During 2025, Peachtree Church is focusing on the Book of Psalms with a series called Dwell, through which we seek to deepen our conversation with God and open ourselves to hearing his response. The practice of praying three times each day will unite the voices of our hearts and souls as we seek the day when we will see the full realization of the Kingdom of God, promised in Revelation 21:3: “…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
We will email devotionals twice weekly with Monday’s providing an overview of the Psalm as a whole, and Wednesday’s focused on that week’s Daily Dwell.
Praise the Lord, my soul;
Psalm 103:1-22
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
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 is 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.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
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 wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting 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.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
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.
Devotional
Our Psalm for this week is a rich tour de force, describing the Lord God first for what he does for us and then describing God’s character as we have learned it from his deeds. It closes with a description of all those who praise God: angels, mighty ones, the heavenly host, servants of God and the whole of creation. It begins and ends by saying, “Praise the Lord, my soul.”
Let’s enjoy this psalm together. In verse 2, the Psalmist asks us to forget not all his benefits, and then joyfully lists some of these: God forgives our sins, and heals all our diseases; He redeems our life from the pit (of punishment or despair); He crowns us with love and compassion; He satisfies us with good things and renews our youth like the eagle’s. Sometimes we forget that God’s character, as shown in the life and character of Jesus, is consistently described in the Old Testament. Look over that joyful list of God’s characteristics and see Jesus himself described: full of grace and forgiveness, healing, redemption, and compassion, restoring our lives.
Then the Psalmist moves to all that we know of God’s character, as we read it in God’s deeds. The first thing the Psalmist sees is that God is concerned with working righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. Next, the Psalmist mentions one of the deeds of God that taught us this quality: the rescue of God’s people that Moses accomplished for Him. He describes a God who does not hold onto his anger, but one who does not repay our wrongdoing as it fully deserves (in other words, gracious.) In our Dwell verse, the Psalmist describes God removing our sin as far as the east is from the west, and showing compassion on his children.
Next, the Psalmist reflects on the brief life of humans and the eternal, everlasting presence of God. We are like a brief flower that passes quickly but God’s love for us is not fleeting; it is forever.
The Psalmist ends with a vision of the praise that every kind of being pours out for our God, from the highest to the lowliest, and it ends where it began: with, “Praise the Lord, O my soul.” We end in the quiet praise and joy of a believer’s heart.
For Reflection
- What does it mean to you that God’s character is consistent with Jesus’ character, that the Old Testament and New Testament describe a God who loves to show compassion?
- What does it mean to you that God is willing to let go of His righteous anger over our sin?
Prayer
Oh Lord, our God, I stand in awe at your willingness to pour out your love on me, when I am so unworthy and finite and frail. I will last but a few years, while you are eternal and perfect. But you have bent your loving gaze and grace on me and on all your children. We praise and adore you, our everlasting Father. Amen!
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Devotionals