PASTOR CHUCK SMITH - WITH THANKFUL HEARTS - PSALM 103 - November 25, 1998 (Also Responsive Reading)

[Music] You're invited to come here at the church and have Thanksgiving with the family of God here at the church. So if you just sit home alone crying because you're lonely and there's no one at Thanksgiving with you, don't think that we're going to feel sorry for you. We're not. You can come to the church and enjoy the fellowship of the family of God here at the Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. So that's one o'clock tomorrow.

don't think that we're going to feel sorry for you we're not you can come to the church and enjoy the Fellowship of the family of God here at the Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow so that's one o'clock tomorrow and uh

And you're welcome if you have no place to go for Thanksgiving to come and enjoy the Thanksgiving dinner here at the church.

and I'll read the first and the odd numbered verses we want you to join together reading the even-numbered verses and we want to stand as we read the word of God bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy

Let's turn to Psalm 103.

he will not always chide and neither will he keep his anger forever for as the heaven is high above the Earth so great is his Mercy toward them that fear Him Society like as a father pitieth his children so

And I'll read the first and the odd-numbered verses. We want you to join together reading the even-numbered verses, and we want to stand as we read the word of God.

children's children the Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom ruleth Over All bless ye the Lord all ye his hosts ye Ministers of his that do his pleasure foreign you may be seated David was a man who was in touch with

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. He will not always chide, and neither will he keep his anger forever. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children, to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his that do his pleasure.

and why are you disquieted within me in what Psalm 116 7 David said Return to thy rest O my soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee in Psalm 146 1 He commands praise the Lord O my soul

[Foreign] You may be seated.

still and so he he talks to himself when he is discouraged when he is down he encourages us himself he says why are you cast down why are you disquieted hope thou in God he shall yet bring it

David was a man who was in touch with himself. He commands his soul, or his mind, to bless the Lord. A conscious act: "Bless the Lord, O my soul." It seems that David often spoke to his soul. In Psalm 42 he asked, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?" In Psalm 116:7 David said, "Return to thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." In Psalm 146:1 he commands, "Praise the Lord, O my soul." In Psalm 77:6 he declares, "I call to remembrance my song in the night. I commune with my own heart." And then in Psalm 4:4 he encourages others: "Stand in awe, sin not. Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still."

the heart is the realm of the spirit that's where you commune with God to bless the Lord is equivalent to praise the Lord and so he's commending his soul praise the Lord offer praise unto him but it Not only was to his soul but

So he talks to himself when he is discouraged, when he is down, and he encourages himself. He says, "Why are you cast down? Why are you disquieted? Hope thou in God, he shall yet bring it to pass." Now here he is talking to himself again: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me, bless his holy name."

you see God is not a name it's more or less of a title it's it's the title of the master passion of a person's life and so the Bible says the gods of the Heathen are many but The God Who

The soul is the realm of our consciousness, our thoughts, where we commune with our own self. The heart is the realm of the spirit; that's where you commune with God. To bless the Lord is equivalent to praise the Lord, and so he's commanding his soul to praise the Lord, to offer praise unto him. But it's not only his soul; it's everything that is within me. Praise his holy name.

because there is no J sound in the Hebrew and the letter J uh is a yah sound yahova uh most Scholars seem to think that the name of God should be pronounced Yahweh the problem is in the Hebrew

Now, the reading in our English Bible does not give us the real significance of this command of David when he says, "Bless the Lord." The word Lord there is actually the name of God. You see, God is not a name; it's more or less a title. It's the title of the master passion of a person's life. The Bible says the gods of the heathen are many, but the God who revealed himself in the Bible, the God who created the heavens and the earth, has a name. The problem is we don't know how to pronounce it. Some have suggested the pronunciation Jehovah, but we're sure that is wrong because there is no J sound in Hebrew, and the letter J is a "yah" sound. Yahovah? Most scholars seem to think the name of God should be pronounced Yahweh. The problem is that in Hebrew the name is written with only consonants, not vowels, so you have Y-H-V-H, and just what the vowel sounds are, we don't know. But you can't pronounce Y-H-V-H, and thus they didn't try to pronounce the name of God. But David uses that name: "Bless Yahweh, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name." His holy name is, as best we know, Yahweh.

to pronounce the name of God but he uses that bless Yahweh O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name His holy name is as best we know Yahweh and then he says forget not

Then he says, "Forget not all of his benefits," and David begins to list some of the benefits for which he is praising the Lord. He forgives all our iniquities. In Psalm 32 David said, "Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity." Now, transgression is a deliberate, willful violation of the law of God, whereas sin is a weakness. It is missing the mark. There are many people who are missing the mark who are trying to hit the mark, but as Jesus said, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Though we may be trying to hit the mark, yet we find ourselves missing the mark, and that is the idea behind the word sin. Transgression is deliberate, willful sin; sin is a weakness, a missing of the mark. Combine the two and you have the word iniquity. Iniquity sort of encompasses both the sin and the transgression. The glorious thing is that the Lord forgives all our iniquities, including the transgressions and the missing of the mark. Think of it: your sins have been blotted out, erased. They are forgiven, they are forgotten. We sing, "My sins, O the bliss of this glorious thought, my sins, not in part but the whole, have been nailed to the cross, and I bear them no more." Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.

blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity now transgression is a deliberate willful violation of the law of God whereas a sin is a weakness it is missing the mark and there are many people who are

So as David commands himself, his soul, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me, bless his holy name. Forget not all of his benefits." At the top of the list of benefits is the glorious forgiveness that God has offered us of our iniquities, which makes possible our fellowship with God.

mark and that is the idea behind the word sin transgression deliberate willful sin a a weakness a missing of the mark now combine the two and you have the word iniquity iniquity sort of encompasses both the sin and

How far has God removed your transgression? Down in verse 12, David said, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Aren't you glad he didn't say, "As far as the north is from the south"? Because if you are at the North Pole and you start south, in about twelve thousand five hundred miles you'll reach the South Pole, and then you'll be going north again. So if you went straight through, it would be about four thousand miles. He didn't say as far as the north is from the south, because then you know it would be a finite distance. But he said as far as the east is from the west. If you start going east tonight, you can keep going east the rest of your life. If you start going west tonight, you'll be going west the rest of your life. That's how far he's removed your transgressions from you, just as far as the east is from the west.

erased they are forgiven they are forgotten we sing my sins all the Bliss of this glorious thought my sins not impart but the whole have been nailed to the cross and I bear them no more praise the Lord praise the Lord

The second benefit: "who healeth all thy diseases." In Exodus 15:26 the Lord said, or Moses said to the people, "If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and will listen to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon you which I have brought upon the Egyptians, for I am Yahweh that healeth thee." In Psalm 30:2 David said, "O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and you healed me." In Isaiah 53 we read, "Surely he took our infirmities, he carried our sorrows, and yet we considered him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." Matthew tells us that they brought the sick people to Jesus and he healed them all. Matthew 8:16: "He healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.'" Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me, bless his holy name, who heals all thy diseases.

forgiveness that God has offered to us of our iniquities which makes then possible our fellowship with God how far has God removed your transgression down in verse 12. David said as far as the East is from the West so far hath he

And then the third benefit: who has redeemed your life from destruction. Satan was holding you in his

then you'll be going north again so if you went straight through it would be about 4 000 miles so he didn't say as far as the north is from the south because then you know it would be in

distance to reach you know but he said as far as the East is from the West if you start going east tonight you can keep going east the rest of your life if you start going west tonight you'll

be going west the rest of your life and so that's how far he's removed your transgressions from you just as far as the East is from the West so far as he removed our transgressions from us the second benefit who healeth all thy

diseases in Exodus 15 26 the Lord said if you will diligently hearken or Moses said to the people if you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God or Yahweh thy God and will do that which is right in his

sight and will listen to his Commandments and keep all his statutes I will put none of these diseases upon you which I have brought upon the Egyptians for I am Yahweh that healeth thee in Psalm 30 verse 2 David said O Lord my

God I Cried unto thee and you healed me in Isaiah 53 we read surely he took our infirmities he carried our sorrows and yet we considered him stricken by God Smith and by him and afflicted but he was wounded

for our transgressions and he was bruised for our iniquities the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed Matthew tells us that they brought the sick people to Jesus and he healed them all Matthew 8 16 he

healed all that were sick that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying himself took our infirmities and bear our sicknesses bless the Lord O My Soul all that is within me bless His holy name

who heals all thy diseases and then the third benefit who he has redeemed your life from destruction Satan was holding you in his power and was destroying you you can look around in the world in which we live today and you can see so

many people who are being destroyed by the power of sin wonderful people talented people but their lives are being destroyed by Satan oh bless the Lord he's redeemed Our Lives from destruction you see that could be you could be in the process tonight of being

destroyed by Satan's power but Jesus redeemed you he paid the price to deliver you from the bondage that you once were in as you were a servant to Satan but Jesus Paid the price of redemption he's redeemed your life for God so loved the world

that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him would not perish but have everlasting life and then the next benefit that he sees here is he crowns us with loving kindness and Tender Mercies the word translated crowns

in the Hebrew is a word that means surrounds or compasses God surrounds me with his loving kindness and his Tender Mercies I'm encircled by God's loving kindness Tender Mercies and I like that idea to think that God just

surrounds me with his loving kindness his Tender Mercies and then the next benefit for which David is praising the Lord is that he satisfies he said your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed as the

Eagles the word mouth in other versions is translated life or years or desires he satisfies your desires with good things you see he's not talking about the turkey dinner you're going to be eating tomorrow when he says he satisfies your

mouth with good things but he's talking about just your your life itself is that satisfaction that we have uh and and the good things that God bestows upon us as we walk in fellowship with him you're my your youth he said is renewed

as the Eagles it's probably a reference to the annual multi process that the eagle goes through where it sort of sheds the old feathers and gets a whole new uh set of feathers almost on an annual basis the molting

process uh and so your youth is renewed there is that renewal uh some fellow asked me this week uh when you're going to slow down and I said when I get old uh he satisfies [Applause] your mouth with good things your life

with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles uh Eagles have been known to live for over a hundred years and uh so that's why it is used oftentimes they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall

Mound up with wings as Eagles and hear uh your youth is renewed like the eagles next David speaks of the works of the Lord that should evoke Our Praise first the benefits now the works of the Lord he executes righteousness and judgment

for all who are oppressed as David was praising the Lord in Psalm 113 he declares he raised up the poor Out of the Dust and he lifts the needy out of the dunghill that they that he may set them

with princes even with the princes of his people so uh the Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all next he made known his ways unto Moses and his acts unto the children of Israel God gave to Moses the Commandments

the statutes the judgments of the Lord he made known his ways unto Moses Paul in writing concerning the Jews said what advantage then hath the Jew and he answered his question much and in every way For unto them were committed the Oracles

of God they had the great advantage of God having revealed to them his rules for a good life for a happy life for a prosperous life and so he made known his acts to the children of Israel but his laws unto

Moses his ways and then he tells us some of the characteristics of the Lord the Lord is merciful which actually means full of Mercy he is gracious he is so lavish and pouring out his love upon us and His blessings

he is slow to anger that's another way of saying that he's long-suffering he's patient with us and he's plenteous in Mercy plenteous in Mercy how high is his Mercy down in verse 13 he says that as the heaven is high above the

Earth so great is his Mercy toward them that fear Him how high are the heavens above the earth 15 billion light years 20 billion light years who knows every time they develop new methods of probing further into the universe they find galaxies

that are out there that they didn't even know existed they haven't yet seen the sign that says the end as high as the heavens are above the Earth so great is his Mercy toward them how broad are the mercies of God

but the mercy of the Lord verse 17 is from Everlasting to Everlasting upon them that fear Him the word Everlasting is a interesting Hebrew word literally it is the vanishing point and the idea is when you think back as far as you can

think a billion years five billion years 15 billion years they say that that's when the Big Bang took place but what how how far can you go back beyond that when your mind finally hits a vanishing point I can't think of anything further

than that you know that's the word Everlasting the vanishing point how far can you think in the future how many million we sing when we've been there Ten Thousand Years bright shining as the sun I I often like to just sing that when

we've been there 10 zillion years I don't know how much a zillion is but it sounds like a lot but you know your brain finally gets to the place where you can't conceive of anything beyond that it's the vanishing

point and that's the word Everlasting now from Everlasting to Everlasting that's how broad his mercies are upon those that fear Him there's an old hymn that is sung in the church there's a wideness in God's mercies like the wideness of the sea but no no

no much wider than that from Everlasting to Everlasting are the mercies of God on those that fear Him because of God's mercies we are not punished according to our sins as the psalmist said he's not rewarded us according to our iniquities

but then speaking further of the characteristics of God he is full of pity for us in verse 13 David said like as a father pitieth his children so the Lord is filled with pity on them that fear Him

why is he filled with pity for us because he knows our frame that we're but dust he sees us as we you know think that we're sort of super Saints or whatever and and just he knows our frame he knows we're

but dust you know that God has never been disappointed with you now you've been disappointed with yourself why because you thought you were better than you really are that's what the disappointment's all about when I stumble when I fall I I'm so

disappointed oh how could I've done that well because I'm made of dust he knows my frame and thus he pities us because he knows our frame we're just dust and then he tells us what the Lord won't do

he will not always chide the Hebrew word is grapple or hold the controversy in the living Bible uh Ken Taylor translates it he does not hold The Grudge secondly he doesn't keep his anger forever in Psalm 35 David wrote

for his anger endureth but a moment in his favor is life weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning the prophet Micah said who is a god like unto thee that pardons iniquity passes by the transgression of the

remnant of his heritage he retains not his anger forever because he Delights in Mercy he will turn again he will have compassion upon us he will subdue our iniquities and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea

in verse 19 David declares the Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom ruleth overall because his kingdom does rule overall David calls upon all within his kingdom to praise him verse 20 bless the Lord or praise the

Lord ye his angels that excel in strength that do his Commandments hearkening unto the voice of his word verse 21 bless the Lord all ye his host ye Ministers of his that do his pleasure verse 22 bless the Lord all of his Works

in all places of his Dominion that's in the whole universe everything as the psalmist said let everything that hath breath praise the Lord so praise the Lord all his Works in all places of his Dominion bless the Lord O my soul

and all that is within me bless His holy name you know it's I I see David sort of like a choir director and and he's got the angel section of the choir over here he's got the Old Testament Saint section and then he has

the New Testament Church over here and he's getting the choir all going and you know bless the Lord ye angels of his you know that uh Minister and so forth and bless the Lord you ministers and bless the Lord you know all of his works and

all of his dominion and all and he and he gets the whole thing just in a giant Crescendo and then he says oh bless the Lord I mean just oh my soul I mean it's just like he's got everybody going and

then he just gets overwhelmed by the whole thing and just that glorious time of praise and thanksgiving to our God and so we've come to that time of the year when our thoughts and all turn towards the Lord as we count

our blessings as we look at the Lord and who he is and you see it isn't just for his benefits he starts out with the benefits that's good we should but then he begins to praise the Lord just for who the Lord is

and and just the character of the Lord and all he begins to praise him for just who he is and so we have so much to be thankful for and I pray that tomorrow as all of the families will be gathering

together and you'll be with your friends and all and will be excited as we look at the Great meal that the wonderful ladies have prepared for us and we just say oh my you know but let's not get so caught up

in the festivities and in the feasting that we forget what the day is all about and designed to do to bring us into a conscious remembrance of God's blessings so that we will give thanks and we will bless His holy name shall we

stand bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name he has done great things he has done great things

he has done great things bless His holy name bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me blesses holy name

he has done great things he has done great things he has done great things bless His holy name God bless you and have a very beautiful wonderful filled with Thanksgiving Day God bless now on behalf of the word for today the

broadcast Ministry of Pastor Chuck Smith we thank you for joining us in today's broadcast for more Pastor Chuck's studies and Biblical teaching resources visit our website at pastorchuck.org you can contact the word for today at the word for today P.O box

890-820 Temecula California 92589 or email us at infopasterchuck gmail.com we'll return with more of our verse by verse Bible study in our next broadcast with Pastor Chuck thank you