Psalm 103
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children —
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Reflect
There are no requests in this psalm, only praise. The psalm moves from personal praise to national praise and ends with universal praise. As God’s redeemed people we too need to remember to praise God for more than just meeting our personal needs. Many praise choruses have their roots in psalms like this one. Try to recall songs/choruses/hymns that reflect the theme of praise found in this psalm. For example: “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love, Our God is an awesome God...” (Rich Mullins); and, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name...” (Bill Gaither).
Pastor Sharon
Apply
As you take time to praise God for meeting your needs in a personal way, also praise Him for revealing His purpose and character in history and all creation.
Pray
- Pray for Pastor Lyle, his family and his ministry.
- Pray for Eric Peters, Facilities Administrator; Custodians, Adit Gamble, Stan Goodnough and Anne King; Maintenance, Joe Richards.
- Pray for our Church Board members; Hal Reirson, Jeff Baron, JD Kliewer, Sue Peters, Pat Fisher, Jesse Boulianne, Bee Stiansen, Darryl Sparling and Dylan Taylor.
- Pray for our office staff: Robin Hellewell, Tricia Unsworth, Naomi Voss and Donna Collins.
- Pray for a church plant called “The Link” in north Edmonton by Bob and Audrey Carroll.
- Pray for Sheldon Tibbo in his work with Campus for Christ.
- Pray for the Alberta Baptist Association and our Regional Minister, Jim Leverette.
|
