Thomas More: “We write in the sand the benefits we receive, but injuries upon marble.” There is lots of negativity in the world and we can internalize it very quickly, especially negativity directed toward us. Expand. Psalm 103 is a corrective to out of whack thinking and our natural inclination to let negativity shape our attitudes. It was constructed for worship, meaning that God’s people would use these words while in a worship service. As such, it foregrounds the goodness and character of God in our minds—which is an act of resistance against the negativity and deception around us. Today’s key phrase: Follow your head. As you can guess, this is intentionally contrasted with the modern mantra to ‘follow your heart.’ While our feelings and emotions are important, we need to be cautious about that phrase. Here’s why: We are (a) sinners by nature, and (b) very influenced by negativity around us. Psalm 103 focuses back on character, goodness, benefits of God. Also with respect to ‘head’ our ultimate head is Christ! King and Head of the church, cf. 1 Cor 12 where we are told that we are his body. Our ultimate head is Christ—therefore this isn’t just about thinking clearly and biblically, but about trusting Christ who is the very wisdom of God. Isaac Watts: “Why should the wonders he hath wrought / Be lost in silence and forgot.” Good point. Psalm 103 helps us remember the goodness and character of God in a world of negativity and deception. As we go through the psalm, my hope is that you: Consider the benefits of following your head (insofar as centred on reality of God and his promises; ultimate head: Christ) Start to think about how you might ‘bend the knee to the Lord’ with all that is within you. (this idea will become clearer as we go) There are roughly three sections to it: Section 1: verses 1-5. This is David speaking to himself, to his own soul, about blessing the Lord and listing some reasons to do so. Section 2: verses 6-19 (although v.19 kind of stands on its own and could head the next section too; in this middle section the voice changes. David is either speaking to a wider group of people (because he uses words like “us”), or he could simply speaking of himself in the plural (i.e. his physical self and his soul). Seems a bit strange, so he’s probably speaking to the wider group of the faithful. He seems to be speaking to the community of God’s people as a group. Section 3: verses 20-22. This is David speaking to angels and servants, and even creation itself, to join the chorus and to bless the Lord, just has he encouraged his own soul to do at the start of the psalm. So, he begins with his own soul and works outward. Everyone everywhere should bless the Lord. We note that it is a psalm “of David.” This probably means it was written by David; it could also mean it is written in the pattern of a David psalm. I see no reason NOT to ascribe it to David. Either way, it was clearly designed for use by God’s people in worship. Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The psalm begins by saying “Bless the LORD (Yahweh) O my soul, and all that is within me.” We should note the format that is being used. It’s unique in that David is talking to himself. He is speaking to himself. There are times when we talk to ourselves in a bad way. We have what is sometimes called “negative self-talk.” This is the opposite of that! Instead of being negative self-talk it is positive God-talk! It is reminding your very self, the deepest internal parts of you, to bless God. Speaking directly to one’s self in this way pushes back against any sense of of external religious ritual. If you’re saying the right things but your heart isn’t in it, you’re not really saying those things. You’re acting. I was watching an episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos recently with my wife and kids. A family was saying grace and the camera was on a toddler who had his hands clasped and was “going through the motions” of prayer. But as the prayer continued on he kept eating his spaghetti. His hands were still clasped (mostly) but he was really focused on slurping up those delicious noodles. It was super cute. As I use this illustration, I’m not blaming a toddler. In fact, I am very impressed that the family was even saying grace. But I sometimes wonder if we’re not like that toddler—going through the motions, but really our appetites and desires are somewhere else. Here in these first five verses, David is speaking directly to his own soul—Mean it! Be thankful! Focus! Bless the great giver and Saviour! No acting, just heartfelt sincerity! Yes, “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” But what does it mean to “bless” someone? If we are to “bless the Lord” we should really be clear about what that means. The Hebrew word for bless (barach) is sometimes translated as praise, as it is in the NIV. And that is certainly a part of the meaning. To bless God includes the idea of praising God. But alongside the English word “bless” is “kneel.” The idea of blessing God and kneeling before him are closely related. Why might that be? We kneel before someone or something in an act of allegiance and submission. Think of a knight kneeling before his king. He is showing both allegiance and submission. Also closely connected to this is gratitude. We are loyal to our King of grace, and we humbly submit to our King of grace. Why? Because he is so good and gracious! We are thankful because of it. So to bring it all together, I think it’s fair to say that blessing God has to do with bending the knee before him as our King of grace in an act of praise, allegiance, submission and gratitude. Starting at verse 2 we are told a variety of specific reasons why we should bless the Lord. He gives many benefits. He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases; he redeems your life from the pit (which could be a reference to the grave (hence death), or an allusion to Sheol, a phrase used in the OT about a shadowy underworld for the dead). Before we move on, let me say a word about God doing these things, and specifically about curing disease. Sometimes as Christians we experience healing, sometimes we don’t. does this verse seem to suggest that we will ALWAYS be healed? No. Professor Craig Broyles explains: “the point of [this verse] is not to claim that Yahweh will heal each disease in every case but to attribute all such healings to Yahweh.” (397) That’s helpful. The Lord heals—and he governs and guides his creation, and specifically his faithful servants—but he does so according to his own good time, power and wisdom. Continuing, David says that God crowns you (meaning his own soul—and, by extension, our souls) with steadfast love and mercy; he satisfied you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Those are a lot of great gifts—no wonder we should bless the Lord! Eagles are an apt metaphor for youth; picture them shedding wings, growing new ones, soaring him, vital and vibrant. They are also a symbol of strength; picture an eagle with a wing span of 6 feet soaring high, gliding over and through creation. God renews our youth like the eagle. This is a part of how God blesses us. Biblical commentator Matthew Henry here says: “When God, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, recovers his people from their decays, and fills them with new life and joy, which is to them an earnest of eternal life and joy, then they may be said to return to the days of their youth…” (623) This passage makes us think of Deuteronomy 28 where many punishments are listed for breaking covenant with God. Here at the start of Psalm 103, we have a summary of the blessings. Obey God and enjoy his benefits. 6 The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
    his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;[a]
    he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
    and his kingdom rules over all. This is the larger section 2 of the Psalm. It chronicles some of the ways in which God shows his benefits to his people. He works righteousness and justice for the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses and the people—i.e. he did not keep his attributes and actions to himself but make them evident. At this point we are aware that the psalm is pulling us into specific historical events. With the mention of Moses, that great man of God, our minds zero-in specifically on his leadership role when God freed the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and led them through the wilderness. It calls to mind the entire narrative. Speaking of which, the statement in verse 8 about the mercy and grace of God and how he is slow to anger is closely reminiscent of Exodus 34:6: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…” That wording is used elsewhere too and functions as a kind of creed about the character of God. The context of that statement as it is used in Exodus 34 is God revealing his gracious character on the heels of when the Hebrews had sinned greatly against him by creating and worshiping the golden calf, a false idol! So the mention of Moses, and then the use of that phrase in verse 8, call to mind not only the overarching liberation narrative with Moses, but the huge sin of the people, but God exercising his benevolence and generosity in the midst of their relationship. Verse 9. God will not be angry forever. That’s very, very good news. We’re sinners, but are not always treated that way. His steadfast love is high, towering over his people; as far as east is from west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. The vertical metaphor about the high heavens in verse 11 is contrasted with a horizontal metaphor in verse 12. It’s worth quoting the NET translation here: God’s “loyal love towers over his faithful followers.” A personable metaphor is used in verse 13. As a father is compassionate toward his own children, such is God’s compassion on us. Yes, you’re right; there are many human fathers who fall short—but even still, people would have known that there was an ideal father who showed great compassion, care and leadership to his own family. That is what is envisioned here, except super-charged into the divine realm. Jesus preserves and continues this language about speaking about God as Father in Matthew 6 in the Sermon on the Mount—the Lord’s Prayer. We can relate to God not only as his royal subjects, but as his beloved children. We have access as a part of a close, loving family. He knows our frame (v. 14), i.e. he knows how limited we are, that we are dust—surely an allusion to being created from the dust of the ground in the book of Genesis. We pass away like grass, but God’s steadfast love is “from everlasting to everlasting” to those who fear him, a poetic phrase we heard back in Psalm 90 as well. Fearing God is showing God reverential awe and respect. The point is that we humans are flawed and will fade. But God’s love is perfect and eternal. His righteousness extends to children’s children; those who keep his covenant and do his commands. This is about covenant faithfulness and obedience. That word ‘covenant’ is key; we are in a covenant relationship with God. We promise to be his people; and he promises to be our God. Then verse 19: his throne is in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all. Yes, God rules from on high. His kingdom rules over all earthly kingdoms. Note the word “all.” About this, Matthew Henry specifies: “there is no exempt jurisdiction.” (626) None. His throne rules over Canada, Cambodia, Mexico and Malaysia—the Bronx, babbling brooks, and baseball fields. Let’s continue with verses 20 to 22, which represent Part 3 in the psalm. 20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his word,
    obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
    his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
    in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul! David started by telling his own soul to bless the Lord; then the audience changed and the wider congregation was told to bless the Lord for a variety of noble reasons. Here in this final section, an even more expansive audience is invited to praise the Lord. Verse 20 names “angels” (or messengers) to do so. These are mighty ones who do and obey the voice of his word. These are God’s personal workers in the spiritual realm. After them, “all his hosts” are named. These are God’s warrior armies of angels. They are called “ministers” (meaning servants) who do his will. This verse is sometimes taken to mean earthly ministers in churches (i.e. pastors) who do his will. Although they certainly work ultimately for God and seek to do his work, I think verse 21 (based on context) is primarily about God’s angel armies. Finally, “all his works” are named “in all places of his dominion.” In other words, creation itself—the beautiful work of our Creator God—should also praise the One who summoned them into existence. This reminds us of Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The last line of Psalm 103 is the very same as the first: “Bless the LORD, O my soul,” bringing things together nicely as a conclusion. As we went through the psalm, my hope was that you: Consider the benefits of following your head (insofar as centred on reality of God and his promises; ultimate head: Christ) Biblical literacy. Not just about knowing stories, being grounded in reality. – pushes back the bullies of negativity. JI Packer, Truth and Power, “Jesus’ disciples must be Scripture’s pupils.” (132) Have you forgotten God’s grace (benefits) in your life? Start to think about how you might ‘bend the knee to the Lord’ with all that is within you. (will become clearer as we go) -remind about meaning of bless/bend/kneel (from above) Is there an area in your life where you have yet to “bend the knee” to God? Not doing so is a kind of idolatry; we know better than God; life will be worse if we let God be in charge of that. not so. Author of life and joy! I was recently speaking with a friend whose wife had a stroke. As a result, there are times when she has trouble remembering certain things. He fills in the blanks for her. He needs to remind her about what she is doing or the reason for this or that. His words fill in the blanks in her memory. That’s kind of what Psalm 103 does for us. Its words fill in the blanks for our memory. It helps us remember the good news, which is something we desperately need in a world where there is so much bad news. Don’t dwell on what has got you down. Dwell on what God has done to raise you up. Insofar as you are centred on the benefits of God, follow your head (clear thinking; ultimately, Christ) and let your youth be renewed like the eagle’s. Amen.