Bless the Lord, O My Soul
(How is your soul today?)
Psalm 103:1-5
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits… who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (vv. 2, 5)
There was a person who began to lose their memory. They sought counsel from a doctor, who suggested that brain surgery could prevent further memory loss. However, the doctor added a caveat:
“Because the surgical site is near the optic nerve, you would lose your eyesight.” The doctor then asked, “Which would you choose—your sight or your memory?”
Which would you choose—your memory or your sight? It is not an easy question to answer. Yet, perhaps the answer becomes clearer if we reframe it: If you can see, but have forgotten who you are, what meaning does that hold?
Furthermore, if you forget who your parents are, the love and grace you have received from God, and the memories shared with the many people you love—what purpose does seeing this world serve?
To lose one’s memory is to live without even knowing one’s own existence. In this world, however, there are many things that act like an eraser, wiping away the memory of God.
They distract us, causing us to forget what we ought to remember. Jesus said that the time of His return would be much like the days of Noah’s flood. People were so preoccupied with eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves—
—that they remained completely unaware until the flood arrived and swept them all away. Yet, Noah alone did not forget God. The fact that Noah remained “awake” means that he kept God’s covenant—His word—in mind and continued to live it out.
John Wesley used to offer a particular greeting whenever he met people: “How is your soul today?” How would you answer that question today?
Have you, perhaps, forgotten the specific blessings God has bestowed upon you—whether because you have been too busy or because you have felt discouraged? Have you lost sight of the grace by which He has removed your sins as far as the east is from the west?
Are you still shackled by past mistakes or a sense of guilt, condemning yourself? Do you fully trust, even today, in the embrace of God the Father—who knows that we are but “dust” and treats us with such mercy?
Psalm 103 stands as one of the most beautiful and magnificent hymns of praise and thanksgiving in the entire Bible. It is a song in which David, looking back on his life in his later years, remembers the grace he received and praises God’s infinite mercy and kindness.
Determined not to forget this grace, David begins with a command directed toward his own soul: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” This is because human beings are prone to forgetfulness; once a time of hardship has passed, we all too easily lose sight of the grace we have received.
David goes on to specifically enumerate the works of God: He forgives all our iniquities, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from destruction, crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion, and satisfies our desires with good things. This grace is not a one-time event; it is an enduring grace that, generation after generation, renews our youth like the eagle’s. This is because God’s mercy is eternal—a mercy that covers all our frailties.
“For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust” (verse 14). God understands perfectly well how fragile and weak we are—beings fashioned from mere “dust.”
Though human life is like grass, like a wildflower in the field—vanishing in an instant when the wind blows (verses 15–16)—God’s steadfast love for these finite beings stretches from everlasting to everlasting (verse 17).
What God desires is not some grand, spectacular success, but rather that our souls remember His grace. Once we begin to grasp this, the nature of our prayers begins to shift.
Instead of anxiously pleading for our problems to be solved, we begin—as David did—to speak to our own souls: “Do not be discouraged, O my soul! Praise the Lord! Never forget that He has rescued you from destruction and crowned you with His steadfast love and compassion!”
Remarkably, as we begin to list the specific ways He has shown grace and offer thanks for each one, the fog of melancholy that has clouded our hearts begins to lift. We gain the firm assurance that He has removed our past failures and the weight of condemnation as far as the east is from the west.
When we truly grasp the love of a Father who embraces us—even though we are but dust—we experience what is described in verse 5: a supernatural restoration and a fresh infusion of strength, where our souls are “renewed like the eagle’s.” Then, whenever circumstances become unstable, instead of relying on our own fluctuating emotions, we can remember God’s unchanging blessings and move toward a place of praise. Is there a specific desire you are earnestly bringing before God right now?
If so, take time today to recall and reflect upon all the blessings God has bestowed upon you thus far—remembering them one by one. As you do, your prayer will shift from “Let it be done according to my will!” to a confession of love: “Let it be done according to Your will!”
And in that very moment,
the experience of touching the hem of the Lord’s garment—
the miraculous encounter with the eternal Tree of Life—
will become our own today.
Oh Lord,
help me never to forget
all the blessings You have bestowed upon me;
help me to remember them and offer a prayer of faith.
