Bless The Lord, O My Soul

Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 22nd March service and hymns are below.

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Our principal verses are:

Psa 103:1 A Psalm of David. 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.

Bless The Lord, O My Soul

We finished our series of studies in James by reading the apostle’s injunction, ‘Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms’ (James 5:13). Today, we have a candidate psalm for the lively saint who has reason to praise the Lord and thank Him for His goodness and grace. Psalm 103 is a psalm of David, the poet-king. It is a love-song for a joyful and grateful heart. The inspired saint is our example as he calls upon his soul to bless the Lord for His full and free salvation. David declares, ‘Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name’.

Spiritual worship

David teaches us what part of man is primarily engaged in acceptable praise. Until a soul has been quickened by the Spirit of God it is not possible to exercise spiritual worship. Unless a renewed heart is engaged in the service there is nothing acceptable to God in that act. Divine worship is a spiritual activity. David’s psalm is a saint’s heartfelt cry of gratitude and adoration. The psalmist is speaking as a born-again child of God. He is aware of His blessed position in Christ and humbly thanks God for mercy and love.

Holy, holy, holy

It is the Lord God Almighty who is to be praised. It is the eternal God, the Great I Am, holy and true, King of kings, Lord of lords, whose Name is above every name. God in Three Persons is the Lord we worship and adore. David calls his soul to attention to remember and to record all of the Lord’s benefits. From the greatest benefit to the least, none is to be passed over. Not one is to be overlooked or forgotten.

Pardon for sin

David very suitably begins with pardon for sin. He is speaking of forgiveness for his own personal failings which he calls iniquity. Pardon for offences against God is a benefit of the highest rank and order. It is all of mercy being unmerited and unearned. Pardon is the earliest evidence of God’s grace in a convicted sinner’s conscience. David’s joy was personally to know, and believe by faith, that all his sins had been laid on His Redeemer and forgiven him for Christ’s sake. His sins are his diseases and the psalmist credits the Lord for healing all his soul-sickness and open sores.

Redeemed by blood

This leads David to the source and cause of his happy state. He sings the song of the redeemed of the Lord. The people of God are redeemed from their sin by precious blood and the atoning sacrifice of their Saviour, Jesus Christ. We are delivered by the free grace of God, ‘Who redeemeth thy life from destruction’. David calls his soul to bless the Lord because it has been delivered from the punishment it deserves; the destruction of life and everlasting judgment in hell.

Crowned with love

It has also been crowned with love and kindness, tenderly anointed with mercies and liberally showered with blessings. There is abundance in the mercy of God for all His people. David calls his soul, and ours, not to neglect thanking God for all His benefits but to remember they flow to us in love and are dispensed in tenderness. Often we think our temptations are fierce but even our trials are gently applied to accomplish their end with the least possible discomfort.

Renewed mercies

David has learned that crowns of heavenly love surpass crowns of earthly glory. As king he had achieved every honour and tasted every pleasure known to man, yet it was the Lord who gave satisfaction to his soul and filled his life with good things. It was his Saviour Jesus Christ who revitalised his inmost being. In the outward man the passage of time provokes decay but David learned how the inward man is renewed in Christ every day.

Our common salvation

The blessings and benefits of which David speaks are not unique to him. They are the portion of all the Lord’s people and the inheritance of every child of God in Jesus Christ. David’s call to his own soul to bless the Lord is equally a call to all God’s elect children to follow his example. Let us all bless the Lord in heart and spirit, with praise and gratitude. Our benefits in this life are the product of God’s everlasting love towards His chosen people.

Our God of all comfort

Every believer has trouble in this world and every believer is given grace sufficient to endure, overcome and acknowledge God for His mercy. We have redemption, forgiveness and new life in Christ. We have a Friend who loves us constantly and renews our strength daily. We have faith and hope in God our Saviour and His promise of everlasting life. We, too, can say, ‘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.’

Amen

Hymn 969

“He is before all things.” Col. 1. 17

W. Cowper    L.M.

1
My song shall bless the Lord of all;
My praise shall climb to his abode;
Thee, Saviour, by that name I call,
The great Supreme, the mighty God.

2
Without beginning or decline,
Object of faith, and not of sense;
Eternal ages saw him shine;
He shines eternal ages hence.

3
As much when in the manger laid
Almighty Ruler of the sky,
As when the six days’ work he made
Filled all the morning stars with joy.

4
Of all the crowns Jehovah wears,
Salvation is his dearest claim;
That gracious sound well-pleased he hears,
And owns Immanuel for his name.

Hymn 420

Praise for Spiritual and Temporal Mercies. Ps. 103. 1-4

I. Watts         S.M.

1
O bless the Lord, my soul!
Let all within me join,
And aid my tongue to bless his name,
Whose favours are divine.

2
O bless the Lord, my soul!
Nor let his mercies lie
Forgotten in unthankfulness,
And without praises die.

3
’Tis he forgives thy sins;
’Tis he relieves thy pain;
’Tis he that heals thy sicknesses,
And makes thee young again.

4
He crowns thy life with love,
When ransomed from the grave;
He that redeemed my soul from hell
Has sovereign power to save.

5
He fills the poor with good;
He gives the sufferers rest;
The Lord has judgments for the proud,
And justice for the oppressed.

6
His wondrous works and ways
He made by Moses known;
But sent the world his truth and grace,
By his beloved Son.

David's psalm of praise to God is a call to us all to bless the Lord from our soul for all His benefits. David expounds what these benefits are and calls every child of god to testify with him to the grace, mercy and love of God in Jesus Christ.