Praising God for His Sovereignty

       In the closing verses of Psalm 103, David calls all the heavenly host to join his anthem of God’s exaltation.  He writes: “Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.  Bless the Lord, all you His…

Praising the Praiseworthy

       Few word pictures are more stunning and breathtaking than the ones used by David in Psalm 103.  Like an overstuffed pillow, he is bursting at the seams in his exuberant desire to praise the Lord so that all that is within him blesses…

Forget Not

       Spiritual amnesia is deadly.  Remembering God’s past and present blessings fuels your present and future faithfulness.  Remembering all His benefits is the mainspring of genuine, passionate praise.  “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the Lord, O my…

“Bless the Lord, O My Soul”

       From beginning to end, Psalm 103 is a great outburst of praise.  Sandwiched between its first and last note of “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (vv. 1, 22) is a crescendo of praise.  Beginning with David’s lone pronouncement of his heart’s deepest praise (vv….

Hope in the Midst of Darkness

  Few situations sound as bleak and desperately lonely as the one described in Psalm 102—”my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned like a hearth.  My heart is stricken and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread.  Because…

Choosing Your Friends

       One of the grave dangers of evil is its powerful influence to subtly weaken and ultimately destroy good.  This spiritual cancer is aggressive and relentless.  Because of this, Solomon wrote, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked…

Purposeful Living

  Life is what you choose to make of it.  Living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age does not occur accidentally.  It requires flint-like (Isaiah 50:7), steadfast (Luke 9:51) determination.  Godly living is achieved via the backbone, not the wishbone.    Send article…