Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Praise the LORD | The Writings | Psalm 103

Episode Date: August 28, 2024

Do you have eyes to see God's goodness? Do you ever get a sense of awe when you consider what God has done for you? In today's episode, Jensen prays through Psalm 103, thanking God for His steadfast love for His people. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Psalm 103

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. I don't know what it was this morning, but as I read Psalm 103, I got a little bit choked up. It doesn't happen all the time, but there are moments when I am struck by the magnitude and beauty of all that God has done for his people. For the intricacy of his bigger story, for the plan that he has woven throughout the history of the world to rest of. and redeem his people. I know that these things are always true, but this Psalm especially brought those truths into focus for me today, and I couldn't help but be grateful and filled with wonder at the

goodness of God. And so today, I want to do something a little bit different than what I normally do around here. I just want to read through Psalm 103 today. And as I do, I'm going to take pauses and I'm going to pray, to thank God for the truth about who he is and what he has done for us, the truth that we find in this passage. It is my hope that through this prayer and reading of Psalm 103, that wherever you are, you sit back and take the next 10 minutes or so to rest in the reality of who God is and what he has done for you, that it would soften your heart and gratitude and cause you to sit in awe and wonder of your God. Psalm 103. Praise the Lord, my soul. All my inmost being, praise his holy name. Lord, as Psalm 139 says, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. You made my inmost

being so it's right that with all of me, all that I am I would praise you, my creator, the one who is truly holy, truly good, truly righteous. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins. Lord, may I never forget that each and every day I sin against you. I wander. I am guilty. I am not holy, and yet, despite all these things you've offered me forgiveness, not just seven times, but seven times 70 again and again, infinite grace,

something that my prideful and stubborn heart cannot even consider. conceive of. Praise the Lord who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. God, you are our great healer. You've taken what is broken, what is marred by the curse of sin and death, and you have redeemed it. I don't deserve this gift. I don't deserve to be healed and rescued, but you have done it anyways. And not only that, but you have crowned me with love and compassion. You've given me a place of honor in your kingdom, a calling to reign alongside you,

to rule over creation alongside you. God, what a gift. Praise the Lord who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the Eagles. God, if that was not enough if your forgiveness and rescue was not enough, you've promised to satisfy my desire. with good things. You know what I need. Lord, would you shape my desires to want, to long after the good

things that you have for me? Thank you for renewing me, for providing for me. God, you are worthy of praise. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. God, sometimes the injustices that I see happening in this world, they overwhelm me. They bring me to my knees. Before you, I wonder how long, oh Lord? How long will we see families ripped apart? How long will we see corruption prosper? How long will we see children die before their parents' diseases taking away loved ones too soon, hatred, and violence surging on day after day, year after year?

God, I cling to the good news that you are righteous. You are just. You've promised to bring justice to the oppressed. Only a God who is truly good and truly righteous can promise this kind of deliverance in you are faithful, God. May my heart find rest and comfort in that truth. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel. God, as we look back at your actions, at your faithfulness towards your people throughout Scripture,

and for all of time, may we know. you more deeply. When we come to Scripture, may the words we read and the stories we encounter show us more deeply about who you are. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love he will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth so great as his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us. God, it is so hard to even comprehend this kind of love that you have for your people for me. You are gracious and compassionate.

The love that you have for me is incomprehensible, that you would take my sin upon yourself that you would pay the price for my guilt so that I can stand before you clean, righteous, blameless. What a gift. A gift that I am undeserving of, one that I can never repay. It's only because of your compassion, your goodness, your graciousness,

and your love that I am made new, forgiven, free. Thank you, God. As a father has compassion on his children's, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. God, the love that I have from my children is beyond anything that I could have ever imagined, and here you are, telling me that you are my father, that I am your child, that you have chosen me, you love me, you have compassion and gentleness for me.

I am accepted, known, loved, kept, and safe as your child. Lord, in light of that gift, enable me to fear. you, to live in awe of you, in awe of your generosity and love. May I never forget your goodness. May my life be shaped and formed by this incredible gift you've given. May I live as a child of God. For he knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass. They flourish like a flower of the field. The winds be able to be. The wind's blow over it, and it's gone, and its place remembers it no more. God, you are compassionate towards me, because you know I am weak. You know that apart from you, I have no hope. I am a vapor

here today and gone tomorrow. May I never forget the reality of my life apart from you. I am mortal. My time is limited. I cannot control all things. Death is inevitable. But, from ever-lasting, to everlasting, the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children, with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. And yet, God, you are the opposite of what I am. From everlasting to everlasting generation after generation, you have been faithful to your people, everlasting, unchanging in your love for your people. God, you have made a covenant to be our God, to be with your people, to rescue us. And when we failed to uphold our end of the bargain,

God, you took the penalty upon yourself. God, may the reality of all that you have done for me move me to obedience, to live a life that honors you, that I would be the first to admit my sins, to acknowledge where I have failed to fall before you humbly, knowing that you alone are righteous, that I would never forget that through Jesus you've given me that same righteousness. Thank you, God. Thank you for never abandoning me to my own selfish ways, for making a way for me to live and rule alongside you. The Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all.

God, how good and true and right this is. You are the king of creation your kingdom rules over all. No power can overcome you. Your kingdom, your reign is sure, steadfast unchanging, and what good news that is, because your kingdom is full of love, of true justice, of mercy, of peace. It is unending, beautiful, free from sin, free from pain, from hunger, from injustice, from death. It is filled with you, with your presence. It's where you will dwell with your people once more. God may I never forget the truth of your coming kingdom. May I never forget my life's goal, my only good is to bring that kingdom, to bring your kingdom's

values and goodness into every sphere of my influence today and every day. God, may I look to the life of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus to know what that kingdom looks like. And may you enable me to live a life that pushes the boundaries of that kingdom out into our world little by little until the day that you come and conquer evil and establish that kingdom here on earth. Thank you, God, for the gift of your kingdom, for the purpose it gives to my life, for the hope it gives my soul, for the joy it brings to my life. You are good, and your kingdom will reign forever. Praise the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey His word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you His servants who do His will. Praise the Lord, all His works.

everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul. God, may I join in with all of creation for all of time, worshiping and praising your name. I have no greater good than to bless your name. You are worthy of our praise. Amen.