HARVESTING THANKSGIVING
Text: Ps. 103:1-13
1 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 forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
1. The Kernel Of Forgiveness (v. 3a; cf. Lk 11:36-47)
- How many sins did David say are forgiven?
God offers forgiveness. It’s available, but it is not automatic. If a person repents of sin and self and turns to the cross, God will forgive him.
Plant the kernel of forgiveness in your thoughts, your mind, your heart, and it will bear the fruit of thanksgiving.
2. The Kernel of Redemption (v. 4a; cf. Eph. 1:7)
- Redemption means to pay the purchase price. We judge the value of something based on what someone pays for it. The
We can judge our value by the price Jesus paid for us; the depths into which He had to reach in order to redeem us.
Think on the benefit of redemption and it will make you sing, “Thank you Lord, for saving my soul…”
3. The Kernel of Healing (v. 3b)
- David is here speaking to his soul: “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” he said, “who heals all your diseases.”
-The diseases of the soul emanate from the virus of sin. Just as surely as some disorders of the body can be cured by medicines and surgery, so the soul of man can be cleansed, healed, and made whole when God’s Holy Spirit works His grace and mercy toward us.
Our soul’s need for healing is the
- Pick up the kernel of “healing,” plant it in your thinking, and you can’t help but harvest thanksgiving.
- It will cause you to sing, “…thank you Lord for making me whole…”
4. The Kernel of Love and Compassion (v. 4b; cf. 2 Sam. 9:3-7)
- In last week’s message, Jesus saw the multitudes as sheep without a shepherd. He was moved with compassion.
- David knew the compassion of God. In Ps. 23 he writes, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”
In verse 13 of our text David says that the Lord is like a father that pities his children.
The story of David and Mephibosheth is an illustration of
- We need to think on that. Let sink in deeply to our heart. It will bear the fruit of thanksgiving.
5. The Kernel of Satisfaction and Renewal (v. 5)
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt.5:6).
When we
Verse 5 also says that God will renew our youth like the eagle’s. An eagle’s plumage is renewed every year with new feathers though the molting process.
- God in his grace does this for us: He satisfies our souls and renews and refreshes our lives.