1: Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4: Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5: Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6: The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7: He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9: He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10: He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11: For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12: As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13: Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14: For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15: As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16: For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17: But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
18: To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19: The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20: Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21: Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22: Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

Sermon:

Twice we are told to bless the Lord, in the first two verses of Psalm 103.

This is a psalm that gets way down deep into where we live; it reveals something to our hearts.

We are told to praise and glorify the Lord; yet when I read this psalm I recognize that the best I can do just doesn't quite measure up. My soul goes out to Him but not like it should.

As people saved by grace, we have a problem that affects every single one of us this morning.

Our problem is this: we are forgetful.

Oh, we can remember all kinds of things, especially what others have done to us or have said about us, but we tend to forget that which the Lord has done in our lives.

We have a long memory when it comes to our hurts, our sorrows and our burdens, but a very short memory when it comes to recalling just how good the Lord has been to us.

David also had this problem. In the first two verses, David calls upon his soul to remember what the Lord has done. He wants to stir up the inner man and get him excited about what he has in God and what the Lord has promised to do for him and in him.
 
He calls upon his soul to “Bless the Lord” – “Praise the Lord”.

In context here, the word "bless" means "to kneel with the idea of adoration and praise."
David knows that God is worthy of all the praise we can render to Him and David wants his soul to be involved in praising the Lord.

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits.

What’s implied in those words is that we have a tendency to forget. We have a tendency to forget God’s goodness. We begin to take it for granted. We begin to expect it.

Pretty soon we get to thinking we deserve more grace, and somewhere along the way we begin to lose sight of God’s goodness, and we fail to realize that all the while He is pouring out His blessings upon us, that we need to be blessing Him and BEING a Blessing to Him as well.

We forget His benefits, and the psalmist is really calling his own soul to kneel before God and remember what God has done for him.

As he opens up this psalm, David is calling himself to kneel in adoration before God. What fascinates me about this psalm – in relationship to the other psalms David wrote is that here, David seems to be talking to himself.

He’s having a dialogue with his own soul. So he says, Bless the LORD, O my soul. This is a very introspective, very personal psalm, and one in which I believe strongly that we can claim as our own on a very personal level.

He also challenges his soul not to forget what the Lord has done. 

Sometimes a lapse of spiritual memory will cause us to wander and stray, and David knows this and he wants his soul to contemplate all the "benefits" which the Lord has given.

Here, the word "benefits" also refers to "dealing". It refers to how the Lord treats the soul – He “deals” with the soul – He restores the soul.

Psalm 23:3, He restoreth my soul

We are all guilty of allowing our eyes to wander from the Lord.  We are all guilty of allowing our focus to be man-centered instead of God-centered.  Far too often, we are guilty of forgetting what God has done in us – and for us!
 
You see, the world around us is in a constant state of change. The world around us is at war. The economy is in bad shape.

People are having problems with their health, their homes and their finances.

Even the churches are not immune from problems as people come and go.

But, I would remind you this morning that while the world is changing, while the churches are changing, while your life is changing, the benefits of the Lord never change.

Why? Because He never changes,

Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Sometimes, my soul forgets just Who God is and what He has done for me.

Sometimes I need a reminder of the benefits I enjoy as a child of God.

Sometimes I need to be a David and talk to myself, and sometimes I need to remind my soul not to forget Who God is and what He has done for me, and the many blessings He gives to me so freely on a daily basis.

This psalm says, "All that is within me, Bless His Holy Name." The flesh cannot do this.

My own personal confession to you this morning is that: I can't worship the Lord like I truly want to.

Do you know why?

Because, this flesh of mine, and yours cannot rise to that level. It is only by the Holy Spirit that you and I can worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. 

Today, and the Lord Willing, I want to try to point out the foundational message this particular Psalm has for you – and for me. 

If you have allowed your soul to forget the things God has done for you, then this message is designed to speak to your heart.

If you are guilty of allowing the burdens of life and the actions of others to influence your walk with the Lord, God has a special message for you today.

If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that God will take you by the hand this morning and will lead you into an understanding of how you can do that today.

You see, these blessings and benefits I am going to talk about today are for everyone who will come to the Lord by faith!

In verse 3 David talks about sin and God’s forgiveness.  He uses the word "iniquities". This word means "bent or crookedness".

It refers to that evil that is bent in our nature that pulls us toward sin. It brings to mind the fact that I am a sinner and I have sinned, but it also points out the fact that I am guilty of sin now and ever will be, as long as I am in this body!

Yet, God "forgiveth" "all" the iniquities of the soul. That is, He takes our sins and puts them away from Him forever. He did this through the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary,

Hebrews. 9:26; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
 
John 1:29,  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
 
Now, all our sins, past, present and future have been forever put away through the gift of God in Christ Jesus,
 
Isaiah 38:17; Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
 
Isaiah 43:25; I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
 
Jeremiah 50:20; In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
 
Micah 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.
 
I John 1:7; But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Not only has He cleansed me in the past, He continually cleanses me in the present and He will continue to cleanse me into the future, until the day when my sin nature will forever be left behind and I will stand perfected in His presence in glory!

Does this mean that we are sinless? Of course not.

We sin and "the accuser of the brethren", who is Satan, stands before the Lord and points out our sins. He does the finger pointing, and When He does this, we see in 1 John 2:1 that we have an advocate in Christ Jesus working on our behalf.

Listen to, 1 John 2:1;

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

When the "Accuser" points his finger at us, our "Advocate", our precious Lord and Saviour simply holds out His nail pierced Hands and says:

"We do not know what sins you are talking about. That person is a child of God and they are righteous through the blood of the Lamb. All their sins are forgiven and all are forgotten"

As a sinner He forgives us. And our souls would do good not to forget that. And we should not allow ourselves to become distracted from His glory by man and by life and trivial events of life.

 "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name."

When we are sick, He heals us. These bodies are often afflicted with sickness and disease, but I don’t believe this Psalm is referring to physical healing.

It is not always God's Will to heal His people from their physical afflictions, regardless of what some may say.

I believe this is referring to the sicknesses of the soul, and this is a sickness that every person on the earth is inflicted with.

Our souls are subject to much sickness. Among them are lust, hate, greed, jealousy, discouragement, depression, anger, fear, guilt, and doubt, just to name a few, and these kinds of sickness can be just as terminal as can be physical sicknesses.

Just as surely as diseases of the body can take away physical life, the diseases of the soul can deaden us toward the things of God and leave us lifeless and weak.

But, praises to God, He has a remedy for the diseases of the soul.

Each day, the divine Physician visits His patients (us) and through His mercy and grace He tenderly and effectively heals all the diseases of our souls. And He gives us the right medicine, and in the right amounts,
 

 Psalm 107:17-21;  

Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
 
Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
 
Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
 
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
 
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Our soul should never forget the tender touch of the Great Physician as time and time again He has diagnosed, treated and healed the diseases of the soul.

When I think of the help and healing I have received for my soul I stand with my arms open and proclaim:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name."

Every soul that enters this world is a slave to sin, and as we see in,

Romans 3:23; For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Every soul that enters this world is headed to horrible conclusion as well, as we are told in,
 
Romans 6:23; For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thanks be to God – Praise Jesus that He saw the plight of lost souls and provided redemption for them.

He saw our enslavement and He saw the ultimate destiny in Hell that awaited every single member of the human race.

But, He wasn't merely content to observe it and stand idly by and see it, He did something about it. He came into this world and paid the price for our redemption on the cross,
 
Revelation 5:9; And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
 
Galatians 4:5; To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
 
1 Peter 1:18-19; Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

We were slaves to sin and headed for an eternity in Hell, but we have been delivered from that slavery and we have a heavenly hope today.

I would like pause a moment and point out the word "redeemeth" in verse 4 of our text. This is also a present tense verb.

The redemption enjoyed by the children of God will never falter or fail until we have all arrived safely home in glory,

1 Peter 1:5; Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

John 6:37-40; All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
 
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
 
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
 
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 10:28; And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

When I think of the fact that I was once a slave to sin, but now I am free from sin's bondage, sin's curse and sin's penalty, I can’t help but to cry out:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name."

You see, every one of us would have squandered the life of our soul by seeking things that could never satisfy us, and could only have lead to our destruction.

But, ALL praise be to God, and as the old favorite song says;

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood...

He made all the difference in my life – and He can and will make all the difference in yours too!

My soul should never forget such a blessing – but from time to time, when it does, and then remembers once more - the problems of life fade into insignificance again and God becomes more glorious than ever!

“Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name”

The Psalmist says that like a king passing down the power and glory of his kingdom to a beloved son, the people of God are crowned with the blessings of the Lord's great kingdom.

We are told that He crowns His children with lovingkindness" and "tender mercies".
 
"Lovingkindness" corresponds to what the New Testament calls "grace".

All Praise be to the Lord that there is grace for the journey!

2 Corinthians 12:9; And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

"Tender mercies" carries the idea of "compassion and tender love". His grace is matchless and marvelous, but His tender mercies are glorious beyond our vocabulary's ability to explain.

I thank God for His tender touch as I pass through this harsh and difficult world.

His mercies are new every day,

Lamentations 3:22-23; It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

There have been times when human touches and words were ineffective in the valleys of life, but even in the midst of those times, I have never been beyond the tender touch of my Lord and Saviour.
 
Just the feel of His hand as He reached into my heart was more wonderful than I can describe.

The sure knowledge that He, with His rod and staff, is ever present to lead, guide, feed and protect me - gives me a glorious hope for the journey.

Notice that He doesn't just give "mercies", He gives "tender mercies". He doesn't just give "kindness", He gives "loving kindness".

We serve a God Who always operates in excess and in abundance

Listen very carefully to what the Lord put on my heart as I meditated and prayed over this mornings sermon:

God moves in the realm of overabundance. He operates in the realm of "more than enough".
 
We like to say that Jesus is all we need! Or, Jesus is all we want.

And, if it ever comes to the place in our life where Jesus becomes more than all we need, or more than all we want and He becomes all we have, we will find that He is:

“more than enough”

When He moves in your life, He will never be just enough, He will always be more than enough.

My soul should never forget that He crowns me with loving-kindness and tender mercies.

When I think of His grace and His goodness towards me, I stand in awe of Him and my heart proclaims:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name."

As our gracious, kind, loving, and merciful heavenly Father He gives us the "good things of life".
 
He does not always give us what we want, but He always gives us what is best,
 
Romans 8:28; And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Those who rest in Him and draw their strength from Him will find that they are in a constant state of renewal and that their spiritual stamina will never fail.
 
Those who do not abide in Him will have a difficult time through the journey of life, as we are told in,

John 15:5; I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
 
Those who are drawing their life and satisfaction from the Lord will display a youthful spirituality that allows them to soar above the storms and difficulties of life like the mighty eagle.

When the Psalmist mentions the renewal of the eagle, I believe he may be referring to the "molting process" in an eagle's life.

As an eagles ages, their beaks and talons become encrusted with calcium. Thus, neither is as sharp as they once were.
 
When this happens the aging eagle cannot hunt as effectively as he once did.

As he ages, he also loses some of his feathers. When this happens it causes his body to create a "whistle" in the air as he dives toward his prey.
 
This destroys his ability to hunt in silence, thus further reducing his effectiveness as a hunter.

When the eagle enters this period of his life, he will descend from soaring in the heights above and find a place in and among the rocks.

There, he will pluck out all of his feathers and break off his own calcium encrusted beak against the rocks.
 
He will even scratch his talons against the rocks until they are reduced to nubs.

At this point, the eagle is absolutely vulnerable and defenseless. Many eagles die during this process because they cannot feed themselves or escape predators.

But, during this time a wonderful thing begins to happen, to those who survive.

The feathers will begin to grow back. His beak will also heal. His talons re-grow as long and as sharp as ever before.

After a time, the eagle will step out on the rocks. Flap his great wings and take to the skies once again in victory.
 
Many of us can identify with the pain the eagle experiences.

We go through our own "molting process" from time to time. The eagle will only go through it once, a child of God will go through it many times.
 
The answer lies in getting to the Rock. There, we can recover what which we have lost and have our strength renewed once again.

After an eagle has been through the molting process, He can look directly into the sun and he can soar above the storms – he can hunt – and he can be victorious and majestic once again.

The child of God who has been through the valley and has been restored by the Rock can look fully into the Face of God to see His glory and can soar above the troubles and afflictions of life – and can know and find victory as well.
 
Sometimes, when eagles are in their time of molting, other eagles will fly overhead and drop food for those that are in the rocks below.

They want to share what they have with those that are hurting and venerable.

And there's a message in that thought for us this morning too.

When I think of how Jesus has repeatedly lifted me from the jagged rocks of affliction and pain and restored unto me spiritual strength and victory, my heart fills with joy and that joy causes my eyes to want to well up with tears and I cry out:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name."

Sometimes the soul forgets the great and wondrous blessings of our Lord and Saviour.

And when it does, and when our journey becomes rough and ragged, and when we can no longer see victory in our flight, and when our hope seems to be fading away into the sunset… 

It's time to get before Him, and come to Him and to seek His face and to get a reminder of the great things He has done for us.
 
Sometimes we get caught up in the burdens and problems of life, or just in life itself – and we forget what His benefits are in our life.

Sometimes we allow others and their actions to turn our hearts away from the Lord and His blessings in our life.

If the Lord and His presence aren't as real to you as they used to be or as they need to be, or if you have never accepted Him into your life as your own personal Lord and Saviour, you can get the help and restoration your need right now.

We need to come to a place where our souls are "blessing" the Lord.

You know, Sigmund Freud once said that God is a figment of our imagination, and that our views and thoughts about God were just a way for us to feel better about life.

Sigmund Freud was a liar.  He was someone who obviously never knew the One true and ONLY Lord and Saviour that you and I know and love. 

God is real – and God IS alive and He lives within each and every person who claims Him as their own personal Lord and Savior – and God is not just an imaginary figure to help us feel better about life.   

God is a God Who speaks to us, and if we listen, we can hear His oh so sweet and tender voice.

God is a God Who acts upon our every need and desire if we give our all to Him, and allow Him to guide and direct our lives.

God is a God Who Loves us with a Love so deep and so complete that no words can ever do His love justice.

God is a God Who changes our hearts, changes our world, and changes our direction once we turn to Him.

Make no mistake about it - God is real . . . God is alive . . . an God is at work in our lives

Our Lord and Saviour is the same God who satisfies our every need.

He satisfies our desires...

He satisfies our wantings…

He satisfies our longings…

He gives us dreams to dream and to hold onto and He makes those dreams come true…

He eases our pains and he dries our tears with His love and comfort…

He guides and protects us through this journey of life here on earth…

He fulfills every single one of our needs, whether we realize it or not.

There are times that we may become disillusioned with life in this world and we may think we need more than we do – but our precious Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves and He never leaves us to want.

He gives us all that we need.

When we are thirsty – He is the Living Water that quenches…

When we are hungry – He is the bread of life that nourishes…

When we are mired down in the mud and the muck of the valleys through life – He is the One Who extends His strong and sure Hand that will pull us out…

When we come upon mountains in life that we alone cannot climb over – it is He Who picks us up – and carries us safely to the other side…

And when we are lost and cannot find our way through the darkness – He is the eternal candle of light that shines brightly before us – and lights up our paths.

And we need to reach down deep within ourselves, today, and everyday, and say to our own soul, and proclaim from the depths of our minds, hearts and souls:

 "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name."