The Benefits of Knowing God
I recently have been meditating upon Psalm 103:1-5, and am experiencing a renewal of my spirit. In accordance with the discipline of meditation I am seeking to make these words of King David my constant mental companion for the purpose of taking up residence in my heart. I say them over several times as I wake each morning, revisit them throughout the day as I have opportunity and then again make them the focus of my thoughts as I drift off to sleep. I expected the calmness of spirit and mental peace but was surprised by how much better I feel physically without any other changes in my routine. In this blog piece I thought I would share some of what I have been learning in case you wanted to join me in meditating upon Psalm 103 or another psalm that God would put on your heart.
As a beginning place we must remember that Psalm 103 was a part of the worship life of the people of Israel. It is a spiritual poem that was most likely written as an expression of King David’s personal worship of Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel. It would have been sung, maybe to musical accompaniment, and most likely carries a rhythm in the original Hebrew that gets lost in the English translation. But more to the point it is meant to declared out loud, probably with some enthusiasm, as the worshiper reflects on the content of the psalm. Our take away is that we don’t just memorize the words but we are declaring God’s truth for all to hear.
The psalm begins with “bless the Lord” which is literally to bend our knee before Him as an act of adoration or worship. And we do so not with empty words but with “all that is within us” we “bless His holy name.” As God’s covenant people we declare the relationship that we have with God the Father, through Jesus the Son, expressing our gratitude for all that represents. From there I personalized the benefits received by substituting “my” for “your.”
As I meditate slowly over each of the benefits, I allow the Holy Spirit to highlight words and phrases bringing to my remembrance specific life events where God has fulfilled each of these benefits. The result has been a heart overflowing with thanksgiving and gratitude.
If your heart is need of a spiritual pick me up I would highly recommend on this first 5 verse of Psalm 103. In blessing the Lord you will in turn be blessed with a heart overflowing. Be blessed!
Author
Pastor Bruce is the Executive Director of God's Living Stones. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Barb. They have two adult children.
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