A Bible Reading: Psalms 103:1-5
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
He forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
he redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
he satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
A Thought
I love Psalm 103; I find it so uplifting and faith-building. As well as being sung as a psalm, it has inspired countless hymns and worship songs through the centuries, whether the original Hebrew is translated ‘Praise the Lord, my soul’ or Bless the Lord, my soul’. The most well known are probably ‘Praise, my soul, the King of heaven’ and ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul (ten thousand reasons).
Written by King David, Psalm 103 is a song where he, the believer, is encouraging his own soul to praise the Lord, and reminding himself of God’s many blessings.
There are days, especially during lockdown, when we get up feeling grumpy and discouraged. On such days and at such times, it is good to do like David did, and speak to our souls, our inner feelings and emotions, and remind ourselves to ‘Praise the Lord’, and not to forget the many ‘benefits’ he has bestowed on us.
This wonderful God forgives all my sins, not just a few of them. He heals all my diseases, giving me faith and a focus for prayer at this time. He has redeemed my life from the pit, so that I have eternity in heaven. He crowns me with his love and compassion, even though I don’t deserve it. He blesses me with so many good things and, miracle of miracles for my generation, he renews my youth like the eagles, so I can soar on high, in my spirit, if not in my body!
How can I not ‘Praise the Lord’?
A Prayer
Loving heavenly Father, I praise you for the many blessings you have poured out on me throughout my life, for your forgiveness and our healing, for the love and compassion you have for me today and for the promise of eternity with you.
Amen.
Praise my soul the King of Heaven