⅔ of a group of neurotic patients will recover or improve to a marked extent within about two years of the onset of their illness, whether they are treated by means of psychotherapy or not.”
Joseph Carey reports, “Health officials point out that it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of the 250 different psycho-therapies now in use.” Thomas Szatz, Bobgans, The main similarity is that No one gets better.
Freuds “Superego” (oversocialized conscience)
G. L. Harrington in a V. A. Hospital in L.A. worked with 210 patients in Building 206. Building 206 was the end of the line. Previously there had been an average of only two releases from Building 206 each year, but after the first year on Harrington’s responsibility program, 75 men were released from the hospital, and the next year he predicted that 200 would be released.
Karl Menninger, “if he could convince the patience in his Psychiatric hospitals that their sins are forgiven, 75% could walk out the next day. Glasser (Nouthetic counseling)
Catalogue of Mercies:
The third item in God’s Thanksgiving catalogue is: Redemption of life from Destruction.
“Who redeemeth thy life from destruction” (Psalm 103:4)
or, as it can be rendered according to John Phillips, “He redeems your life from going to waste.”
Last season, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Irving Fryar was named the team’s most inspirational player. Turning his back on a licentious and abusive lifestyle that left him contemplating suicide, the born-again star now preaches a gospel of hope at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Pompano Beach, Florida.
“Oh, yes!” Fryar will yell to his congregation, pounding on the pulpit.
“I Know I was lost!” (Amen, Reverend! The congregation will yell back.)
“I was driving the bus straight to hell!” (Yes!)
“and takin’ a bunch of fools with me!” (Preach, Reverend!)
“Football did not give me peace!” (No sir!)
“Football did not give me joy!” (Nuh-uh!)
“Football did not put love in my heart!” (That’s right!)
“Football did not get me off drugs!” (No, it didn’t!)
“Football did not stop me from drinking!” (Tell it!)
“But you know who did it?” (You know who!)
“Jeeeeeeeeesus!”
—Christian Reader, Jan/Feb 1996, p. 14.
1. Remission of Sins
2. Restoration of Health
3. Redemption of Life
The Fourth item in God’s Thanksgiving catalogue is: Regal Election
Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
He now takes us into the palace. How like our God! He brings us into the palace, along its splendid corridors and into the throne room itself. He is going to crown us the way He does everything else—superlatively. Think of the morning of creation. When God commanded the seas to swarm with fish, did He say: “Let the waters bring forth fish”’ No! He used a superlative. He said: “Let the waters bring forth fish abundantly.” Think of Moses and Miriam and the children of Israel raising the Bible’s first anthem of song on the sands of Sinai. The Egyptian army had been swept away, and how did Moses put it! “The Lord has triumphed”’ No! He used a superlative. He said: “The Lord has triumphed gloriously.” So God is going to crown us. What with, Just with kindness and mercy? No! He is going to do it in the superlative: “Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”
The measure of mercies, vs.11, 17
Gods love is incomprehensible (vs. 11,17) shoreless boundless, bottomless, and endless, ever unfolding and infinite! We can’t measure.
Harry Rimmer:
. . . told of the inland Indian tribe in the Pacific northwest that commissioned one of their tribe to “visit the ocean” and bring back “the ocean” to them so they could see it. So the Indian rode his pony to the Pacific ocean, and looked at the vast expanse for some time in awe and wonder. finally, before he left he took a small bottle and filled it with water from the ocean, and took it back to show his tribe “the ocean.”
We don’t have the tools to measure it.
Nansen, the Norwegian explorer, tried to measure an extremely deep part of the Arctic Ocean. The first day, he used his longest measuring line but couldn’t reach bottom. He wrote in his log book, “The ocean is deeper than that!”
The next day, he added more line but still could not measure the depth, and so again in his record book he wrote, “Deeper than that!” After several days of adding more and more pieces of rope and cord to his line, he had to leave that part of the ocean without learning its actual depth. All he knew was that it was beyond his ability to measure.
So too, we cannot plumb the depths of God’s love, because our human measuring line is too short.
Wide, wide as the ocean,
High as the heavens above
Deep, deep as the deepest sea
Is my Saviour’s love.
Theologically, of course, God’s love is deeper, far deeper, than that. The word for mercy is the usual word for “grace” or “lovingkindness.” That mercy endures forever.
1. Remission of Sins
2. Restoration of Health
3. Redemption of Life
4. Regal Election
The fifth item in God’s Thanksgiving catalogue is: a Rewarding Life (satisfaction with good things) vs. 5
List the great things you have, God gave us those things for our pleasure. Enjoy them!
Your attitude about those things determines your satisfaction.
Throughout history, much has been written about happiness and contentment. 2,000 years ago,
* Someone wrote, “Half the world is unhappy because it can’t have the things that are making the other half unhappy.”
* In his latest book, Jumping Hurdles, Hitting Glitches, Overcoming Setbacks, Steve Brown writes, “The most unhappy person in the world is not someone who didn’t get what he or she wanted. The most unhappy person is the one who got what he or she wanted and then found out that it wasn’t as wonderful as expected. The secret of a happy life is not to get what you want but to live with what you’ve got. Most of us spend our lives concentrating on what we don’t have instead of thanking God for what we do have. Then we wake up, our life is over, and we missed the beauty of the present. You think about that.” —Servant Magazine, September, 1993, p. 8
Our problem is that we are looking at the Christmas catalogue focusing on what we want rather then rejoicing in what we have!
In the fifth century, a man named Arsenius determined to live a holy life. So he abandoned the comforts of Egyptian society to follow an austere lifestyle in the desert. Yet whenever he visited the great city of Alexandria, he spent time wandering through its bazaars. Asked why, he explained that his heart rejoiced at the sight of all the things he didn’t need.
Those of us who live in a society flooded with goods and gadgets need to ponder the example of that desert dweller. A typical supermarket in the United States in 1976 stocked 9,000 articles; today it carries 30,000. How many of them are absolutely essential? How many superfluous?
A certain airline pilot had a peculiar habit. Whenever he took off from his hometown of Minneapolis, he would ask the copilot to take the controls. Then he would stare intently out the window for a few moments.
Finally the copilot’s curiosity got the best of him, so he asked, “What do you always look at down there?”
“See that boy fishing on that riverbank?” the pilot asked. “I used to fish from that same spot when I was a kid. Whenever a plane flew over, I would watch it until it disappeared and wish that I could be the pilot.” With a sigh he added, “Now I wish I could be back down there fishing.”
1. Remission of Sins
2. Restoration of Health
3. Redemption of Life
4. Regal Election
5. Rewarding Life (satisfaction with good things) vs. 5
The Sixth item in God’s Thanksgiving catalogue is: Rejuvenation of Youth
Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
An Eagle remains strong throughout its long life.
* The Devil has no happy old people.
* He does not have what it takes to make people happy, especially old people,
* and he would not make people happy even if he could.
Howard Hughes was probably the wealthiest man in the world in his day.
* He died at the age of seventy with fame and fortune, with all the world has to offer.
* His estate probated at approximately 2½ billion dollars.
* He was rarely seen in public for the last 20 years of his life.
* He spent his final years mostly in pyjamas, living on fudge and cake.
* He weighed only ninety pounds at death and was suffering from malnutrition!
Does that sound like a happy old man?
When your deciding which way to go ‘forget not all his benefits!”
Sometimes we sing choruses which can be sung as a round. This psalm may be read like that. It locks us into an unending circle of praise. We get to the end; it becomes anew beginning. We get to the end again; it becomes a new beginning again. Such will be our praise in an endless eternity.
We have a tendency to forget the good things and remember the bad. The psalmist reminds us, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psa 103:2)
“History knows no disasters,” said the Literary Digest (Sept. 1923),”which parallels the earthquake and fire that visited Japan this month and laid waste the capital city and the chief seaport.”
The New York Tribune called this earthquake “undoubtedly the greatest disaster in recorded time.” The New York Times described the havoc as covering about 45,000 square miles which contained five big cities and a population of 7,000,000. Other dispatches reported that virtually every building in Yokohama was destroyed. Perhaps three-fourths of Tokyo was burned and the entire city with its 5,000,000 inhabitants was shattered by the earthquake.
A joint survey made by Herbert Hoover and the Red Cross estimated the dead at almost 300,000 with 2,500,000 people homeless. Disease and despair rode throughout the island empire.
Then help came! Help from America for helpless Japan! Food, clothing, medical supplies, and volunteer workers came by the shipload. The American Red Cross collected ten million dollars from people of the United States for the suffering and homeless Nipponese.
Those who lived through the awful earth tremors, the gigantic waves, and the tongues of fire must perish, it seemed, from starvation or disease. But they didn’t. Why? Because America remembered—remembered their need, their suffering, their hunger.
The Nipponese were grateful. They even put their appreciation in writing. Walter Kiernan, correspondent for the International News Service, recalls their words: “Japan will never forget!”
But Japan did forget! American ships of mercy were forgotten, and the Rising Sun sent planes of destruction in return. On December 7, 1941, Japanese airplanes brought death and destruction to Pearl Harbor—and the Rising Sun proclaimed that America, brought to her knees, would beg for mercy.
But are the Japanese the only ones who overlook past mercies? Long ago the Lord said of Israel, “My people have forgotten me days without number” (Jer 2:32). God blessed them, but they forgot God! —R. G. Lee
