Don't Forget the Lord's Benefits

Psalm 103:1-5: "Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."


The euphoria of true praise and worship is found in the overwhelming awareness of the immeasurable benefits that have been afforded to us through our great and gracious LORD, Jesus Christ.


In the above passage, the psalmist King David proclaims to his readers that the entirety of his inmost being is enthralled with worshipping the Lord; David cannot help but burst forth in celebrative applause and praise, as he becomes evermore aware of the amazing love of God that is lavished upon those who would surrender to Him as LORD.


Lest one would wonder that this euphoric demonstration of David is possibly a manipulated, emotional experience . . . where one works himself into an expressive encounter without substantive reasoning, David presents the explanation for his exuberance:


The LORD forgives my sins!

The LORD heals my diseases!

The LORD redeems life from the pit!

The LORD crowns with love and compassion!

The LORD satisfies our desires with good things! . . .

so that our youth is renewed like the eagle's.


When we begin to fathom the magnanimity of the Lord's forgiving our sins (accomplished solely through His own sacrifice on the cross coupled with His victory over sin and death through the resurrection), then we will not be able to help but burst forth with joyous praise. Because of sin, we are all due the fullest measure of God's retributive judgment for our cosmic treason against His holiness and rightful Lordship. God's sacrificing of Himself in the most cruel way (i.e. crucifixion) in order to protect us from His Divine wrath is so amazing. We simply must renounce any claims of our own lordship in favor of Him as our LORD and recognize His death and resurrection as the sufficient debt payment for our sins. His sacrifice is love at its finest!


The Lord heals our diseases! We know that infirmity and disability plague many in our world; and as many of us age, the prevalence of such diseases only increases. It truly is painful to watch a loved one struggle with such debilitating maladies as cancer, paralysis, or blindness. And to be sure, those who traverse these paths themselves often struggle with the chronic pain and limitation that come with such illnesses. Whereas we know that not all diseases may necessarily be healed in this lifetime, we know that our LORD will right all wrongs that have existed in this world. God is the Victor who reigns triumphantly over all things, and He can deliver those who have been burdened in this life. Because we have not experienced the fullness of eternity, we understandably are a bit myopic to this reality. We tend to struggle more with the realities of the few decades that we have to live in this fallen world, and we lose sight of the perfected, eternal life experience that God has prepared for those who surrender to Him as LORD. For the ones struggling with the limitations of this life, which are very real and very painful, their hope is to be found in the deliverance that is offered by our loving LORD. Truly this is reason to celebrate!


The LORD spares our lives from the pit. Scripture tells us much about the reality of hell, as being a place of torment, judgment, darkness, and most importantly . . . the absence of the LORD. It is a place to which no one wants to go; in fact, the Scriptures tell us that the angels will have to force the reprobate through its perilous gates (see Matthew 13:41-42). That God would spare us this fate, because of our sins against Him, again is the cause to celebrate. His mercies are beyond measure and are everlasting (Psalm 100:5 [KJV]).


The LORD crowns our lives with love and compassion. Not only does the LORD spare the redeemed from the despicable condition of hell, but He showers us with His love and compassion. One of the greatest evidences of this will be found in eternity. It is not as if the LORD will grant us permission to enter Heaven, but relegate us to some obscure corner of paradise, to be shunned as ones who don't deserve His eternal blessings. Rather, God has promised to adopt us as sons and daughters . . . in effect granting us the full privileges of being part of the royal family (see Ephesians 1:5). It is because of His grace that we are reckoned with such a place of eternal honor; it will be an experience to die for . . . at least it was an experience so incredible that God was willing to die for it. And though we may struggle with our mortality, we will find that when we walk into the blessedness of eternity with our LORD, death will be seen a glorious fate, giving us entrance into the grandest expression of life.

The LORD will satisfy our desires with good things. God is infinitely wise. He knows best what will bless our souls, and He regularly showers us with good things in life, even though there may be times that we don't recognize such blessings. And again, God is waiting to pour our upon us the VERY BEST things, when we come before His throne in a spirit of humility and obedience.

We may find ourselves struggling with the bitter winters found in this life's experience, but we know that we will encounter the greatest renaissance (re-birth) through His redemption. The fullest vigor of life, even beyond anything that we have encountered in this life, will be poured out upon us so that we will be renewed like the eagle. We know that the eagle can become tired, but his strength is restored as he floats upon the uplifting winds that carry him great distances with virtually no effort. This imagery was used by the prophet Isaiah in his Divinely-inspired Words 300 years after the psalmist, "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31). What is fascinating with these passages is the similarity of the Hebrew word for "Holy Spirit" and "wind." It is the Holy Spirit, our Sustainer and Comforter, that supports us through this life and provides us with much needed rest while we await His raising our bodies into glorious perfection (Romans 8:11) . . . what beautiful paralleled imagery to the wind that carries the eagle effortlessly through the skies, giving it opportunity to enjoy the freedom of rest, while it soars in the highest heights.


We could go on and on with the benefits of the LORD. But at this point, we can know that there are many blessings from the LORD and they are absolutely incredible! Let us reflect upon these benefits often; for when we do, we will find ourselves erupting in celebrative praise for our LORD, who is worthy of our worship. He is a great God . . . and most assuredly He is good to us beyond measure!