Forget not all his benefits

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

MONDAY 9 OCTOBER 2023 – MR WILLIAM HARRISON, FAITH MISSION

PSALM 103 VERSES 1 – 5

Text verse 2 “Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits.”

 

I’m sure as we think of the harvest it is a wonderful occasion where we are aware once again of God’s provision and promise and indeed how he has benefitted us with so much.  Think of some of the benefits the Lord has wonderfully and graciously blessed us with. It is interesting in this psalm that David from the outset to the conclusion seeks to give God praise and glory for all that he has been blessed with.  There is not one request that David makes of the Lord.  The entire psalm is given over to the praise to almighty God – “whosoever offereth praise glorifieth me.” (Psalm 50 verse 3) I am not here to tell you that David never asked the Lord for anything.  In the previous psalm he asked the Lord to teach him how to make his requests known him. He knew how to beseech the Lord and expect blessing from the Lord as well. It is a good exercise.  Sometimes when you get before the Lord and you want to get all the requests on your list made known, it would be good to spend time thanking, praising and glorifying God for all he has done and what he means to you.  “Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name.”  He is using every faculty he has, every amount of energy he can use to give praise to God – “forget not all his benefits.”  There are 2 points I want to draw your attention to – man’s forgetfulness and God’s faithfulness.

 

“Forget not all his benefits”  The word “benefit” literally means God’s actions, God’s activity on your behalf.  That is what David is seeking to give thanks to God for - all his blessing on his behalf.  To think about and not forget the actions he has performed for you and me.

 

Materially.  Scripture does not put or stress a lot on material things.  Scripture would encourage us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”  God has blessed us materially.  We are not worrying about where our next bite will come from.  David says we are to forget not all his benefits.  In Luke 12 there was a young man who came to the Lord and said “Teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance.”  He wanted to get an early bank balance.  He wanted the Lord to step in.  There was a conflict in the family.  He needed to get the inheritance sorted out.  “Who made me a judge?” Jesus responded.  The Lord was not going to get involved in this family dispute.  “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of those things he possesses.  The ground of a certain rich young man brought forth plentifully.”  When you think of the benefit to that rich young man in Palestine – his barns were bulging, buildings too small to hold the stock.  He sat down and made plans and proposals.  There was nothing wrong with that.  A good business man will seek to do that.  That is what this young man was doing.  “I will pull down my barns and build greater.”  The problem is this – the harvest came and there was no thought of thanksgiving.  He only had great plans for the future.  “I will take mine ease, I will eat, drink and be merry.”  I will have a great time for many years.  Until the Lord stepped in and said “thou fool, thy soul shall be required of thee.”  I wonder are we busy making our plans, putting down our proposals, putting things into place to the point where we think we have many years?  We do not know what a day will bring forth.  “Today if you will hear his voice harden not your heart.” (Hebrews 3 verse 15)  How the Lord does bless us with material things but that we might offer to the Lord thanksgiving.  He is the provider of every good and perfect gift that comes from above.

 

Physical blessings towards us.  God has been good in blessing us physically.  We may not be running and jumping or planning a marathon but thank God for sufficient strength – “as thy days so shall thy strength be.” (Deuteronomy 33 verse 25)  In 2 Kings 20 we read of Hezekiah the king who took so ill.  He was near death.  The bible says Hezekiah got down before the Lord.  He prayed, wept bitterly before the Lord shedding tears because of his physical condition.  He was staring death in the face.  He was physically in great need.  He called on the Lord.  The bible tells us God said to him “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears, I will heal you.”  The Lord did touch Hezekiah the king.  Not only healed him but added another 15 years to his lifespan.  The Lord was good to him.  But that is not where the story ends.  2 Chronicles 32 “but Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit that was done unto him.”  Of the 10 lepers the Lord touched only one came back to give thanks (Luke 17).  Maybe you have been at the end of your tether, your back against the wall.  Perhaps you have prayed for the Lord to help you out of a situation, you made a vow – have you kept the vow?  We do not know how far the mercy of God has reached us.  The grace of God has kept us from harm and danger. Will you render to God that which is due to him?  Have you come to that place where you have acknowledged your need of him?  Trust in him while he may be found, forget not his benefits materially and physically.

 

God’s faithfulness – Psalm 103 verse 3 “forgiveth all thine iniquities”.  There is the faithfulness to forgive us.  You need a concept of your sin to be able to appreciate your forgiveness.  If you don’t understand your lostness, the perception of where you stand before God, you will never appreciate his faithfulness until you see sin bringing forth death.  Every graveyard is a result of death.  With the Lord there is mercy and forgiveness.  He will forgive us all our iniquities.  It is your iniquities that separates you from your God.  Between me and the holy God there is a blockage.  The bible calls it iniquities.  It separates you from God.  If we are going to have any union with God we need our iniquities to be sorted out.  The Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all.  “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned to our own way. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Sheep are good at getting lost.  They don’t know how to get back.  The good shepherd went out to find the lost, gathered them up, carried him on his shoulders into the fold.  We don’t know our way back.  Thank God the one who comes to seek and find you, to lift you and place you on his shoulders, to bring you back to the fold.  Are you still out on the mountains wild and bare, away from the shepherds loving care?  He came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.  David reflects on the faithfulness of God.  Verse 3 “who healeth all thine diseases.”  “The Son of Righteousness has risen with healing in his wings.” (Malachi 4 verse 2)  He is able to apply the balm of Gilead, to touch and heal on a physical level.  There is nothing too hard for the Lord.  We are speaking of the souls diseases.  What kind of diseases could these be?  The disease of the soul is sin manifesting itself in many different ways.  The disease of bitterness, anger, lust, hate, jealousy, anything at all.  The list could go on and on.  These things if left there they will hinder us, paralyse us, restrict our progress in walking with the Lord.  He will heal all thine diseases.  All the son set free shall be free indeed. There is freedom in Christ.  He will lift you from the miry clay and set your feet on the rock.  Maybe you are finding the road difficult.  Maybe something harbouring in your soul.  Something never confessed to the Lord, hindering you, restricting you from walking with the Lord.  Verse 4 blessing that comes to the Lord.  “He redeemeth thy life from destruction.”  That is a wonderful thought tonight.  It is part and parcel of those who have never come to trust the Lord.  He will save you from a life from harmful sinning.  So many young people going out into their 20’s and 30’s because of habitual sin that they find difficult to break free from.  God redeems you from a life of destruction but also he saves your life from damnation.  “Who crowneth thee with loving kindness.  The list is wonderful.  We will never have a crown this side of eternity.  Scripture tells us when we know Christ, when our lives are redeemed he crowns us with lovingkindness.  The children of God are blessed beyond measure.  He does not take you out of the grave and leave you in the graveyard.  He sets our feet on a rock and establishes our way.  He places you in the paths.  You are crowned with loving kindness, with tender mercy.  “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things.”  It is good to have taste buds.  “O taste and see that the Lord is good”.  He is a good God.  He is the one who nourishes us.  He gives us all that we need for our physical enjoyment, for our spiritual blessing and enjoyment so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.  So many are involved in preserving their youth.  They don’t want to age, to decay.  Gyms are full, exercise is a big thing today.  When we do fully appreciate our outer man is decaying but the inner man is being renewed.  We are going to a place where we will never grow old.  Eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love God.”  Where do you really stand with the Lord?  Can you put your head on the pillow and say “all mine iniquities are forgiven”?  Has the Lord cast your sins into his sea of forgetfulness?  Verse 13 that is the greatest blessing you can go away with – to know your sin is under the blood.  That blood is flowing for sin and uncleanness.  That is the invitation we want to extend to you.  The journey to glory can start here tonight – are you ready to start it?