Fringe Benefits (Revision)

Text:

Title: Fringe Benefits (Revision)

Introduction:

A young woman woke up early one day, she was so excited. She said: THIS WILL BE A WONDERFUL DAY. She looked in the mirror to discover she ONLY HAD THREE HAIRS ON HER HEAD. She thought for a while and decided she would BRAID her hair. She thought her BRAID WITH THE Three HAIRS was so pretty. SO, SHE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY. The next day the young lady awoke and said: THIS WILL BE A WONDERFUL DAY. She looked in the mirror to discover she had ONLY TWO HAIRS. She pondered awhile, and decided she would PART HER HAIR DOWN THE MIDDLE. So she fixed her hair  real pretty by PARTING IT DOWN THE MIDDLE. The Lord blessed her with a another wonderful day. The next morning the lady was awakened to the sun shining so pretty. She thought within herself this is GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL DAY. She looked in the mirror and she ONLY HAD ONE HAIR LEFT on her head. She gave thought to what hair-do she would wear today? She decided to put her hair up in A PONY TAIL. She had a very wonderful day. The next day, she woke up, she jumped out of bed and said: THIS IS GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL DAY! The Lord made this day and I will rejoice. She went over to the mirror and to her surprise - she had NO HAIR on her head! She stood and looked at herself and said: PRAISE THE LORD, I DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT I AM GOING TO DO WITH MY HAIR TODAY.  And she had a wonderful day with no worries about her hair.

She said: THIS WILL BE A WONDERFUL DAY. She looked in the mirror to discover she ONLY HAD THREE HAIRS ON HER HEAD. She thought for a while and decided she would BRAID her hair. She thought her BRAID WITH THE Three HAIRS was so pretty. SO, SHE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY. The next day the young lady awoke and said: THIS WILL BE A WONDERFUL DAY. She looked in the mirror to discover she had ONLY TWO HAIRS. She pondered awhile, and decided she would PART HER HAIR DOWN THE MIDDLE. So she fixed her hair  real pretty by PARTING IT DOWN THE MIDDLE. The Lord blessed her with a another wonderful day. The next morning the lady was awakened to the sun shining so pretty. She thought within herself this is GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL DAY. She looked in the mirror and she ONLY HAD ONE HAIR LEFT on her head. She gave thought to what hair-do she would wear today? She decided to put her hair up in A PONY TAIL. She had a very wonderful day. The next day, she woke up, she jumped out of bed and said: THIS IS GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL DAY! The Lord made this day and I will rejoice. She went over to the mirror and to her surprise - she had NO HAIR on her head! She stood and looked at herself and said: PRAISE THE LORD, I DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT I AM GOING TO DO WITH MY HAIR TODAY.  And she had a wonderful day with no worries about her hair.

This psalm is a hymn of thanksgiving to God for his love and care; it calls on the whole universe to join the psalmist in praising the all-merciful Lord. David seems to be in the twilight of his life and he pens this Psalm. David has been through so much in his lifetime—from start to finish!

In this section, we look at ...It begins and ends with the rousing, magnificent words ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul.’ , a favorite among the people of God, was composed by David. It is pure praise, moving from David himself…

David has his pen in hand. He is about to catalogue some of the many, many blessings of God that he himself has experienced. But praise requires preparation. Our hearts, ever inclined to deadness and coldness, must be stirred to properly take up praise. If he was anything, David was a student of his heart. We all should be! So before he offers one word of praise, he strokes his heart. He preaches to himself…

Whenever we think about the many, many blessings of God in our lives it should move us to do more than just hint about how good God is, usher us into a few things outlined in this message. Let’s begin with PRAISE!

I. We Praise (1-2a)

Bless (to kneel); exalt, extol, and esteem the Lord!

An act of adoration..

the Lord – Jehovah: self-existent; eternal; unchangeable

O my soul – to mind/heart; my mental & moral powers

All that’s within me – all that can be employed in His praise: the heart, the will, the affections, the emotions; all faculties; inner most being; to my bones…

His holy name – hallowed

Bless the Lord, O my soul…

The repetition here denotes the intensity or earnestness of the wish or desire of the Psalmist.

Repetition – in scripture is always for sake of emphasis. It is not vain repetition…Jesus did it…verily, verily I a say unto you…My God, my God; Feed my sheep, feed my sheep…

II. We Remember (2b)

(Don’t) Forget - ignore, overlook, be unmindful, i.e., not remember information and so lose sight of its significance, implying no proper response or an improper response in some contexts; Forget (to mislay, i.e. to be oblivious of, from want of memory or attention)

Forget not – “beware lest thou forget” is the often repeated warning of Deut. (6:12; 8:11)

 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.

It is an emphatic calling upon his soul, that is, himself, never to forget the many “favors” (benefits) which God was continually conferring on him.

The reference is to each favor -particularly, not in general.

The proper reference here is to the divine dealings – to what God has done – as a reason for blessing His name.

III. We’re Blessed (with benefits) (3-5)

Benefits (Fringe) – something extra that is given by and employer to the employee

#1 – who forgives (3) – forgive, pardon, spare; forgive, release, pardon, i.e., remove guilt associated with a moral sin or wrongdoing associated with ritual or vows

verb (past forgave; past participle forgiven) stop feeling angry or resentful towards (someone) for an offence or mistake; excuse (an offence or mistake).

All thine iniquities; fault; punishment (of iniquity)

(v.3) – forgive – St. Augustine says, “God’s benefits will not be before our eyes unless our sins are also before His eyes.”

Forgiveness of God is directly connected to the mercy of God…

#2 – v.3 – who healeth – (rapha) – to mend; (figuratively) to cure, (cause to) heal; physician, repair, make whole… - all thy diseases – a malady, sick(ness)

heal, i.e., cause or promote restoration of health or a right state after being sick, diseased, injured, or in a bad state

#3 – v.4 – who redeemeth – redeems – to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship), i.e. to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative’s property)

Life from destruction (grave, pit, corruption)

redeemed, i.e., pertaining to an object or person who has been delivered from danger by being purchased from indenture or slavery, with a focus on the relationship to the new master (; ; ; +), note: often in context this is a relationship of salvation to the Lord, see also domain LN 21.25–21.32; 2. LN 57.186–57.188 (qal) buy back, redeem, i.e., purchase back an item or person, with money or goods, that had been sold at a prior time

Adam sold us out in the Garden of Eden…

#4 – v.4 – who crowneth – to encircle (for protection); surround, envelope, close in upon, i.e., to completely be around a person or object, and so not allow an object or persons to pass. in or out of an area

With lovingkindness – kindness

Tender mercies – compassion

#5 – v.5a – who satisfieth – to fill to satisfaction – have enough; fill; be full; be satisfied, i.e., be in a state of physical contentment, due to having physical needs met in abundance or excess

With good – youth – state – body

#6 – v.5b – who renews (strengthens) – repair, renew…eagle (cp. )

Conclusion: “God’s Good Gravy” (a sermon title) The word “gravy” used in a slang manner refers to something extra, an extra bonus and there are many extras included in this experience called salvation. (Nate Barbour, Good News Church)

Thanks be to God for the GOOD GRAVY!---Ref. 103:8-18