August 13th
Psalm 103
A Psalm of David
God’s
love
1: 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 forgiveth all thine
iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4: Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee
with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5:
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like
the eagle's. 6: The LORD
executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. 7: He made known his ways unto Moses,
his acts unto the children of Israel.
8: The LORD is merciful and
gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9: He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for
ever. 10: He hath not dealt
with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11: For as the heaven is high above
the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12: As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13: Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14: For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 15: As for man, his days are as
grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. 16: For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place
thereof shall know it no more. 17:
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that
fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; 18: To such as keep his covenant, and
to those that remember his commandments to do them. 19: The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his
kingdom ruleth over all. 20:
Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his
commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21: Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his,
that do his pleasure. 22: Bless
the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my
soul.
Psalm 104
God
is the creator
1: Bless the
LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with
honour and majesty. 2: Who
coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens
like a curtain: 3: Who layeth
the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who
walketh upon the wings of the wind: 4:
Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: 5: Who laid the foundations of the
earth, that it should not be removed for ever. 6: Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters
stood above the mountains. 7:
At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. 8: They go up by the mountains; they
go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. 9: Thou hast set a bound that they
may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. 10: He sendeth the springs into the
valleys, which run among the hills. 11:
They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their
thirst. 12: By them shall the
fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. 13: He watereth the hills from his
chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. 14: He causeth the grass to grow for
the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out
of the earth; 15: And wine that
maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread
which strengtheneth man's heart. 16:
The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath
planted; 17: Where the birds
make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. 18: The high hills are a refuge for
the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. 19: He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going
down. 20: Thou makest darkness,
and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. 21: The young lions roar after their
prey, and seek their meat from God. 22:
The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their
dens. 23: Man goeth forth unto
his work and to his labour until the evening. 24: O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made
them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 25: So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping
innumerable, both small and great beasts. 26: There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast
made to play therein. 27: These
wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. 28: That thou givest them they
gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. 29: Thou hidest thy face, they are
troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30: Thou sendest forth thy spirit,
they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. 31: The glory of the LORD shall
endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works. 32: He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the
hills, and they smoke. 33: I
will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I
have my being. 34: My
meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. 35: Let the sinners be consumed out
of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul.
Praise ye the LORD.
Today we are reading Psalm 103 & 104. In Psalm 103 David
brings a song which is very famous. It is a song of praise for the coming
kingdom and is beautiful in its structure.
A.
An encouragement to bless the Lord
B. The Lords kingdom and Israel
C. The merciful goodness of the Lord
D. The sparing goodness of the Lord
E. The pardoning goodness of the
Lord
E. The pardoning goodness of the
Lord
D. The sparing goodness of the Lord
C. The merciful goodness of the Lord
B. The Lords kingdom and the nations
A.
An encouragement to bless the Lord
This is a Psalm of David but it refers to David’s greater
son – Christ. He begins calling on his own soul to bless the LORD – Jehovah.
And he calls on himself for total devotion. He says again to himself bless the
Lord O my soul and do not forget all the blessings of God. And why would you
bless the Lord David? Because he says, he forgives all your iniquities and
heals all your diseases. This is a clear declaration of the link in the old
covenant between sins and sickness. He redeems my life from destruction and
crowns me with loving kindness and tender mercies. The Lord gives me enough
food so that my strength is renewed like the strength of an eagle. The LORD
brings righteous judgments on behalf of all the oppressed. The Lord revealed
himself to Moses but he demonstrated his acts of power to Israel. The LORD is merciful and
gracious, slow to get angry and he has plenty of mercy. The Lord will not
always rebuke his people nor will he keep his anger forever. David says that
the Lord has not dealt with us according to our sins nor rewarded us according
to our iniquities, because as far as the heaven is high above the earth so
great is his mercy toward all those that fear him. David says that the Lord has
removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father
who pities his children who fear him. This is because the Lord knows our
skeleton and he remembers that we are made of dust. Mans days are like grass
and a flower which the wind passes over and it is gone. But the mercy of the
Lord is from eternity to eternity to those who fear him. This is in complete
contrast to Grace. Christians know, not just the withholding of punishment, but
the bestowal of blessing to the unrighteous, on the basis of faith in Christ’s
blood. But here David says that Gods blessing is on those who keep the
commandments. The LORD has prepared his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules
over all. Then he calls on angels, to bless the LORD, who are very powerful and
who obey his directions listening to his voice. He says you angels, bless the
Lord and David calls on all creation to bless the LORD and finally he tells
himself to bless the Lord. In Psalm 104 David brings another song in which he
speaks of the KING coming in power and great glory to establish his Messianic
reign. David begins and ends with a blessing on the LORD. Then he brings four
verses in which he describes the six days of creation. David begins saying that
the LORD is clothed in honour and majesty. He is covered in light and stretches
out the heavens with his curtain. (It’s interesting that speaking about the
universe he has the idea of an expanding curtain) Then David describes the
greatness of Gods biggest works. He makes the storm clouds his vehicles and he
walks on the wings of the winds. He makes his angels spirits and his servants
like a flame of fire. He laid the foundations of the earth so that it should
not be removed forever. Then David speaks of the deep waters. He says the
waters covered the high mountains (As in day one of creation) and at the rebuke
of the Lord the dry land appeared. And the Lord set a boundary to their extent
- the shore line. Then David describes the way in which the springs run into
streams. They give water to all the animals. Without streams no animals could
live. The birds drink from streams and all plants are watered. The grass grows
feeding cattle and giving food for man. It brings grapes and oil for mans use
and bread to strengthen him. The trees grow and the birds nest and the goats
feed and the rabbits mill about, all because of the streams. And the Lord
causes the moon to give seasons and the earth spins in space. David says the
Lord makes day and night. The lions roar and seek meat from God. In the morning
the lions gather and lie down in their dens. Man works everyday and works till
evening. How wise the Lord is, in all he does. David says the great oceans have
both great and very small creatures. They all wait on the Lord to feed them and
they are fed from the very hand of God. The Lord hides his face and they are in
big trouble. He takes away their breath and they will die very quickly and
return to dust. You send your spirit and they live. David says, the glory of
the Lord will endure forever and he will rejoice in all his works. But he only
has to look at the earth and the earth trembles and if he touches the hills
they smoke. David brings his beautiful song to an end saying I will sing to the
LORD as long as I live. My thoughts of him are sweet to me and they fill me
with joy. David says let sinners be destroyed from off the earth so that they
are no more on the earth. Then he finishes saying Bless the LORD O my soul.
Praise the LORD.
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