Perfect Government

Justice is not, nor has it ever been, a product of man.
Justice, where it does exists, only does so because God established it and man, in that instance, follows it.

In 1850, Frederic Bastiat said, there is "the fatal tendency that exists in the heart of man to satisfy his wants with the least possible effort. This fact explains the almost universal perversion of the law. Thus, it is easy to understand how the law, instead of checking justice, becomes the invincible weapon of injustice. It is easy to understand why the law is used by the legislator to destroy in varying degrees among the rest of the people, their personal independence by slavery, their liberty by oppression, and their property by plunder. This is done for the benefit of the person who makes the law, and in proportion to the power that he holds."

-Could be a commentary on our times, but it's not. What we face now is not new. It's not even as bad as it has been before. It could be much worse. But according to Psalm 103:6, it will be judged by God ........

How does scripture direct the Christian's response to injustice around him?

Birthday of the King!

What do kings wear on their heads? Why?

Psalm 103:4 says the Lord crowns us. The word used can mean either to surround or to bestow a crown. He crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. What do you think is the significance of the action which employs lovingkindness and tender mercies? I look forward to your comments.

Merry Christmas.

Healing All Our Diseases

God is the source of all healing - both by intervention in the nature of disease in our physical bodies as well as the normal restorative processes he wonderfully designed into our bodies.

For me, and probably for many in our church, this is the one phrase in the entire Psalm which I have dreaded.

God can heal all diseases. But He has chosen not to in every case and I'm still having trouble with that right now. It's going to take some real spiritual work - alone - again -and again - to deal with his sovereignty.

Why did you take Tom, Lord?

Who forgives all our iniquities....

Have you ever considered the etymological meaning and origins of the word forgive?

I have had a running debate with an individual who maintains that as a christian, we are not required to forgive unless we are asked by the offending party for that forgiveness.

My position is that God forgave us before the foundation of the world (Eph 1) and structured the entire plan of salvation - from the purposes of Christ on the cross, to the manner and meaning of our repentance - around his intention to restore us to himself.

He GAVE us that position beFORe we asked for it.......... what a wonder!

Thankful Memory

In Psalm 103:2, David calls for a vigilance of memory - a determination to keep God's works of mercy at the forefront of his mind. David actually instructs his soul to avoid the active neglect of the meditation on the benefits of God.

In our world, life moves fast. Think for a moment of what we decide on a daily basis today that people were not encumbered with 100 years ago. Then think of how much effort we must direct toward keeping in mind the favors and mercies of God.


It is difficult to appreciate God and his mercies when we do not keep them in mind. Thanklessness soon sets in when we lose that focus.

Maybe some of you can give examples of thanklessness we see that results from spiritual memory loss.
Maybe you could also give examples of the beauty of a thankful heart.

Supernatural Reality

So while we're on the topic of soul in verse 1......
Does a child see himself primarily as a body first with this abstraction of a soul which Mommy and Daddy keep referring to every time there is a funeral?
At what point do we begin to see the supernatural reality that exists way, way beyond our physical experience - our senses of sight, hearing, touch, feel, and taste.
David has disciplined himself to pay attention to a God and His creation who is beyond his ability to measure by physical experience. His soul and all that is within him is the essence of himself which communes with God.

Isn't it insidious - the naturalism that presses in from all sides. Consider what physical beauty means in our culture and you come face to face pretty quick with the interest our culture has in the reality of our eternal soul (103:1), God and His kingdom (103:19), angels (103:20,21).

We need to develop our understanding of the reality of a supernatural God - one not limited by-or defined by - the natural world as we see it.

Environment of Repentance

Things are gearing up now! Some of you have been stimulated by this topic as found in Ps 103.
The question has been raised: What was the environment that David experienced that produced the repentance of Ps 51 and the renewal Ps 103?

Consider: A young man walks into youth group with his underwear showing - his pants down too low. The youth leadership addresses the situation - politely and respectfully asks him to change his dress. No problem right? We want to maintain a standard of modesty in our midst that both protects our kids and presents a commitment to decency. So the young man complies with little resistance. Goes to camp - gets saved - time goes by - drifts away with lttle or no interest in spiritual things.
Question: What happened? What does this situation say about the external vs internal nature of our walk with God.

Please note: This is not a criticism of our youth program - I was part of the decision - but it is a hard question about whether repentance took place and if our influence on such a person is focused on the internal or external manifestations of repentance.

Bless the Lord, O my SOUL
and all that is WITHIN ME bless his holy name.

Kneeling is Blessing

So we're coming to terms with how we as mere mortals bless the sovereign, omnipotent, Creator. We have an errant understanding of the word in the case of Psalm 103 that needs to be corrected. There are two elements to blessing, one is kneeling and the other is praising.

The Hebrew word is modified for use to express either depending on the context.

The great commentators such as Calvin, Matthew Henry, Thomas Watson, Charles Spurgeon all are sympathetic to the idea that the meaning here is to kneel. They cite Gen. 26 and 27 along with Ps 95 which says in verse 6:

Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel (bless) before the Lord, our maker.

What a beautiful verse! Submission is not degrading. It is not domination. It is not humiliation.
In an uncertain, sinful and dangerous world, I cannot think of anywhere I'd rather be than kneeling directly before my Creator! What a safe, clean, honest place!

Is there such a thing as false praise? If we corporately do not assume an attitude of kneeling or bowing down when we engage in praise activity - is it Psalm 95 or Psalm 103 praise? Would we ever just go "through the motions" if we were directly in front of God?

Thoughts on Verse 1

Sunday, we will cover the first part of verse 1.
The word bless is an interesting word when one thinks about blessing as an activity which has direction from man to God.
Normally, I think of receiving a blessing. Something is given to me from God.
But in this case the word is NOT a gift. And it is NOT praise (take that Zondervan and all those dynamic equivalencers out there).
The word has to do with kneeling, submission, surrender of autonomy.
It is the word used in Gen 26 and 27 when Esau begs for his blessing.
So what was it that Jacob gave Esau that David gave to God in Ps 103?
What can I give to God?
Your Thoughts?