March 11th, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

All That Is Within Me

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Father, Your clock keeps perfect time. Help me not to run ahead or lag behind You, but to walk with You.

Read Psalm 103:1-22

[1] Of David. Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. [2] Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- [3] who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, [4] who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, [5] who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. [6] The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. [7] He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: [8] The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. [9] He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; [10] he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. [11] For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; [12] as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. [13] As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; [14] for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. [15] As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; [16] the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. [17] But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children- [18] with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. [19] The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. [20] Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. [21] Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. [22] Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“Praise, my soul, the King of heaven / To his feet they tribute bring. / Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven / Evermore his praises singﾅ” (Henry Lyte 1793-1847).

Think Further

This extraordinary psalm, so familiar to many of us, is not so much for analyzing as it is for meditating on, reflecting on and inhabiting. It’s a psalm worth learning!

Written by David, or possibly for or in the style of David, it reflects in three directions. First, the psalmist remembers the good things God has done for him and celebrates them (1-5). This is not self-indulgence; it leads into considering the amazing qualities of God made known to his people (6-19). At the heart of this is a refrain from the story of the Exodus: the Lord, the God of Israel, is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving faithfulness. This is the central truth through which we need to understand all God’s great acts. This leads into a final invitation to the whole of creation to join in the praise of this gracious God (20-22).

Throughout the psalm there is a strong sense of contrast. Over against our own weakness and frailty comes God’s compassion and healing. Over against the waywardness of his people comes God’s constancy and forgiveness. Over against our transience comes God’s established and enduring kingdom. Over against all the strength and power of the world comes the far greater reality of God’s majesty. And yet, alongside this, there is an unmistakable sense of an invitation to be caught up in the greatness of God. In the very comparison of God as a compassionate father (13), I find myself challenged to be compassionate, God-like, in my dealings with my own children. As we allow our weakness to be caught up in God’s strength, we find ourselves longing to make these qualities known to others through the way we live.

Apply

How can you build into your life the habit of reflecting on these qualities of God, so that your life might be shaped by them? Which ones might you need most?

Closing prayer

Lord, as I reflect on who You are and what You have done, I am, as the hymn says “ﾅ lost in wonder, love, and praise.”

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