Benefits Of The Lord

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Psalm 103:2

The psalmist David exhorts us not to forget the benefits of the Lord. There are seven in particular:

• Benefit #1: Salvation—”Who forgives all your iniquities” (Ps.103:3). God sent Jesus Christ His Son to make propitiation for the sins of all mankind. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. There is no sin He cannot forgive. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
• Benefit #2: Physical healing—”Who heals all your diseases” (103:3). God is your Healer. There is no disease He cannot heal. Acts 10:38 talks of “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Through the cross of Calvary, Jesus “Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Matt. 8:17), “and by His stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:5).
• Benefit #3: Protection—”Who redeems your life from destruction” (Ps. 103:4). As a child of God, you are promised protection from Satan and his temptations. Greater is God who is in you, than the devil who is in the world. God’s promise to every believer is: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overfl ow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Is. 43:2).
• Benefits #4 and #5: Kindness and mercies. “Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Ps. 103:4). God’s mercy is without limit. Above the tables of the law, which rested inside the ark of the covenant, laid the mercy seat. It is really a thin sheet of gold that covered the ark. This is symbolic of the fact that God’s mercy is higher than His law—God’s mercy triumphs over His judgment.
• Benefit #6: Prosperity. “Who satisfies your mouth with good things” (103:5). You may be poor today but if you follow Christ and His Word, you will never be poor all your life. Jesus became poor so that you can become rich—both spiritually and financially.
• Benefit #7: God-kind of life. “So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (103:5). An amazing thing happens to an eagle. It goes into premature decline only to spring back to regain the strength of its youth. Job experienced this in Job 33:24-25, “Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom’; his flesh shall be young like a child’s, he shall return to the days of his youth.” Let’s press in to the Lord to obtain a similar precious experience in God.