Psalm 103:1-5

“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.” You recognize those verses, don’t you? Psalm 103 verses 1 and 2. David is blessing the Lord. Psalm 103 does not have one request in it. There’s no praying. It’s all praising. I wonder how long I could talk to the Lord without asking for something? “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” Well, what are some of these benefits that David sings about? Well, perhaps they are benefits that we have forgotten or that we are taking for granted. He saves. Verse 3, “Who forgives all thine iniquities; who heals all thy diseases;” The last part of that statement is an illustration of the first part. He forgives all our iniquities just the way He heals the human body.

In the Bible sickness and sin are often equated. Now I’m not saying that sickness is the result of sin. Sometimes it is. I’m not saying that all people who are sick are sinners. That sometimes is true that we sin against the Lord and He disciplines us with sickness. No. What He’s saying is sin is like sickness. Often in the Bible sin is compared to sickness and salvation is compared to health. Where God brings saving health to our souls; He saves and He keeps. “Who redeems thy life from destruction; who crowns thee with loving kindness and tender mercies;” Here He is, He keeps us. He protects us from the destruction around us. He puts a crown on our heads and makes us kings and He satisfies. “Who satisfies thy mouth with good things;” Yes He does. He saves and He keeps and He satisfies. In fact, He says that he so satisfies us that our youth is renewed like the eagles.

He’s talking here about the eagle who molts, loses those old feathers and he gets a new coat and he goes off and he begins to soar again. God saves us. Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior? God keeps us. Are you allowing Him to surround you with His protection? God satisfies us. “O taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8).