YOUR BENEFITS PACKAGE
PSALM 103:1-5 NKJV
103 Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
OBSERVATION
Before someone goes to work for a new company or organization, they typically ask about the benefits. Does this job come with insurance, a 401k, paid vacation, free lunches? Well, skip the free lunch question, but a good benefits package can add a great deal of value to a job.
The author of Psalm 103 is David, and he outlines the benefit package that we have because of our relationship with the Lord. David begins by offering praise to the Lord, and that's always a good place to start. It seems as if David is telling his soul what to do. Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me. David is all in on praising God.
And while blessing the Lord, do not forget all His benefits. It's a good thing to bless the Lord and, while blessing Him, recount His benefits to us.
Who forgives all your iniquities. Iniquities speaks to sin and, particularly, the sin of conscious wrongdoing. This is the deliberate things we do that are wrong. If God can forgive this sin, then He certainly can forgive the sins we do by mistake or the sins by what we simply omit doing. He forgives it all. This is a huge benefit, but don’t stop there.
He heals all your diseases. I am so grateful for this benefit. This benefit has impacted me and my family in a big way. I realize some people think that God no longer heals. But He has never changed. If He healed diseases in David's day under the Old Covenant, how much more does He heal today under the new and better covenant that we have in Christ? God will not force us to partake of His benefits package, but His healing is a huge blessing.
He redeems our life from destruction. Redeem means to buy back. Jesus bought us back from the authority of darkness and the curse of the law that was in the earth. So we can look to Him for His protection here on earth and our eternal salvation when we leave here. Big benefit!
He crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies. To crown means to surround, to encompass. He surrounds us with His great love, tender mercies, and compassion. Because we don't typically feel as if we are surrounded, David encourages us to bless the Lord and not forget. Even as I write this, I am thinking I need to pick it up in blessing the Lord for His benefits. The more we call these things to mind and thank God for them, the more real they become. Spiritual things do not fall on us; they must be received by faith. This love and compassion crown is something we all could use much more of.
And this next benefit sounds amazing. He satisfies our mouths with good things so our youth is renewed like the eagles. I can not say that I have a great deal of insight into this verse, but I am asking the Lord for wisdom here. I do believe that there is power in our words. Death and life are in the power of the tongue according to Proverbs 18:21. So I take the good things God has promised and said about me in His word and speak that as opposed to speaking negative words. You will not hear me talk about being old, losing my mind and memory, or being broken down. I am asking for God to supply good things for my mouth so I can live younger than my actual number of birthdays. Seriously what do I have to lose by doing this?
Wonderful benefits from our wonderful Heavenly Father.
PRAYER
I bless You, Lord, and I will not forget Your benefits to me. Thank You for my benefit package!