Let Us Not Forget All of God's Benefits

[Psalm 103]

This morning during the early dawn prayer service, I meditated on Isaiah 30:18:
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
God waits to show us grace and compassion. When we cry out to Him, He hears and answers our prayers. That God pours out abundant grace upon you and me.
As those who have received this grace, our responsibility is to not forget the benefits He has given us.
In Psalm 103:2, the psalmist David says:
“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
Today, I want to reflect on this verse and, under the theme “Let Us Not Forget All of God’s Benefits,” meditate on five specific blessings from God, so that you and I may live in the awareness of His grace.

The first of God’s benefits is that He forgives all our sins.

Look at the first part of Psalm 103:3:
“Who forgives all your sins…”
Any Christian with a sensitive conscience has certainly wrestled with the issue of sin.
This is because in the presence of God’s holiness, and through His holy Word, our sins are exposed, and our conscience is pricked.

However, the problem is that some people, while reflecting on their sin, become so burdened by guilt that they live in torment.
In the end, these people suffer deeply because of guilt and become endlessly disappointed in themselves.
As a result, they tend to have low self-esteem. They evaluate their own worth as insignificant.
This is often caused by imbalanced introspection and self-examination.

Why does this happen?
Because while recognizing sin through God’s Word is indeed a precious grace, these people fail to look in faith toward the blood of Jesus that forgives that sin.
Thus, they do not come to understand the love and grace of God.

Looking at today’s passage, Psalm 103:10 and 12, David says:
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

God does not repay us according to our sins (evil).
Although God becomes angry when we sin (verses 8 and 9), He is not a God who quickly becomes angry and punishes us immediately (verse 8).

Why is this?
The reason God’s punishment does not come quickly when we sin is because God wants us to repent (Romans 2:4).
In other words, God does not immediately punish us when we sin in order to give us time (an opportunity) to repent.

God becomes angry when we sin, but He does not hold onto that anger for long (Psalm 103:9).
This is because God’s compassion toward us is great (verse 11) and abundant (verse 8).

Therefore, our loving God does not repay us according to our iniquities.
Our God is the one who removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.

What is truly hard to understand in our faith life is that, even though God has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west, we still hold onto our sins very closely.

God delights in forgiving our sins and thoroughly forgives us, but more often than not, we do not forgive ourselves.
We must accept by faith the fact that God has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.
God has completely forgiven our sins.
The more we live our faith, the more deeply we need to understand this grace.

As we have already meditated on Psalm 86:5, it says:
“You, Lord, are good and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all who call upon you.”

Pastor Hong Sung Geon said in his book “Participating in the Character of God”:
“But when we repent, God’s mercy comes without fail. No matter how extreme the situation or how deeply caught in the vicious cycle of sin, God delights greatly in forgiving.”

Why does God delight in forgiving our sins?
Why does God act kindly toward you and me?
Because God knows our nature (Psalm 103:14).
That is, He remembers that we are dust (verse 14).

Look at Psalm 103:15-16 in today’s passage:
“As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.”

Life is like grass, like a flower of the field, a life that disappears when the wind passes—truly a fragile life.
Because God knows this nature of ours, He has compassion on us (verse 13).

Therefore, our God delights in forgiving our sins.
We must not forget this grace of God.
We must not forget God’s grace, who delights in forgiving all our iniquities.

The second blessing of God is that He heals all our diseases.

Look at the latter half of Psalm 103:3:
“… who heals all your diseases …”

These days, I see many people around me suffering from illnesses.
As the saying “birth, aging, sickness, and death” goes, humans are born, grow old, become sick, and inevitably die.
Therefore, in a way, becoming sick is quite natural.
Even knowing this, when we become ill, we often plead with God to heal our diseases.
Who would want to suffer while being sick?
That is why we seek God.

In the latter half of Exodus 15:26, our God says:
“… I am the Lord who heals you.”

Also, Psalm 147:3 says about our God:
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

He heals the diseases of our body, but He is the God who first solves our fundamental problem before healing our bodily diseases.
That fundamental problem is none other than sin.
Though not always (for example, Job), one reason we become physically ill is because of our sins.
One example is King Jehoram, mentioned in 2 Chronicles 21:18-19.
The Bible says that the Lord inflicted a disease on Jehoram in his bowels, and it was so severe that he could not be healed and died.

We must remember that our holy God, when we sin and do not repent, allows us to live in the consequences of that unrepented sin, which includes disease, wounds, and suffering.

An example of God first solving the fundamental problem of sin before healing the body is found in Matthew 9:1-8, where a paralyzed man lying on a bed is healed.
The Lord first forgave the man’s sins:
“… Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’” (verse 2)
Then He healed his physical illness:
“… He told the paralytic, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’ So he got up and went home.” (verses 6-7)

So how does God heal all our diseases?
God heals us with His word.

Look at Psalm 107:20:
“He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.”

In the New Testament, in Matthew 8:8, we see the scene where a centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant.
The centurion says to Jesus:
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (verse 8)

Our God, by His powerful word, not only solves the fundamental problem of our sin but also heals our bodily diseases.

We must not forget this blessing from God.

The third grace of God is that He redeems our life from destruction.

Look at the first half of Psalm 103:4:
“He redeems your life from destruction...”

When we see the word “destruction” (pit), a biblical figure comes to mind. That figure is none other than Jonah.
This is because the prophet Jonah disobeyed God’s command “Arise, go, and cry out” (Jonah 1:2) and descended, descending deeper until he went down to the depths of the sea, that is, to the “pit” (2:6).
He went down to Joppa (1:3), went down to the ship (3), went down to the lower deck of the ship (5), and further down “to the roots of the mountains” (2:6).
Jonah, due to disobedience, eventually descended to the “pit” (6).
However, even in that deep pit (destruction), Jonah “looked again toward the temple of the Lord” (4).
Therefore, God answered his prayer and delivered his life from the pit (6).

When thinking of Jonah, we think of our Lord Jesus.
Unlike Jonah, Jesus obeyed God’s word but suffered a deep pit-like, hellish pain.
The only begotten Son was forsaken by God the Father.
Why did Jesus suffer such pain of destruction?
Because He wanted to redeem your life and mine.
Job’s friend Elihu said to Job:
“He seeks to deliver his soul from going down to the pit, and to be enlightened with the light of life” (Job 33:30).

God’s purpose in delivering our souls from the pit of hell (destruction) is to enlighten us with the light of life.
In other words, God redeemed you and me by the death of Jesus on the cross to give us eternal life.
You and I, who have received this eternal life as a gift in Jesus Christ, must not forget this grace of God.

The fourth grace of God is that He gives us abundant grace.

Look at the second half of Psalm 103:4:
“He crowns you with love and compassion.”

This means abundant grace that is evident to all (Park Yunsun).
We must not forget the abundant grace God has bestowed in our lives.
Another thing we must not forget is that God first tests us and refines us before giving us abundant grace.

Look at the second half of Psalm 66:10,12:
“For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver... You brought us into a spacious place.”

To receive abundant grace, we must be vessels capable of receiving it.
To become vessels that can contain such abundant grace, we need refining.
Through that refining, we open our hearts and mouths wide, and when God bestows the abundant grace He has stored up in heaven, we can receive it humbly with faith and thanksgiving.
We must also remember that God’s abundant grace can be enjoyed in deep awareness of sin.

Look at Romans 5:20:
“Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

Those who can receive and enjoy God’s abundant grace are those who know the greatness, breadth, and depth of sin.
These people who know their sin receive the grace of Jesus’ redemption and can dwell in and enjoy the abundant grace God gives in Christ Jesus even now.

How does a believer who receives and enjoys God’s abundant grace live?
Look at Psalm 103:20-21:
“Bless the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Bless the Lord, all his angels, you mighty ones who do his will.”

A believer who lives receiving and enjoying God’s abundant grace listens to God’s word and obeys it (v.20), serves God, and carries out His will (v.21).

The fifth and final grace of God is that He satisfies our desires with good things.

Look at Psalm 103:5:
“He satisfies your desires with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

This verse indicates that God richly bestows spiritual grace on the believer, making their heart joyful and strong so that they do not grow old quickly (Park Yunsun).

One of the messages that applies to many Christians in our current age is what the Lord said to the church in Laodicea:
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot...” (Revelation 3:15).

Why do many refer to their spiritual life as “lukewarm”?
One reason is that, like the Laodiceans, they say,
“I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” (v.17).

In other words, they live under the illusion that they have no lack, without a thirsty and hungry soul earnestly needing something.

How can we know this?
How do we know there is no poor in spirit?
We can tell by a soul that does not seek.
In other words, by a soul that does not pray.

The Psalmist, who had a hungry and thirsty soul, said in Psalm 107:4-5:
“They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.”

In such a starving and thirsty condition, he cried out to the LORD in his distress (v.6).

When he did so, God answered his prayer:
“He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (v.9).

The Psalmist, having experienced God filling the longing and hungry soul with good things, responded:
“Oh, that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (v.8).

Then why does the Lord satisfy our desires with good things?
Because He wants to renew us like the eagle with our youth (v.5).

Why did David compare his youth to the “eagle”?
“The eagle does not die of old age, but because it lives so long, its beak grows too long, making it unable to feed itself, and it dies. Therefore, the eagle is a symbol of renewal.”

It is true that the believer, through the power of faith, also prolongs the life of the body (Park Yunsun).

Therefore, the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 40:29-31:
“He gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,
but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.”

We are those who have received God’s grace. Therefore, like the psalmist David, we must cry out to ourselves:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits...
Bless the Lord, all His angels,
you who excel in strength,
who do His word,
heeding the voice of His word.
Bless the Lord, all His hosts,
you servants of His who do His will.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!”
(Psalm 103:1-2, 22)

Our soul must bless and praise God.
As those who have received God’s grace, we must praise Him
and not forget the grace He has bestowed upon us.

Living in all of God’s grace,

Pastor James Kim
(after the early morning prayer meeting)