** Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; ** Psalm 103:2-4
Bless the Lord. Kneel down. Praise. Worship. Talk about all the good the Lord has done for us. Give thanks.
All of these words define bless. It is receiving good things from God and then in return we bless Him with our words and our actions.
He, who forgave ALL of our iniquities. All the sins of our past. All the sins of our present. The acts, the words, the thoughts, the desires. All of it. Bless God for his forgiveness.
** Who healeth all thy diseases ** Have you ever experienced the healing hand of God on a physical ailment? I remember my 3rd pregnancy and the number of times I ended up in the emergency room because of horrific gut wrenching pain. Again and again. The doctor’s looked at me and scratched their heads and said, We have no idea what is wrong with you. Then one day as I laid on my couch at home with another round of that same pain, I began to thank God for it. The next thing I knew, something washed through me. And then the pain was gone. And never came back. Bless God for healing.
And then there are the diseases of the heart. A stained, twisted, perverted heart that knew nothing of the Love of God. But day by day, we learn more about it. It’s purity, it’s forgiving Spirit, it’s complete and utter commitment to us every hour, no matter who else abandons us. Bless God for healing our heart.
Because He ‘ redeemed our life from destruction’ and gave us a new beginning and a new Hope. For He is our Hope! Bless God for redemption.
And then He * crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies*. The icing on the cake. Forgiveness, healing, redemption from eternal destruction and a pouring out of His endless mercy.
I know there is a part of God that is wrath and judgment. For those who don’t know Him.
But for us, today, those who follow Him, love Him and seek to know Him more….Lovingkindness and Mercy. That beautiful word. MERCY. We are crowned like queens. Lifted up and beyond the limitations of this life. And blessed by God in so many ways, every day.
MERCY. We are crowned with His mercy. We are RICH IN MERCY. So very, very rich!
Forget not all His benefits.