Bless the Lord, my soul

Psalm 103 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible 

Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
² Bless the Lord, my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
³ Who pardons all your guilt,
Who heals all your diseases;
⁴ Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with favor and compassion;
⁵ Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

⁶ The Lord performs righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
⁷ He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the sons of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
⁹ He will not always contend with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.
¹² As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.
¹³ Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
¹⁴ For He Himself knows our form;
He is mindful that we are nothing but dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass;
Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
¹⁶ When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place no longer knows about it.
¹⁷ But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him,
And His justice to the children’s children,
¹⁸ To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as to do them.

¹⁹ The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
²⁰ Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word,
Obeying the voice of His word!
²¹ Bless the Lord, all you His angels,
You who serve Him, doing His will.
²² Bless the Lord, all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, my soul!

Many people seek the blessings of God for themselves or for the nation. Rather than asking God to bless him, the psalmist says: Bless the Lord, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. More than seeking the blessings of God, we should seek to bless Him. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.” We bless God by our obedience to Him; by seeking His righteousness in our lives. It is through seeking God and His righteousness that we receive the blessings and promises of God.

The psalmist says: Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget any of His benefits; Who pardons all your guilt, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with favor and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The blessings of God are the benefits we receive for blessing Him. In Deuteronomy 30:19-20 God says: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”  The blessings of God are not attained by our asking God to bless us. They are the result of our own choice to love and obey Him. God places the choice before us and says: choose life. 

The psalmist says: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in mercy. He will not always contend with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our form; He is mindful that we are nothing but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place no longer knows about it. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him, And His justice to the children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts, so as to do them.  The greatest blessing of all is that He Himself redeemed us from sin. John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” We are forgiven; redeemed and we who were nothing but dust, have been given eternity by His everlasting mercy. 

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all you His angels, You who serve Him, doing His will. Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the Lord, my soul! Amen.

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) - Matt Redman (Best Worship Song Ever) (with Lyrics) - YouTube    Amen.