Forget not all His Benefits

It’s undeniable that this is a season of giving…it’s the season of making wish lists unless you’re an adult, then you’re like, “I don’t know what to tell you to get me…maybe some money for the bills…to put a steak on the table?”

But, we give because we’ve been given to. We’re generous because we’ve been shown generosity, and Psalm 103 encourages us to remember the God who blesses us when David says, Psalm 103:2 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” I think Psalm 103 gives some great reasons and ways to remember the blessings of God in the midst of season in which the greatest gift of all was given.

The Benefits of God (v.1-5).

“Soul music is the very soul of music.” So says Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Who knew Spurgeon was a Motown fan?! All jokes aside, what is music if it isn’t the emotional expression of deeper truths? That’s exactly what David get’s at, and Spurgeon is noting that if it’s deep truth, what deeper truth than God’s truth?

The Lord, whose name is holy, is deserving of worship from every aspect of one’s being. So, David calls for even his soul to worship God. It’s a reminder that the inner person is involved in our worship. It’s not simply an outer expression, but the outer expression mirrors the inner motivation: to see the Lord blessed and glorified. God is worthy of the highest of all praise. God has given man all sorts of faculties, from emotions to intellect, and God is worthy of all of them being employed in His worship.

It’s common for prospective employees to consider the “benefits package” a potential job offers. The equation is quite simple - do the work, receive the benefits. However, verses 3-5 contain the greatest benefits one could ever hope for (forgiveness, healing, redemption, love and mercy, and satisfaction), and they come free of charge, a complete work of God’s steadfast love and mercy and grace.

YHWH is all things to us if only we will call on Him, and we are encouraged to not let a single blessing of God slip from our minds. Yet, David pulls a few of the “choicest pearls” to bring to the forefront in the following verses. Chief among them is forgiveness. It is not until we know the forgiveness of God that we understand the rest of the blessings of God. Are we satisfied with God if we do not even know God? Do we trust Him for healing if we are still running from Him? Are we crowned with His richest blessings so long as we make ourselves rebellious enemies? Certainly the answer is no! Further, all of the blessings here can be tied to forgiveness in some manner or another.

Let us remember first and foremost that God is a God who gives great gifts to His children.

The Character of God (v.6-10).

The benefits of God stem from the character of God. Notice what David says about Him:

Psalm 103:6–10 “The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”

God always does what is right in a relationship. If anything, any unfairness is witnessed in grace, never harsh treatment.

Part of His righteousness is his justice toward the oppressed. This is protection for those who would otherwise be harmed. If God acts this way toward all, how much more so can those who are partakers of His grace expect this gift?!

God’s character governs His deeds and actions, and His ways reveal His enduring commitment to His people.

David mentions Moses, so it seems safe to assume he’s reflecting on Exodus, particularly Ex.34:6-7, where God describes Himself as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” This statement, which is first made by God about His own character, proves to be one of the weightier statements about God in the Bible. And, it originates first with God’s. What a great reminder that God defines who He is, not man, and certainly not our experience. This should guard us against the temptation too make God in the image of our own preferences. Actually, the opposite is true. What we experience in life must be interpreted in light of who God is. In other words, whatever my experience in life, it is because God is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

What follows are actions that prove God has said about Himself is indeed true. God doesn’t simply make statements about Himself, but He proves it to be true.

God’s heart is for forgiveness, and He does not keep His anger forever. Unlike the person who seems to go out of their way to find something to be angry about, people who seem to nurse grievances, God is reluctant to be angry. Believers should learn from the character of God. If there is harbored hatred in our hearts, let us be slow to anger but quick to forgive.

The fact of the matter is that IF God dealt with us according to our sins, we would be devastated. This is the beauty of grace. That any of us would know anything other than destruction is magnificent and humbling gift. God owes us nothing. The fact that any of us know redemption shows just how gracious God is. The word for repay forms a word play with vs.2 and the call to remember the Lord’s benefits. Repay is the word gamal and benefits is the word gemul. We enjoy the blessings and benefits of God because He does not repay us for our sins.

Let us remember the gift of God’s character, the character that motivates the actions of God, ultimately expressed in the fact that, as Peter says, 1 Peter 2:10 “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

The Love of God (v.11-14).

The reason God withholds punishment is stated in the following verse. Beginning with the word “for,” these two verses are tied together and we learn that God does not “repay” us for our sin because of His great love.

The heavens stretch over above the whole earth, just as God’s unfailing love covers His people. A good question to ponder: Is there a greater distance that the human eye can perceive than the heights of the heavens? The answer is of course, “No.” We cannot even peer into the depths of the ocean as far as we can peer into the heavens. In fact, the naked eye can see V762 Cas in Cassiopeia at 16,308 light-years away! That’s the marvelous extent of God’s love...farther than the farthest thing we can even perceive. Maybe that’s why Paul prays in Eph.3:19 for the church “to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.”

The word for great is the same word that is used in Gen.7:18-20 to refer to the flood covering the earth. It’s torrent was irresistible, covering overcoming every opposition. So it is with God’s great love for His people!

Then David says God’s separated us from our sins as far as the east is from the west. If you travel north long enough, you will reach a point where eventually you are heading south, and south north. However, if you travel east or west, you will only ever travel east or west. What a reminder of God’s removal of our transgressions. David promises that we are separated from our sin by a never-ending and infinite chasm, never to meet with us again.

Finally, David speaks of the care and compassion of God and compares it to a compassionate father. Sure, the reference can be distorted because of personal experiences. However, the Bible, when it speaks of God as Father, assumes that we have some idea of what a true and right and good father should be. All of the shortcomings of earthly fathers only reveal all the more the perfect nature of our heavenly father. It shouldn’t taint our understanding of God, but rather underscore just how good He is and therefore bring forth praise.

It’s interesting how God’s compassion links, too, with the fact that He knows our frame. Compassion relates to the same word in 1 Kings 3:26 that refers to a womb. And, of course He would know our frame for He knit us in our mother’s womb (Ps.139), much like a craftsman shaping clay into an acceptable form or vessel. What intimate and caring knowledge the Father has for us, much like a mother who, in all of her beauty and glory, grows a child within her. God’s intimacy takes it a step farther by knitting and weaving the child together. Further, this sits in parallel with the fact that mankind is but dust, which should be a reminder that if anyone knows us, it is God. Even aspects that we forget about ourselves, even parts of our formation that are completely foreign and beyond us, God remembers them. There is much comfort in God’s intimate knowledge that extends even to the moment of creation. There is not a single accidental person, and each person has intrinsic value, for all have been intentionally made by God!

Let us not forget the love the Father has given us, a love that we shall not be separated from (Romans 8:35–37 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”)

The People of God (v.15-18).

As the psalm moves forward, David spends two verses on the brevity of human life, but contrasts it with the everlasting love of God! Of course, the shortness of life is understood light of eternity. Elsewhere, James explains the brief nature of life by calling it “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14).

The wilting of the grass under the strain of the physical elements is not unlike Jesus’ conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, where the house built on the teachings of Christ is able to stand against the harsh elements. Here, it is the steadfast love of the LORD that sustains the believer. This steadfast love -- chesed -- is the faithful covenant love that God maintains for His people.

The word fear combines respect, humility, and obedience as one walks in submission to a Holy God. The idea of fearing the Lord is coupled with those who keep His covenant and remember...His commandments. This coincides with God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants, those who were to keep His covenant, particularly through the sign of circumcision. This aspect is highlighted by the fact that David says God’s righteousness is to their children’s children. God’s original promise to Abraham is that He would be God to multiple generations.

You’re probably familiar with the famous line of C.T. Studd’s poem: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” It’s a great reminder that though the days may be long, the years are short. But, as short as our lives may be, the steadfast love of God, HIs committed and faithful love to His people, it’s unending. It’s forever expressed to those who fear God, who reverently respect God. Consider what it really means to cry “Abba, Father!” It’s more than intimacy, but loving respect as well. That’s the idea — a love to responds obediently to the love that’s already been given.

Though our lives may be short, we benefit from a great God who has given us His unending love. Therefore, let us remember the life we do have, and heed Paul’s words: Ephesians 5:15–17 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

The Worship of God (v.19-22).

As a reminder of God’s immeasurable and vast worth, all of creation is summoned to join in the worship of God. It begins with the fact that God’s rule is universal; there is nothing outside of His control.

The bless here begins a portion that calls all of God’s creation to join in His praise. Remember Christ’s teaching at the Triumphal Entry, that even if the people were silent, the rocks themselves would cry out. This is an entreaty for God’s creation to do what it already does: worship their Creator. Mankind would do well to recognize that the entire created offers praise to God and follow suit.

When this world functions as God would have it function, when His angels and heavenly hosts obey His word…when His ministers do His will…when His works follow reveal His dominion…and when we forget not His benefits, but put His fame in the forefront of our minds that we might live for the sake of His glory alone, then God is truly worshipped.

The amount of sweat equity we invest in something can really reveal how much we value or treasure it. This past week, I invested about three days of sweat equity into the college football playoff announcement, in particular, the snub of FSU. I had to come to a place where I remembered that college football is not what we live for. Take stock of your life real quick. Is there anything getting a little more sweat equity…anything that’s occupying a little too much head space in your own life? Only God deserves that place of honor. Let’s turn our hearts back to Him.

There’s only One thing…or person…worthy of my total allegiance. That’s why we’re encouraged in Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Let us join the song of creation by walking in obedience to our loving Father because He has redeemed us and covered us with a never-ending, never-giving-up love. In a season that is immersed in giving, remember that we’ve been given the greatest gift of all. Let our thanksgiving and worship reflect it.