Did you know that God’s mercies are immense!? This past week, I was seeking the Lord in particular area of my life and He led me to Psalm 103.
These scriptures are beautiful reminders of all the things that the Lord provides for us on a regular basis. As I meditated on these scriptures, I noticed that God’s mercy has been mentioned several times, and it gave me new insight on how awesome are His mercies towards us!
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high 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 transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
18 To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul! Psalm 103
In verse 4, the scripture tells us that the Lord delivers people from destruction, and then He crowns them with His loving kindness and tender mercies. The Lord is a gentle and loving father who protects and saves us from destruction, foolishness, and bad decisions. He does not scold His children or look down upon us for His need of Him. Instead He places honor and value on us by placing a crown on our heads that shows to the world that we belong to the Him and that His love and mercies are upon us.
In the world, people seek honor and crown for their achievements. They desire to be well-known, accomplished, and popular by others. When people achieve certain feats, they are rewarded by titles, medals, trophies, and rings as if they are crowned by greatness. In the Kingdom of God, the Lord crowns people with his mercies, and when we testify about His goodness and mercies, others notice the Lord’s hand upon our lives. The attention is not on us, and we may not even know that we are noticed by others. In the Kingdom of God, we are known in heaven, which is the most important part of life and not what others say of us!
In verse 8, the scripture reminds us that God is patient and that he is not easily angered. Instead He is rich in mercy towards us. This is a relief for those of us who have come from backgrounds where we had to deal with critical, impatient, and angry people. We don’t have to fear God in the way that we fear an unreasonable demanding person. He is not there to tear us down or to make us feel hopeless! Fearing the Lord is about honoring and reverencing His awesome majesty and greatness! We fear Him because we realize that apart from Him we cannot make sense of life and do not have the understanding to protect and manage our lives the right way. The Lord wants to see us do well. Praise God that He is full of grace and mercy and that we can run to Him for help in our time of need!
Verse 11 tells us that God’s mercies are high as the heavens are above the earth for those who fear the Lord. Verse 17 tells us that God’s mercies are from everlasting to everlasting. When we read these two scriptures together, it creates a picture that God’s mercies are high and wide! We are enveloped by His mercies, and we never run out of His mercies. We are submerged in the ocean of His mercies! That’s very powerful! In addition, His mercies are new every morning. He has fresh mercies available for us every day, and just as we need our daily bread, we are in need of His mercies on a daily basis! There is always hope because we never run out of God’s mercies! Hallelujah!
You may be in a tough situation right now or trying to make a difficult decision. Declare God’s mercies over your life and your situation. He is faithful and true! When we seek Him with all our hearts, He will meet us where we are. His mercies abound, and He will give us peace, comfort, grace, and insight to handle the situation!
The above passage is sandwiched between, “Bless the Lord O my soul,” at the beginning and the end of the chapter. Our soul is blessed because of God’s mercies, and so in turn we bless the Lord with everything in us – with our mind, emotions, and will. How have God’s mercies touched you life!? Where would you be if it wasn’t for God’s mercies!? Let’s bless His holy name for His greatness and His mercies towards us! Thank you Jesus!