Psalm 103 (NKJV)
Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
It’s easy to praise the Lord when He seems to be answering prayers and life is good. How easy do we forget all those good things when life gets difficult or it seems God is not answering prayers? King David wrote, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!” In other words, David was praising God with all of his being. With every breath. With all that he was. It wasn’t “a go to church on Sunday” kind of praise where he lifted his hands when the choir and music was really good and then on Monday cussed at the other drivers on the expressway in rush hour traffic. Praising God was in every fiber of David’s being.
Additionally, David wanted to remember all that God had done for him. It’s important for us to remember God’s blessings so in the “dry times” when Satan might creep in and plant doubts in our minds about God’s unconditional love for us we can quickly bring to mind all the things God has done for us in the past and know that God is faithful and he will make a way for us, even when there seems to be no way.
David lists some of those benefits in this psalm of praise: He forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from death into eternal life and crowns us with love and tender mercies. He fills our lives with good things and renews our strength to that of our youth. These are only a few of the ways that God blesses us and just a few of the good things He gives us…but just these are enough for us to praise Him continually. Let me encourage you, dear reader, that the next time you begin to feel discouraged, stressed, or upset, just start praising…even if you don’t “feel” it at first….just start saying the words and thanking God for all the blessings He has given you in your life. It’s near impossible to both praise and be stressed or praise and be angry or praise and be discouraged. It’s just an oxymoron. Where praise exists, there can’t be discouragement, stress, or anger. Just keep praising God, dear friend, and it won’t be long before you’ll be saying with King David, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His Holy Name!”
Here’s a song to get you started…
