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Show ALL HIS BENEFITS "BLESS THE Lord, o my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that they mouth is renewed like the eagle's." (Psalm 103: 1-5) This is a praise Psalm. We have much to be grateful for and nothing that God has done to forget. We are subjects of the Most High God and ought at least to give Him praise for all that He has done for us. I like the way the songwriter Page 1 Johnson Oatman Jr. put it, "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count you many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.'' Just look where God has brought us from. We have come a long ways and we still have a long ways to go. I can still hear my daddy praying, "Thank you, Lord for giving us this day, a day that we have never seen before in all the days of our lives. Many who desired to see this day were better by nature than we are by practice yet they died without the sight." We are all reaping the benefits of what Page2 God is and has done for us, and we cannot imagine what He will do, what He has in store for us. Praise God for all of His benefits! The first thing is that we ought Not forget all his benefits. It is easy for us to leave behind and for get those things we ought to be holding on to. We take for granted that things like air and water and food are ours automatically. What we ought to for get are those terrible things that are behind us. These things God keeps giving us new and fresh every day. They are now, we cannot do without them, and we ought not for get His benefits. Joshua got the children of Israel across the Jordan River and set up 12 memorial stones, one for each tribe, so the coming generations would not Page 3 for get that it was God who brought them over. (Joshua 4: 1-9) You ought never forget all of the Lord's benefits. More than that, we ought not to forget that it is God who forgives all of our sins. He is the one who wipes our slate clean and makes it as if it never happened. He gives us a new start and grants us the newness of life. He does not remember our sin, but we must not for get that He intentionally forgets what we do to mess up. The baker and the butler promised to remember Joseph when they got our of prison. But they forget and went on about their business leaving him there. Thank God for a dreaming Pharaoh. He sent for Joseph and when he interpreted his dream, Joseph was promoted to an unheard Page 4 position that saved the world from starvation. Although he could have gotten even with his brothers for selling him into slavery, he said, "You thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good., to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive." (Genesis 50: 20) He never forgot that God is the one that heals the broken-ness and forgives all of our sins. Finally, we ought never forget that God is the one who redeems ours souls and crowns us with loving-kindness and tender mercies. Praise God for the new mercies that He gives us everyday. He grants us unmerited favor, life and that more abundantly. Not justice or fairness but mercy. He had no sin yet died for all sin. He did not wrong but Page 5 died for all wrong. He committed no transgressions but replaced them all with loving-kindness and tender mercy. "So amid the conflict, Whether great or small. Do not be discouraged, God is over all. Count your many blessings, Name them one by one. Count your many blessings, See what God has done." Page 6 |
