Thoughts that push us to Praise the Lord

This is a sermon I preached this week that was a real challenge to my life so I thought I would share it with you guys. The text is Psalms 103:1-5, all verses were taken from the KJV for class purposes only. Hope it is a blessing as it was to me, these are God's thoughts so they should move us!


Introduction: Have you ever experienced a time in which you felt unworthy to worship God? A few years ago I went through a time in which I felt as if I was unworthy, and unable to properly praise the Lord. During this time I entered into a study of worship and soon found that worship is not based on our work, nor on our failures but worship is out of Praise of the one who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. In Psalm 103, we see a psalm in which we are told to, in essence, worship God. Today will you look with me at Ps 103 verses 1 and following. The Psalmist begins this passage with the words “bless the Lord, O my soul” for it is with the soul that proper praise is lifted to God. It is not out of tradition, nor out of requirement that David praises the Lord. And again in verse 2 he cries “bless the Lord, O my soul”, not in vanity nor for lack of words but out of the heart that has known the emptiness of Godless activity. But David understands why he must praise the Lord, for in the latter half of verse 2 he declares to praise the Lord because of His benefits. You see, David understood that We are to praise the Lord! He understood that the heart that knows God -- praises God, he understood the benefits that tell us Why we are to praise the Lord? For you see from the heart that knows God comes a cry that we are to praise the Lord! And so in the next 3 verses David gives us 3 benefits that ought to compel us to praise the Lord.
I. We are to praise the Lord because of His mercy (3)
Verse: “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases”
Explanation: The two benefits listed in this verse relate to the mercy of God. These mercies are a progression of sorts, in that the first produces the second. Where forgiveness is not, there is no healing. And so we can see that the Lord forgives our sins.
A. He forgives our sins (3a)
Explanation: It is no coincidence that David chooses the forgiveness of sins to be the first of all the benefits of God. You see, without the forgiveness of sins there is no other benefit, for without forgiveness of sins no person would be able to Praise the Lord, for to Praise the Lord one must first be forgiven. So it is as a result of the forgiveness of our sins that we are to praise the Lord. But He not only forgives our sins, but he forgives all our sins. It is all our in-equities that the Lord forgives, all our acts of impurity the Lord forgives, and so in result we are to Praise the Lord. Our stains have been wiped, our transgressions removed, and our guilt swept away! Let us praise the lord because of his forgiveness. But also the Lord shows us mercy in that he restores our health.
B. He restores our health (3b)
Argumentation: The word health does not simply mean physical health but also spiritual health (תחלואים tachălû'iym)
Explanation: And so our physical and spiritual health is restored. You see by sin, spiritual and physical sickness entered the world and by the forgiveness of sin sickness will be taken away. When the cause of sickness is taken away the effect will no longer survive. So, by the forgiveness of sins, we have the restoration of health. It is through the forgiveness of sins that our health is restored, for by the forgiveness of sins our Lord becomes our physician, our healer. Once again though we must not forget that he restores all of our health “No disease of our soul baffles his skill, he goes on healing all, and he will do so till the last trace of taint has gone from our nature.” So by his healing let us praise the Lord!
Illustration/application: Betty Laoppke was girl raised in a home shattered by alcohol. Every time her parents faced a problem they moved and became more dependent on the vice of alcohol. Right after her 18th birthday, Betty attended church and soon accepted Christ as her Savior and the hurts and pains of her life where turned to joys and jewels. Listen to what she said of her life “Over time, His power changed the junk in my life into jewels. He took the victim and made her a victor. My destiny of hope has become a journey of joy as I walk with Jesus in his power and in his victory.” The same forgiveness of sin and restoration of health through God’s mercy that Betty enjoys is the same mercy that tells us that we are to praise the Lord! It is through His healing and his forgiveness that we know of His mercies, and that propels us to Praise the Lord!
Transition: Not only are we to praise the Lord because of his mercies, but also We are to praise the Lord because of His redemption. It is in verse 4 that David takes the next step of progression of the Lord’s benefits. For by the mercies of God we have redemption.
II. We are to praise the Lord because of His redemption (4)
Verse: “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;”
Explanation: It is from the forgiveness of sins that the Lord is able to redeem us, but this redemption is very specific for…
A. He preserves our life from destruction (4a)
Argumentation: The KJV says “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction”, but the word for destruction is simply another word for “grave”. And redeem for preserve, So more specifically the Lord preserves our life from the grave, which is where our bodies return after corruption. David is not saying that we will live forever, he is saying however, in continuation of the previous verse, that when spiritual sickness may come in our life we will be preserved from spiritual destruction because our Lord is our healer. The forgiveness of sins produced the restoration of health which produces the preservation from destruction. Had sin not been removed there would have not been any preservation from the grave. And so let us praise the Lord because of his preservation. But the Lord also gives redemption in that he crowns us with love and mercy.
B. He crowns us with love and mercy (4b)
Explanation: “who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;” So the effect of the redemption from destruction is that he crowns us with love. Forgiving, healing and preserving are not enough he must make us kings and crown us. The imagery of this phrase is so beautiful, think of it this way. The crown we are given is far more precious than any crown of gold and diamonds, for this crown “is studded with gems of grace and lined with the velvet of lovingkindness; it is decked with the jewels of mercy, but made soft for the head to wear by a lining of tenderness.” And so out of this heart that has been preserved from destruction, then crowned with love and mercy, David cry’s out “Bless the Lord, O my soul”.
Illustration/application: The fictitious story goes, that there once was a poor beggar who wandered the streets of a magnificent land, day and night this beggar searched for some person to show him loving kindness, to bring him in and to feed and clean him. For many years this beggar slept in pain and agony from the hard rocky ground. Through the winter cold, the summer sun, this beggar struggled for survival. When he was old arthritis made his bones ache, night nor day brought relief from the pain until one day a man, a rich man, came and brought this beggar to his home. He cleaned him in the master wash room, he clothed him in the nicest cloths, and he sent away for the best doctors in all the land to come and heal this beggar. In time the beggar was healthy and clean. When the time came for the beggar to move one, the rich man did something that was against all thought, he gave the man an inheritance in his riches and then the rich man revealed that he was the king of the magnificent land, and all this time that King was blessing this beggar with benefits which no person deserved. You see, you are that beggar and that king is our God! We have been brought into the inheritance of our God, we have been forgiven and healed by his mercies, and we have been preserved and crowned through his redemption. And because of these benefits we are to praise the Lord!
Transition: And so in verses 3 and 4 we have seen we are to praise the Lord because of his mercies and that we are to praise the Lord because of his redemption. But in verse 5 David takes the final step of progression of the Lord’s benefits. For by the mercy and redemption of God he fills our desires. You see, We are to praise the Lord because of His replenishment
III. We are to praise the Lord because of his replenishment (5)
Verse: Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Explanation: And so by the forgiveness of sins we have redemption, but by these benefits the Lord supplies replenishment in that He satisfies our desires.

A. He satisfies our desires (5a)
Argumentation: “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things” The word for mouth here is translated in Arabic, the Septuagint and the Latin vulgate as “thy desire”. In other places this word is used as “thy age”. So, our Lord satisfies our desires with good things. But the interpretation of this passage at first look could be that the Lord gives us whatever we want and desire, but to understand this verse you must first understand what “good things” is talking about. When we think of God, especially after reading the previous 2 verses we think of a God who gives us more than we deserve, a God who gives us what we truly need. So when we read this verse we must understand that our soul will be satisfied with “good things” given from a “good” God who desires to fill our desires with his desires.
Explanation: So, David here is saying that our Lord fills all our desires, all our wants, and all our needs with his desires, with His wants, and with His will. Our god truly satisfies our desires! Not the earthly desires we may have, but he satisfies His desires which he gives to us. “Soul-satisfaction loudly calls for soul-praise, and when the mouth is filled with good it is bound to speak good of him who filled it.” O let us praise the Lord for He replenishes us by satisfying our desires! But the Lord also gives us replenishment by renewing our strength!
B. He renews our strength (5b)
Explanation/application: “so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.” The exact interpretation of this verse has been debated, many think that this verse relates to the molting of wasted feathers from the Eagle, but the word eagle can be translated as vulture and vultures do not molt their feathers like the eagle. So I don’t think that we should relate this to the shedding of extra wasted weight, even though that is not a bad thing. The point I believe here is simple; that the Lord, by satisfying our desires, renews our strength. It is automatic, when God’s desires become our desires, we become refreshed in his strength. David’s point here is this, the grace and mercy which is bestowed to us by our redemption satisfies our desires, and renews us with strength. Thus David can stand and say, “Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” And so, let us praise the Lord for he replenishes us by satisfying our desires and by renewing our strength!

Illustration: It is said that prison houses are often the most depressing places on earth. To be cramped in a 10 foot by 6 foot cell for 10-15 years, only be allowed outside once a day for a quick walk around the building, never being alone, never quiet. Imagine with me that you have been in a cell of Statesville Prison in Chicago Illinois. You have been incarcerated for more than 15 years. You recently were released, this being your first time out of the prison, your first time in 15 years to be free to do whatever you choose. Now imagine with me what you must feel like, for the first time in over a decade you are allowed to eat out, to drive a car, to talk to family members without the hindrance of time or bars, or your first time to talk to your wife. Imagine the relief and joy that this moment brings you. O Christian you have been renewed, you have been released. No longer are you living for earthly desires but now you have God’s desires, your strength has been replenished, and this ought to drive you to Praise the Lord.

Conclusion: So how can a man who has known the depth of sin cry out in praise to God? Often we feel inefficient to Praise the Lord because of our in-equities; but, it is these in-equities that ought to drive us to cry out, “Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!”. You see, David knew that God benefits us with Mercy, that he blesses us with redemption and that he fills us with replenishment. It was these three things that drove David to bless the Lord, and it is these three things that must drive us to bless the Lord. And so, Have you ever experienced a time in which you felt unworthy to worship God? Well today will you see that when we dwell on the benefits of our God, we will be driven to praise the Lord. For, we are to praise the Lord because of all his benefits!