Psalms 103

“Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits ...” (2). The gods of the nations around Israel needed to be pacified and manipulated for people to escape their curses and earn blessings. But the true Creator, said the psalmist, is different; he “forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases”; he redeems our lives from self-destruction and crowns us with love and compassion (4). Rather than demanding that we atone for our failures, our God “does not treat us as our sins deserve” (10).

The Lord is “slow to anger, abounding in love” (8). We can trust his character. In relationship with him, we discover all the “good things” our souls desire (5).