Psalm 103:2, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” NLT
With age comes wisdom, wouldn’t you agree? It is reported that Charles Spurgeon thought David wrote Psalm 103 when he was older because David “had a higher sense of the preciousness of pardon, because a keener sense of sin, than in his younger days. His clear sense of the frailty of life indicates his weaker years, as also does the very fulness of his praiseful gratitude.”[1]
When fears and doubts steal our joy, we need to remember the past, present, and future blessings our LORD has done and will do for us sufficiently. David’s solution was to praise God, as he states in Psalm 103:1, “Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.” David looked into his soul and heart, realizing he needed to praise God more. The ESV version states Psalm 103:2 this way, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits. All that is in within me, bless His holy name.”
Psalm 103 is a good reminder to praise the LORD, when we fall into discouragement. David lists what good things God has done for him and the benefits from God’s great mercy and love given to David and for us:
- Forgives all our sins. Verse 3.
- Redeems us from death and crowns us with love and tender mercies. Verse 4.
- Fills our life with good things. Verse 5.
- Gives us righteousness and justice to all treated unjustly. Verse 6.
- Compassionate and merciful. Verse 8.
- Slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. Verse 8.
- Does not punish us for all our sins; does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. Verse 10.
- Unfailing love to those that fear Him. Verse 11.
- Removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. Verse 12.
- Tender and compassionate. Verse 13.
- Knows how weak we are and all of our weaknesses. Verse 14.
- His love remains for us forever and His gift of salvation is for all who believe. Verse 17.
I encourage you to write down your needs and burdens that are heavy on your heart as you commit them to the LORD as Psalm 55:22 states, “Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” Then Isaiah 41:13b God promises, “Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” Lastly, and I know this, you know this, but how often don’t we need to be reminded of Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
For me, I am especially thankful that God knows how weak I am and all my weaknesses. That has been especially comforting to me this past week as I have been in turmoil over many of them. That word “all” means the whole quantity. Therefore, I say with David, “Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.” Psalm 103:1. May I never forget all the good things He has done for me. I love how God’s Word intertwines itself as it leads me back again to Psalm 23:1 which states, “The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” Yes, there is that word all again – the whole quantity! Praise the Lord.
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[1] David Guzik, Blue Letter Bible Commentary, Psalm 103.
Listen to Michael W. Smith – In Christ Alone (Live).