My soul, praise the LORD,
    and all that is within me, praise His holy name.

My soul, praise the LORD,
    and do not forget all His benefits. 

He forgives all your sin;
    He heals all your diseases.

He redeems your life from the Pit;
    He crowns you with faithful love and compassion.

He satisfies you with goodness;
    your youth is renewed like the eagle.     Psalm 103:1-5 HCSB

I love this psalm.  It actually makes me smile…Bless the Lord, O my soul…And all that is within me….bless His holy name.  Then, just in case the mere thought of God doesn’t fire you up, the psalmist reminds us of all the benefits of being His.

• He forgives…Forgiveness is so hard.  Maybe it shouldn’t be.  Maybe it isn’t for anyone else.  I think I come from a family of people who harbor hurts.  This is not meant to disparage my family in any way.  I love them dearly.  However, as I grow in Christ, I find this to be an area in my life that needs improvement.  So, I love that we are told here…Bless the Lord…and do not forget…He forgives. 
• He heals…This one spoke to me today.  The Hebrew word here is rapha and it means, not surprisingly, to heal.  But…it then gives specific instances of healing.  Rapha means  to heal men…physical diseases and ailments.  Rapha means to heal nations…I happen to know of a nation who could use some healing.  Rapha means to heal individual distresses…does anyone happen to have some distress in their lives?  Bless the Lord…and do not forget…He heals.
• He redeems…Sometimes, I think I fail to remember the gravity of what God has done for me.  It’s so easy to say yes, Lord, you’ve been good to me…but, in my heart, do I get the price that was paid?  Do I truly grasp what I have been saved from?  According to Webster’s, one of the definitions of redeem is to free from captivity by payment.    We were all captives…slaves to fear, doubt, sin and death.  But, glory to God, we have been redeemed…but, let us not forget, that our freedom came at a great price.  God spoke the world into existence…a mere word from Him and all that we see was created.  But our freedom…cost Him greatly…Bless the Lord…and do not forget…He redeems.
• He crowns…I will be honest.  When I first read this, I thought it meant to give or bestow.  I thought the psalmist was referring to the generosity of God.  However, when I looked this word up…it means to surround.  I love the idea of God surrounding me.  Psalm 139:5…You have hedged me in behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.  He is all around us and has His hand of protection upon us…Bless the Lord…and do not forget…He crowns.
• He Satisfies…Oh, this is a good one.  There is nothing in this world…no achievement…no possession…no person…nothing that can satisfy the longing in our souls…Only the God that created us can satisfy us…Bless the Lord…and do not forget…He satisfies.