The Blessed Life: Our God is a Covenant Keeper

I remember sitting in junior high science class at Iva E. Wells Middle School in Seneca, MO. We met in one of the newer classrooms with computers. Coach Triplett was our teacher. He coached junior high football and high school wrestling. He was intimidating, but what I remembered learning that year fascinated me. We learned about the different systems in our human body. We learned about the circulatory system. For our test, we had to trace how our blood flowed through the different chambers of our heart out through our arteries, capillaries and veins. We had to trace the blood flow throughout our entire body and back to our heart. It was so fun learning about other systems like our skeletal system, muscular and the other systems that make up the human body.

And yet there is more to our bodies than just the cells. In Psalm 139, we read that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. There’s is something more to us than just cells and molecules and systems. Though we definitely have cells and systems, the Hebrews tells us we have a soul. The soul can refer to how God brought life to the man He had formed from the dust in Genesis 2.7

Genesis 2:7 ESV

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

The word for “creature” is the word sometimes translated soul. The word for soul is a favorite of the Psalms. God’s word can revive our “soul” in Psalm 19.7. In Psalm 23, the Lord restores our soul. And in our text today of Psalm 103, we bless the Lord, oh my soul. All that is within me bless His holy name.

The theme for today as we explore the blessed life is this: “We bless the Lord with all we have for all He has done.” In our time today, we’ll explore four examples for blessing the Lord. We spend the majority of our time on the second example.

First, we bless the Lord for who He is (Psalm 103.1-5). Notice that God is the one who forgives and heals (verse 3). He’s the one who redeems and crowns (verse 4). He is the one who satisfies and strengthens (verse 5). Verses one through five address our three major concerns in life: sin, disease and death. Let’s be honest, many of us wrestle with guilt over current or past actions. Several of us are afraid about getting sick. Most don’t want to think about death. David reminds us that God takes care of all three of those fears: sin, sickness, and death.

We can bless the Lord for who He is. He is the one. When you think about that list of actions, that’s a tall task for any one person to accomplish one of them. The Lord is the one who can meet all those needs of ours.

Second, we bless the Lord for what He does and does NOT do (Psalm 103.6-14). In verse 6, David reminds us that God works righteousness and justice for the oppressed. I love that God does what is right and He looks out for the hurting.

He also, reveals His ways to His people in verses 7-8. David says, “He made known his ways to Moses.” In Exodus 33.13, Moses asks God, “If I have found favor in your sight, please show me your ways.” God honors his request and promises to go with Moses as he leads the people through the wilderness. David recounts how God showed the way for Moses and how God is merciful and gracious. These are the same words that the Lord proclaimed to Moses as He passed before Moses. The Lord proclaims His mercy, grace, patience and steadfast love and faithfulness. This reminder of God’s mercy and unending love is found just verses after God’s people fashioned that calf out of all their gold jewelry. It is in the context of a major mistake that God reminds Moses that He will not give up on His people.

After David recounts God’s unfailing love, David reflects on two things that God will not do. God does not stay angry forever and he does not deal with us according to our sins (verses 9-10). Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message, translates verse 9 as, “He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold.” Notice God does get angry, but He does not stay angry. If He really wanted to, God could simply snuff us out every time someone sinned. He would be just in doing that because we would be offending Him. However, He is patient.

We find three words for sins in this passage: sins (verse 10), iniquities (verse 10), and transgressions (12). These words could range from unintended mistakes to intentional offenses to outright rebellion. The Lord does not repay us according to our iniquities because He laid them on His suffering servant, the Lord Jesus.

Isaiah 53:6 ESV

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Thankfully, the Lord does not treat us as we deserve. David gives us a geography lesson to illustrate the forgiveness of our faithful Father. He states as high as the heavens are above the earth and as far as the east is from the west.

Okay, so let’s do a little science and math. Studies show that it takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds for light from the sun to reach the earth (https://phys.org/news/2013-04-sunlight-earth.html). Light travels at about 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km/sec) in a vacuum. As a reference, it is 24,901 miles around the earth at the Equator. So, light can travel around the entire earth almost seven and half times in a second.

Our galaxy, the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across. Current space shuttles can travel 5 miles per second. It would take us 37,200 years to go one light year. Times that by 100,000 and you could take a space shuttle across the Milky Way.

However, there are other galaxies in our universe. Andromeda is our nearest neighbor in the universe. Andromeda is 2.5 million light years away. We don’t have numbers to comprehend how vast and amazing the heavens are. (Source: https://futurism.com/how-long-would-it-take-to-walk-a-light-year).

One other cool side note, Jupiter and Saturn are both viewable this week in the western sky. Jupiter and Saturn catch each other about every 20 years, so I encourage you to reflect on verse 11 and go out in the early evening and thank God for His amazing forgiveness.

David says, as high as the heavens are above the earth so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. That’s how much love and mercy the Lord has for His people. The other amazing thing is that God spoke the universe into existence to even give us this image of His immeasurable love and mercy.

When our son, Weston was born, we chose Psalm 103.11 as his life verse. Part of his name is in the text, “As far as the east is from the west...” I encourage you to choose a life verse for yourself. Parents, consider choosing a life verse for your children. That is one way you can bless the Lord.

The beautiful part of this Psalm 103 is as you step back and see the magnitude of creation as it relates to the steadfast love and forgiveness of the Lord, you also get the intimacy of a faithful father.

In Psalm 103.13, David highlights the compassion of a faithful father, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” Throughout scripture, we are called not to be afraid or fear not. And yet, there is one fear we must possess and that is our fear of God. But, listen to the compassion and mercy that we are called to fear. Our father is good, compassionate, patient and merciful.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, took a page of the prayer book of Psalm 103. Upon hearing the news from the angel that she would be the mother of Jesus, Mary blesses God with all she had for all God was about to do. Her song begins, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1.46-47). Listen to a portion of her prayer from Luke 1.50.

Luke 1:50 ESV

And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

Mary’s song connects with the everlasting love of God that extends to future generations as David continues His hymn of praise.

Third, we bless the Lord for His everlasting love (Psalm 103.15-19).

David reminds us that we are dust and that that mankind is like grass and flowers. There’s a season that the grass is green an the flowers bloom, but then the seasons change, the wind blows and they are gone. Man is finite. God is infinite. In verses 17-19, David confesses that God’s steadfast love is from everlasting to everlasting to those who fear him. God’s love continues from generation to generation to those who keep His covenant. I titled this message with the help of our teacher, “God is our covenant keeper.” God keeps His word, will we keep ours? Will we remember His goodness? Will we remember His commands that are for our well being? Will we look to our King whose kingdom rules over all?

Throughout this Psalm, we read about the goodness, grace, and power of God. In fact, Matt Stafford calls Psalm 103, the love chapter of the Old Testament. In verse 18, we confront the condition of the covenant, “to those who keep His covenant and remember to do his commandments.” We have a responsibility to remember and keep God’s covenant. To stay in that healthy relationship.

The Psalms help us keep God’s covenant by reminding us what He has done and what He expects. Treasure these words close and share them with the next generation.

Fourth, we bless the Lord with all creation (Psalm 103.20-22).

David closes this beautiful psalm with a call to all of creation to join the worship chorus of blessing God. David calls the heavens to praise God: the angels, the mighty ones, the heavenly host. Then, he invites all creation to bless God.

Mary joined creation in blessing God when Gabriel told her God’s plan. The angels joined David in blessing the Lord. That night outside Bethlehem, the shepherds were watching over the flocks. In Luke 2, the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds. The glory of the Lord shone around them.

Luke 2:10–14 ESV

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

As high as the heaven is above the earth, so great is his steadfast love. At Christmas, we remember that Jesus left heaven and came to earth to rescue us from our sins, to heal our diseases, to redeem our life from the pit and to crown us with love and mercy.

David blessed the Lord with all he had. We read his example in Psalm 103. Mary blessed the Lord, “my soul magnifies the Lord.” The angel and the heavenly host praised God for the Savior had been born, the newborn king. They shepherds went with “haste” to see what the angels announced. They saw Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. Guess that the shepherds did when they left?

Luke 2:20 ESV

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

What will we do this Christmas season? I invite you worship our King with all you have for all He has done for us. Here’s some ways you could accomplish blessing our King.

Join us for Christmas Eve candlelight service in person or online on December 24 at 7 p.m. to celebrate the birth of King Jesus.

Tell God thanks for rescuing from darkness and forgiving your sins through Jesus.

Tell others how good our God is.

Read Psalm 103, then go for a walk at night and look to the heavens. Look for Jupiter and Saturn and remember how great God’s love is.

We bless the Lord with all we have for all He has done.

5 Day Devotional Guide on

Dominant Thought: We bless the Lord with all we have for all He has done.

You may want to refer to the sermon notes for further discussion. Take a moment to read the assigned Scripture and then reflect or discuss the questions. Customize this outline to your situation. Here are some questions to ask from the Discovery Bible Method:

What are you thankful for today or this week?

What challenges are you facing?

Have 2 or 3 people read the scripture out loud.

Can you summarize this passage in your own words?

What did you discover about God from this passage?

What have you learned about people from this passage?

How are you going to obey this passage? (What is your “I will” statement?)

With whom are you going to share what you have learned?

Based on this passage, what can we pray about?

Day 1: Psalm 103.1-5

Day 2: Psalm 103.6-11

Day 3: Psalm 103.12-14

Day 4: Psalm 103.15-19

Day 5: Psalm 103.20-22

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