Psalm 103:1-5 - Crowned with Lovingkindness and Tender Mercies

Crowned With Lovingkindness and Mercy   Psalm 103:1-5 A Psalm of David. 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.   In Psalm 103:1-5, David wants us to remember all the wonderful benefits that the LORD has personally blessed us with in life. He lists at least seven of them in these first verses. As we think and meditate upon them, we should find our hearts delighting in the LORD and filled with praise to Him! Instead of always complaining and living a life filled with bitterness, we will learn to “rejoice in the LORD always” (Philippians 4:4), “in everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and “be content in whatever state or situation we might find ourselves in” (Philippians 4:11).   Yesterday we talked about the benefits of healing and redemption (vv. 3-4). We have been “healed by His strips” because God laid on Him all our iniquities and sins (Isaiah 53:5-6). We have been redeemed by His blood (Colossians 1:14), which means we have been taken out of the slave market of sin and set free to live and serve Him!   Today, we want to remember and not forget that we also have been “crowned with His lovingkindness and tender mercies” (v. 4). David also knew something about crowns, but no crown he ever wore compared with God's lovingkindness and compassion (tender mercies). David was crowned the king of Judah for the first seven years of his kingdom. Then he was crowned again as king of all Israel for the last 33 years of his 40-year reign over the nation. But before he could wear the crown of reigning with all the authority and influence that the position of being a king gave him, he had to spend years wearing the crown of thorns.   David went through years of rejection, of pain and suffering, as Saul sought to kill him. Yet it was in the midst of the suffering that David experienced the lovingkindness, the compassion and the tender mercies of the LORD. That is why he would write in Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”.     As you read the many Psalms that David wrote, you cannot help but notice that over and over again David pleaded for God’s steadfast love and tender mercy to be extended to him. A good example is Psalm 51:1, “Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.”   As a matter of fact, David mentions these attributes several more times in Psalm 103. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (v.8). “So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (v. 11). “As a father pities his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him” (v. 13). “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who hear Him…” (v. 17).   We are told in Romans 5:17, “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”  Today, we have been crowned to reign in life through Jesus Christ! This means if we are willing to “suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12).   Yes, my friend we are not only “redeemed” and free to live life, we are crowned to rule with Christ sharing with the world around us His lovingkindness and His tender mercies!   God bless!