Psalm 103:1-5

“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul; and forget none of His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Over twenty years ago I was blessed to meet a Pastor, Maurice Berquist, who had written a wonderful book titled: “The Miracle and Power of Blessing.” From time to time I still recall excerpts from his book. It was based upon Psalm 103. I have quoted part of that chapter for today’s Scripture.

In conversations I had with “Berke,” as well as in the book itself, he shared how he used this passage of Scripture to see him through stressful situations. When in times of conflict, he would recite these words over and over in his mind. As he blessed the Lord, the Lord in turn took control of the trying circumstance and amazingly, peace came out of chaos.

Generally speaking, we think of blessings as only being those things which are of benefit to us. But it is interesting that in this Psalm, David is directing his blessing toward the Lord. The Hebrew word for blessing is “barak.” The meaning is as follows: to bless, kneel; to kneel; to be blessed, bless oneself; to be adored; to cause to kneel. It is well and good that we make an active choice to Bless the name of the Lord.

Every time I read Psalm 103, I am struck with the idea of the psalmist David speaking to his own soul and giving instructions for his soul to bless the Lord. It says to me that blessing is a choice that we deliberately make. In other words, we can either bless or curse, or even choose to do nothing.

But wait! What benefit do we gain by calling down a curse, or remaining neutral? Nothing! It will always hurt and weaken us as much as the one who is the object of our wrath. To call for a blessing is to allow the Lord to intervene. That is why we need to bless as much as possible.

I think I may have stepped ahead of myself here. You will notice that the Psalmist is blessing the Lord. We might even have the word picture of him kneeling before the Lord and pouring out his blessings at the altar of the Lord. He blesses the Lord and speaks of the wonderful things the Lord has done for him.

I have a question: How many times have we blessed the Lord for all the wonderful things He has done for us? Our salvation and redemption from the penalty of sin; His healing touch for physical ailments; His gift of love and compassion. (even when we are unlovable). He pours out His supply of good things day after day, yet we often fail to give Him praise and blessing.

Each day as I pronounce a blessing at the close of my E-Votionals, my prayer is that you will truly be blessed. Please know that it is more than simply a figure of speech. It is a prayer!

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.

- - - Pastor Cecil