Forgetting Not His Benefits

Forgetting Not His Benefits (Psalm103:1-5)

An encouragement to be consistent and systematic in our obedience to the Lord’s exhortations.

            ¹BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name! ²Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits—³Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases, ⁴Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;     ⁵Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!  (Psalms 103:1-5 AB: Amplified Bible).

            I have heard over the years that the Word of God consists of two kinds of writing: it is either informative or it is instructive. If this is true, then when we are reading the Word, we might want to be aware of what the Lord wants us to do with what we are reading. If He is informing us of something, then let us understand—and be changed because of some new level of knowledge. But if He is instructing us to take action, let us move on from understanding what He is saying to actual action.

            When I finally understood this concept of informing or instructing and was reading through the Psalms (I created for myself a schedule for reading through the Psalms every year), I was stopped right in my tracts when I came to Psalm 103. He is instructing me to “forget not [each one of] all His benefits,” but how could I do that with so much going on in my mind and around the world (I am a news buff, too!). After thinking about it for awhile, I decided to assign each of the five listed in this section to a day of the week. I keep a journal of my daily time with the Lord, so on Mondays I write out and then declare aloud the first one as a personal affirmation: Lord, in obedience to Your Word, I am forgetting not Your benefits! Thank You, Lord, that You have forgiven ALL my iniquities!  No small thing as I consider what that means for me personally. I do the same for Tuesday (He has healed all my diseases); for Wednesday (He has redeemed my life from destruction); for Thursday (He covers me with mercy and lovingkindness); and Friday (He satisfies me with good things).

            And if the affects of that were not enough—and they have been many and wonderful in so many ways over the years—His promise to each of us who will forget not His benefits is that He will restore our youth! If you are over 50 that promise becomes very precious, let me tell you! Then He goes on to describe what being youthful looks like: it looks like an eagle—strong, overcoming, and soaring! I love that! On Saturdays and Sundays, I thank Him for all that He is doing for me that I cannot do for myself—and in the process, He is restoring my youth! Amazing!