Psalm 103 – Even Greater Praise!

Although the Psalms were written about 3,000 years ago, we still benefit from meditating on them today. In Psalm 103 “praise the LORD” appears six times in its 22 verses. And David gives us five reasons to praise Him (Ps. 103:2-5 NIV).

1. Praise the LORD – who forgives all our sins.
2. Praise the LORD – who heals all our diseases.
3. Praise the LORD – who redeems our life from the pit.
4. Praise the LORD – who crowns us with love and compassion.
5. Praise the LORD – who satisfies our desires with good things.

The result of being forgiven, healed, redeemed, crowned and satisfied is that our strength is “renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps. 103:5). The eagle is a symbol of strength.

The prophet Isaiah described it this way: “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isa. 40:31).

What a great promise for those who trust in the Lord! Each day God empowers believers to live for Him: “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

God’s love for His people, like the expanse of the universe, is so vast that it cannot be measured: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him” (Ps. 103:11). Furthermore, it lasts forever, “from everlasting to everlasting” (Ps. 103:17).

This love is demonstrated by the fact that our sins have been forgiven and totally removed, never to be seen again: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us” (Ps. 103:12).

Micah expressed a similar thought, writing that the God of pardon, forgiveness, mercy and compassion “will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:18-19).

As our lifetime is brief compared to God’s everlasting love (Ps. 103:15-17), let’s remember again and again the good things God has done for us. Don’t take them for granted and don’t forget them (Ps. 103:2).

Remembering will lead us to praise and thank Him, and this is the right response for a forever forgiven people. That’s why David praised the Lord, and why we can join “His angels” and “all His heavenly hosts” in praising the Lord (Ps. 103:20-21).

David didn’t know how God would take our sins away through Jesus. But we do! And shouldn’t this lead us to even greater praise and thanksgiving?

Published, September 2009