BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL
Text--- Psalm 103
The words normally used for "thanks" in the Old Testament is "yadah"-- to give thanks, laud, praise. Found 120 times in the Hebrew bible; 70 of those occur in Psalms as would be expected. Often directed to the name of the Lord.
In the New Testament the word for thanks is "eucharisteo"-- to be grateful, to express gratitude. In the center of this word is "charis" which means "grace". The word "eucharist" (another term for the Lord's Supper) obviously comes from the Greek word "eucharist". It is a picture of Jesus lifting up the bread and wine to the Father and giving thanks. It is the gracious thing to do.
There is another word that ties praise and thanks together. We find this word in Psalm 103. It is the word "bless".
Bless-- a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and
(vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason):
KJV-- kneel (down), praise, salute, thank.
I. BLESS HIS NAME (v.1)
To bless God's name is to bless Him for all that He is. That is summed up pretty well in Revelation 11:17--- Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Psalm 97:12 tells us to "Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at theremembrance of his holiness."
When we think of God's great attributes of omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence we need to bless His name.
The Psalm before us this morning elaborates many of God's attributes:
He is righteous and just, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and forgiving (vv. 8-12).
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me bless His holy name!
II. BLESS HIM FOR HIS BENEFITS
To do that we have to be careful not to forget His benefits. Hey, the pay may not be too great but the benefits are out of this world! In the Hebrew this literally means "don't forget the way He treats you". David, the writer of this Psalm, then proceeds to list the benefits of the Lord.
A. He forgives our iniquities. How could we ever forget that? But we often act like we do. It was David who said to the Lord in Psalm 51:7--- "Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus..........
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!
B. He heals all our diseases.
1. The first and greatest disease is sin sickness. As I have already said, He heals us of this.
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Peter 2:24).
2. He heals our physical diseases--- And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them (Matthew 4:24). Folks, He hasn't stopped healing people. I know sometimes God chooses not to heal in this life, but when He calls His child home He works a healing far greater than anything He could accomplish is this world.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!
C. He redeems our life from destruction. The person without Jesus is hell-bound. He is headed for destruction. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, [even] praise unto our God: many shall see [it], and fear, and shall trust in the LORD (Psalm 40:1-3).
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!
D. He crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. The word "crowneth" literally means to "encircle" for protection. What a great word picture. David put it so well when he said "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Isn't it wonderful to know that we are surrounded by the lovingkindness and tender mercy of God 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year!
His lovingkindness and tender mercy was with me on Friday when I pulled the drive shaft out of the transmission on my truck. I had failed to set the hand brake and when the drive shaft fell to the ground the rear wheels were free to roll (same effect as putting the truck in neutral). I saw the truck lurch slightly when the shaft fell free and a still, small voice said, "Get out from under the truck." The very second I rolled out from under the truck the truck rolled off the blocks and out into the yard. God had me surrounded!
Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits!
E. He satisfies our mouth (desires) with good things.
Every good and perfect gift that we have comes down from Him (James 1:17). Food, clothing, shelter---- things that lend themselves to vitality and strength. In David's day the essentials of life were the good things. Today we think good things are material wealth, fancy cars, the latest gadgets, etc. None of those things renew our strength like that of an eagle. It is that daily trusting in the providence of God and seeing Him come through with flying colors that strengthens us. He is so faithful to satisfy us with good things.
Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits!
As we celebrate Thanksgiving and then go right on into the Advent season let us be careful to praise and thank (bless) God. Bless Him for who He is and forget not His benefits: He forgives our iniquities, He heals our diseases, He redeems our life from destruction, He surrounds us with His lovingkindness and tender mercy, and He gives us every good and perfect gift. If that is not reason enough to praise Him and thank Him then we deserve to come under the full force of His wrath. This Thanksgiving repeat often the phrase that you should know by now---- Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits!