VIP Ministry Network

Psalm 103

When our soul is at our best, we praise God!

How do we know whether we are doing well or not? When we praise God, we are doing well with our soul. When our heart is full of complaints and worries, we are in serious crisis. That is one of the criteria that we can use for self-diagnosis of health of our soul. In this sense, David was doing fine!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul,    and do not forget all his benefits—who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

We praise God not because He was good with us but because he is good with everybody!

“The Lord works vindication 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 accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.

When we praise God, we know God knows us. We also acknowledge who we are.

“As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust. As for mortals, their days are like grass;   they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,    and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

When we praise God, we know also who God is.

“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word. Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will. Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul.”