PSALM 103
lDavid praises LORD for HIS goodness verse 1- 2
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
David thanks the LORD for forgiveness verse 3- 5
WHO forgives all your iniquities
WHO heals all your diseases
WHO redeems your life from destruction
WHO crowns you with loving-kindness
and tender mercies
WHO satisfies your mouth with good things
so that your youth is RENEWED like the eagle’s
David thanks the LORD for helping oppressed verse 6
The LORD executes righteousness and judgment
for all that are oppressed
David thanks the LORD for mercy verse 7- 10
HE made known HIS ways to Moses
HIS acts to the children of Israel
The LORD is
merciful
gracious
slow to anger
plenteous in mercy
HE will not always chide
neither will HE keep HIS anger for ever
HE has not dealt with us after our sins
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities
David thanks the LORD for treatment of HIS people verse 11- 13
For as the heaven is high above the earth
so great is HIS mercy toward them that fear HIM
As far as the east is from the west
so far hath HE REMOVED our transgressions from us
Like as a father pities his children
so the LORD pitied them that fear HIM
David realizes the LORD knows life is short verse 14- 16
For HE knows our frame
HE remembers that we are dust
As for man – his days are as grass – as a flower of the field
so he flourishes – for the wind passes over it – and it is gone
and the place thereof shall know it no more
David realizes the LORD love is continually verse 17- 18
BUT the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
upon them that fear HIM
and HIS righteousness to children’s children
To such as keep HIS covenant
and to those that remember HIS commandments to do them
David knows the LORD is on the throne verse 19
The LORD has prepared HIS throne in the heavens
and HIS kingdom rules over all
David praises the angels of the LORD verse 20- 22
Bless the LORD – you HIS angels – that excel in strength
that do HIS commandments
hearkening to the voice of HIS word
Bless you the LORD – all you HIS hosts
you MINISTERS of HIS – that do HIS pleasure
Bless the LORD – all HIS works in all places of HIS dominion
bless the LORD – O my soul
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (1576 “benefits” [gemuwl] means desert, deserving, that which he hath given, recompense, or reward.)
DEVOTION: We sing the song “Count your many blessing” but seem to not remember them when we are going through a rough time. Here we have David praising the LORD for all his blessings. The opposite of praising is forgetting. We are a forgetful people. Each day we need to remember to praise the LORD.
David goes on in the psalm to list some of the recompense we receive as part of the family of God. The first is that HE forgives our sins. The second is that HE heals us. The third is that HE redeems us by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. What is HE redeeming us from? HE redeems us from a life of destruction. Fourth, HE crowns us with HIS loving-kindness and tender mercies. Fifth, HE gives us good things to eat. Sixth, HE gives us renewed strength. Sixth, HE is slow to anger with us. Seventh, HE shows that we are in HIS family by chastening us. Eighth, HE doesn’t give us what we deserve for all our sinning. HE removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. Ninth, HE knows our weaknesses and still loves us. Tenth, HE blesses us through our children’s children.
We are called ministers of HIS. Our life needs to minister to others. We are to do HIS good pleasure while we are on this earth.
Too often we think of rewards that are passed out at the end of life. Here we learn of some of the rewards that are given in the here and now. There is a long list of blessings that all those who are followers of the LORD receive while they are still on this earth.
We should be jumping for joy because of all HE is doing for us. Too often we concentrate on what we don’t have instead of what HE is doing for us now. We are to BLESS HIS name continually. The psalmist gives us all the reasons. Are we willing to be a thankful people? Are we remembering all the present blessings we are receiving from HIM?
CHALLENGE: Count your blessings today and praise the LORD for all your blessings. Tell others how much the LORD has blessed you this last year.)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases. (5545 “forgives” [calach] means to be indulgent towards, to stop blaming or taking an offence into account, pardon, spare, practice forbearance, or to be merciful.)
DEVOTION: The LORD knows that every human being is a sinner. There was only one who wasn’t born with a sin nature and that was Jesus Christ. All the rest of us were born with a sin nature and we used that nature in most of our decisions until we met Christ.
Once we received a pardon from Christ for our sins we are able through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and our practicing the disciplines of the faith to sin less. We never become sinless but we have the forgiveness the LORD provides to help us live a life that is pleasing to the LORD.
God understands our nature. HE is very merciful to us and allows us to come to HIM daily to confess our sins which we have committed. Some people seem to think that they stop sinning the day they ask Jesus into their heart. That is not true. We sin each day and each day we need to confess them to the LORD.
HE wants us to keep short accounts with HIM. HE knows our frame that we are weak but HE doesn’t want us to use that as an excuse to keep sinning. It is a battle we fight each day to sin less even though we realize we will never be sinless.
Christ was the only one who is sinless. HE committed no sins while on this earth. HE gave us a example to follow with the understanding that we need to keep short accounts with HIM.
HE is able to forgive and forget our sins once we have genuinely asked for forgiveness and commit our life to serving HIM with the help of the Holy Spirit each day.
Eternity is decided the moment we genuinely asked the LORD to come into our life and gave our life to HIM to cleanse and help to sinless.
CHALLENGE: The LORD is the great physician who is healing us once and for all and helping us to live a life that is pleasing in HIS sight. We are sinless in HIS eyes because HE looks at us through Christ.
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: 4 Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies. (7845 “destruction” [shachath] means a grave understood as a pit, sepulcher, corruption, Sheol, or abode of the dead)
DEVOTION: Those who have a personal relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ because of HIS death on the cross and resurrection from the gave can understand what it means to not have to spend eternity in a place that reserved for the devil and his followers. That place ultimately in a place called hell for eternity.
All those who reject the message of salvation are going to spend eternity there. There is not a second chance. There is not a place between heaven and hell where some people go to spend some time and then go to heaven.
Those who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ will not spend one second in hell but will go from the grave into the presence of the LORD or if they are part of the ones who live during the Tribulation that accept Christ they will go to be with HIM immediately.
To often we find people thinking that they will receive a second chance once they die to change into a genuine believer. It is not going to happen. There are a lot of false teaching regarding heaven and hell that are not taught from the Bible.
Empty promises are giving to some that listen to false teachers who promise that if they give so much money their relatives will get into heaven. Don’t listen to empty promises and make sure that you spread the Good News of the Bible that Christ is the ONLY way to heaven.
Every person needs to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, without it there is only eternity in hell.
CHALLENGE: Get the gospel message out to all those you care about. Their time might be short! There is a better hope in Jesus Christ alone!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 14 “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). (Frame – 3336 יֵצֶר [yetser /yay·tser/] n m. From 3335; TWOT 898a; GK 3671; Nine occurrences; AV translates as “imagination” five times, “frame” once, “mind” once, “thing framed” once, and “work” once. 1 form, framing, purpose, framework. 1A form. 1A1 pottery. 1A2 graven image. 1A3 man (as formed from the dust). 1B purpose, imagination, device (intellectual framework). James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: It is amazing grace when we consider that the Lord is so patient and compassionate with us! We are such a delicate creation of His and it would be so simple for Him to consume us because of our rebellion and sin. Yet He remembers that we are made from dust and frail. He reminds us that He formed and sustains us in all that we do! Should we not praise and bless His name? As every snow flake and drop of water is unique so every person is special; we are not the cookie cutter variety but peculiar and individual and He knows how to love each.
CHALLENGE: As you consider the precarious yet stable life you live give God the praise for it today! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 21 Bless you the LORD, all you HIS hosts; you ministers of HIS, that do HIS pleasure. (8334 “ ministers” [sharat] means serve, servant, to wait upon, be an attendant to, attend, or officiate.)
DEVOTION: The last verses of this Psalm are talking about the created beings called angels. This is a group that was created either before the creation of Adam and Eve or some believe were created on the sixth day in heaven. They are servant of the LORD who the New Testament call ministering spirits to those who believe. It is believed that every believer has an angel who is sometimes called a guardian angel. Only believers have such angels.
Remember that angels are not human being who have died and gone to heaven. They are not and never have been human being walking this earth. They appear at times to look like human men but have never been human men. They were created as angels to serve the LORD and do HIS bidding in heaven and on earth.
We know that the Bible tells us that some of the angels followed Satan when he fell from heaven. It is thought that about one third of the angels followed Satan. They have been active against the LORD from that time until now. They were active in the time of Christ but they knew who HE was and that they could not defeat HIM or disobey HIM. HE commanded many to go out of individuals and they went. Every nation has to deal with these fallen angels.
One book written by a well-known evangelical says that there are twenty-two different types of Angels talked about in the Bible. Each has their responsibility and each has their relationship to the other angels.
Here we find that they are called those who wait upon the LORD. They attend to whatever HE wants them to do throughout history. They are not just sitting around doing nothing but are active.
We will be active when we are heaven for eternity. The Bible doesn’t tell us all that we will be doing but we will be in the presence of our Savior throughout eternity. It is a blessing to look forward to in the future.
CHALLENGE: We are not to worship angels. We are to worship the LORD alone. Angels are created beings like us who are to serve HIM alone.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Bless the LORD verse 1, 20- 22
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Covenant verse 18
Commandments verse 18, 20
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 17, 19- 22
Holy name verse 1
Forgives all our iniquities verse 3
Heals all diseases verse 3
Redeems verse 4
Lovingkindness verse 4
Tender mercies verse 4
Executes righteousness verse 6, 17
Executes judgment verse 6
Merciful verse 8, 11
Gracious verse 8
Slow to anger verse 8
Plenteous in mercy verse 8
Not always chide verse 9
Anger of the LORD verse 9
Not dealt with US after our sins verse 10
HE has not rewarded us according to our sins verse 10
Pities those who fear HIM verse 13
Knows the human frame verse 14
HE knows we are dust verse 14
Throne in heaven verse 19
Dominion verse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Prepared HIS throne verse 19
Kingdom to rule over all verse 19
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Angels verse 20, 21
Excel in strength verse 20
Hearken to God’s voice verse 20
Do HIS commandments verse 20
Hearkening to the voice of HIS word verse 20
Hosts verse 21
Ministers verse 21
Do God’s pleasure verse 21
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Oppressed verse 6
Human father verse 13
Dust verse 14
Days as grass verse 15
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Iniquities verse 3, 10
Sins verse 10
Transgressions verse 12
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Benefits verse 2
Forgives verse 3
Heals verse 3
Redeems verse 4
Crowns with loving-kindness verse 4
Crowns with tender mercies verse 4
Satisfies with good things verse 5
Renews verse 5
Follow God’s ways verse 7
Mercy (everlasting) verse 8, 11, 17
Grace verse 8, 11
Fear of the LORD verse 11, 13, 17
Removal of transgressions verse 12
Pity verse 13
Keep covenant of the LORD verse 18
Remember God’s commandments verse 18
Bless the LORD verse 21
Soul blesses the LORD verse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
David wrote this Psalm verse 1- 22
Bless the LORD O my soul
Bless HIS holy name
Forget not all HIS benefits
Forgives our sin (iniquities)
Heals our diseases
Redeems from destruction
Gives our mouth good things
Renews youth
Removed our transgressions
Moses verse 7
Knew God’s ways
Children of Israel verse 7
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Destruction verse 4
God will not keep HIS anger forever verse 9
Mercy of God is everlasting verse 17
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QUOTES regarding passage
20–22 In language quite similar to 148:1–4, the angelic host is called on to join with God’s people in worship of the Lord. The heavenly creatures are his “angels” (cf. 91:11), his “mighty ones” (v. 20; lit., “warriors of strength,” from g-b-r; cf. NEB, “creatures of might”), “his heavenly hosts” (v. 21; cf. 24:10; Dan 7:10), and “his servants” (or “ministers”; cf. Heb 1:14). They are always loyal to the Lord: “who do his bidding, who obey his word.… who do his will”; and the Lord expects nothing less from his creatures on earth (vv. 7, 18; cf. Matt 6:10). The psalm concludes with the inclusionary repetition “praise the Lord, O my soul” (v. 22; cf. v. 1). Thus the psalmist calls on all creatures in heaven, serving the Lord on high, to join together with creation (“all his works”) in the praise of God. (VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, pp. 654–655). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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103:19–22. David declared that the Lord’s dominion is over all the earth. Therefore all angels, God’s heavenly hosts, who are His servants, and all His Creation (His works) everywhere should praise the Lord. David closed his psalm in the way he began: by exhorting himself (O my soul) to praise the Lord. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 868). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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103:20, 21 His angels … His hosts. Unfallen, righteous angels who serve God night and day (cf. Ps 148:2; Rev 5:11–13). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ps 103:20). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture
Genesis 16-18
Acting upon impulses can be dangerous and bring a great deal of suffering to a family or group. To go out for dinner on an impulse is one thing and it is quite another to suddenly decide to help God start a family! One decision may only cause indigestion for a night while the other could be disastrous!
Abram and Sarai had seen the display of the Lord’s power in their lives for several years. They had also seen how foolish decisions could result in life threatening circumstances. Abram had been promised an heir by God and Sarai thought she knew a way to make that happen. At 86 and 87 years old, there wasn’t a lot of time left for God to work or at least that was the appearance. So, Sarai determined to help the Lord out with what appeared like a great plan.
The impact of her plan has since caused repercussions for Sarai’s offspring even to this present day! We may think we know what can work and how to assist God in bringing to pass the promises He has made, yet it is always best to leave the planning and execution to God.
If God has made a promise, it will truly come to pass but in the process, it may test our faith and patience to the limits. Unlike Abram and Sarai, we ought to remember God does not joke when He speaks. For Him, time or age is not an issue. Jeremiah was reminded of this truth when the nation was destroyed, and all hope was shattered, and life was filled with doubt. The Lord said to him, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). Trust His word! It is a light in the darkness. What God says, will come to pass! With an Expectant Hope,
Pastor Miller
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THE PROOFS OF ADOPTION
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26
What are the proofs that any one of us can have that we have been adopted? Well, you can find the scriptural proof. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Also in 1 Peter 1:3-6 you find it again: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.” We are the inheritance—that is, the children of God. This is for all of us who believe in Christ.
The second way of assurance is that we are given “the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15); “we receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:5). You can be assured of the fact that you have received adoption because you know that the Holy Spirit is dwelling within you. We have His testimony to our spirits that we are the children of God. And then last of all I would offer the fact that we are led by the Spirit. This is Paul’s argument: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). Paul does not say, “As many as are actively acting as peacemakers or who are loving their enemies . . .” No! “As many as are led by the Spirit of God”; those who subject themselves to His leading and who rejoice in being led by Him—they are the sons of God.
A Thought to Ponder
You can be assured of the fact that you have received adoption
because you know that the Holy Spirit is dwelling within you.
From God the Holy Spirit, p. 187, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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At the time the Scripture was written, almost two thousand years ago now, this agape love was very rare and seldom used in society. People used the more common terms eros, which refers to sensual love, or phileo, which describes a brotherly relationship. But the term they hardly ever used in New Testament times is the one we see most frequently in Scripture. Agape means a selfless love, giving love, you-before-me love. It describes love as an act of the will; a choice I make. (p. 121)
No matter how clearly you understand God’s truth or how capable you are of bringing truth to bear upon a person’s life, if you don’t love the people you’re talking to, if you don’t have a broken heart for the people that you’re trying to share truth with, you are wasting your time. (p. 122)
We are so prone to take minor molehills and make them into major mountains, and it’s in that soil that a critical spirit can flourish and grow. (p. 128)
Love doesn’t deny the irritation; it simply recognizes that the one I love is far more important than my own desire to live an irritant-free life. (p. 129)
In his book Love, acceptance, and Forgiveness, Jerry Cook describes a church out in Washington State that grew in fourteen years to more than four thousand people. The book is a story of a commitment, and it includes the commitment people at that church made to each other. It moves me every time I read it:
You will never knowingly suffer at my hands. I will never say anything or do anything knowingly to hurt you. I will always, in every circumstance, seek to help and support you. If you’re down and I can lift you up – I’ll do that. If you need something and I have it, I’ll share it with you. If I need to, I’ll give it to you. No matter what I find out about you, no matter what happens in the future – either good or bad – my commitment to you will never change. And there is nothing you can do about it. (p. 133, LORD, CHANGE My ATTITUDE (Before It’s Too Late) by James MacDonald) Quote is from Jerry Cook with Stanly C. Baldwin, Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness (Ventura: Regal, 1979) p. 13.)
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Jacob dies; then Joseph lives to be 110 years old.
INSIGHT
God’s will is often fulfilled in strange ways. Joseph was given childhood dreams indicating he would rule over his brothers. Little could Joseph have imagined it would include their trying to kill him, his spending time in prison, and his ruling over the nation of Egypt.
That time and those experiences were needed to build into Joseph the character qualities and the wisdom needed to rule successfully. Never doubt in the dark what God shows you in the light. (Quiet Walk)
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Threefold Deliverance
“For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.” (Psalm 116:8)
This is the beautiful testimony of the psalmist when the Lord answered his prayer: “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O, I beseech thee, deliver my soul” (vv. 3-4). The Lord does, indeed, deliver our souls when we call upon Him for salvation in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Divine deliverance, however, is more than deliverance from death and hell. “Therefore the redeemed of the LORD…shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11). “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4). God delivers us from the penalty of our sins, from death and hell, right now, and then from all our sorrows and tears in the age to come, delivering us even from all the effects of sin forever.
But He also delivers us right now from the power of sin in our lives, which would otherwise come again to cause our downfall even after we have been saved. Many a fearful Christian, afraid that he is unable to hang on to the Lord, needs to know that it is the Lord who hangs on to him! “For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?” (Psalm 56:13). Our Savior, who died for our sins and rose again for our justification, promises this. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall [anyone] pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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