Don't Forget How Good God Has Been To You | Sermon

Psalm 103 begins with David preaching to his own soul. David does not start by calling out everybody else. David says, “My soul, bless the Lord,” because the heart, the mind, the breath, and every little bit of a person can drift. David knows that forgetfulness is not just a memory problem. David treats forgetfulness as a spiritual problem, because the soul can move on from answered prayers, fresh mercy, and daily blessings like nothing ever happened.

Yahweh is the covenant name of God, and Psalm 103 calls the soul to bless that holy name. Blessing the Lord is not just saying nice words about God. Blessing the Lord is a heart posture, a bowing down, a reverence that honors God for who He is and what He has done. Praise then becomes the public celebration of that same God, the “hallelujah” that really means “praise Yahweh.”

David starts listing the benefits because the soul needs reminders. God forgives iniquity. God heals. God redeems life from the pit. God crowns with faithful love and compassion. God satisfies with good things. God renews like the eagle. David makes the list because God has not become less faithful, less loving, or less giving. The real question is whether God’s people are acknowledging Him with gratitude.

Psalm 103 then opens up the mercy of God in a huge way. Yahweh is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in faithful love. God has not dealt with sinners according to what sin deserves. God does not ignore sin, but God provides mercy that leads to confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Mercy is not just patience or a temporary pardon. God’s mercy wipes the slate clean and remembers sin no more.

David reaches for the biggest language he can find. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is God’s faithful love. As far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed transgressions. The heavens, the galaxies, the massive universe, and all those numbers too big to really understand all point back to the greatness of the Creator. God simply spoke creation into being, and that same God sent His Son to die on the cross.

Psalm 103 ends where it began, with worship. Angels, armies, servants, all God’s works, and every place where He rules are called to bless the Lord. Worship is not just one response among many. Worship is the proper response when the soul truly sees who God is.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Forgetfulness is a spiritual problem David shows that the soul can forget God even when the mind still knows the facts. Daily distractions, busyness, and trouble can pull attention back onto self instead of keeping the spotlight fixed on Yahweh. Remembering God’s benefits does not erase hard circumstances, but it changes the way those circumstances are seen. [13:42]
• 2. Blessing begins with heart posture Psalm 103 uses “bless” as more than religious language. Blessing Yahweh means bowing the heart before Him, honoring Him, and admiring Him for who He is and what He has done. Praise becomes the outward celebration of that inward reverence, not just noise, but a real response to God’s name. [06:11]
• 3. God’s mercy exceeds every failure Yahweh does not deal with His people according to what their sins deserve. That mercy does not make sin small, but it shows that God provides a way for confession, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration. True mercy does not keep a private record of old wrongs, because God’s mercy removes guilt farther than human imagination can measure. [14:43]
• 4. God’s love cannot be measured David reaches for the heavens because ordinary language is too small for God’s faithful love. The vastness of space, galaxies, and light years becomes a picture that still falls short of the Creator’s greatness. The God who made all of it by speaking is the same God who gave Christ for sinners. [24:00]
• 5. Worship is the proper response Psalm 103 ends by calling angels, armies, servants, and all creation to bless the Lord. Worship is not limited to Sunday songs, because God’s goodness touches prayer, work, family, fellowship, confession, and thanksgiving. When God is truly seen, the soul does not have to be forced to praise.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:37] - A Good Rut in the Psalms
• [02:41] - Do Not Forget God’s Goodness
• [03:43] - Psalm 103 Begins With the Soul
• [06:11] - Blessing Yahweh and Praising Yahweh
• [10:51] - Remembering God’s Benefits
• [13:42] - God’s Mercy Is Greater Than Failure
• [18:28] - As Far as East Is From West
• [20:48] - The Heavens Show God’s Greatness
• [25:17] - Mercy That Remembers Sin No More
• [26:48] - All Creation Called to Worship
• [30:57] - Fellowship, Gratitude, and Shared Blessing
• [33:09] - God Is Better Than Remembered
• [34:12] - The Gospel and the Call to Christ
• [35:08] - Closing Prayer

Bible Reading

Psalm 103:1-22
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!” [04:08]

Observation questions

1. In the opening verses of Psalm 103, what benefits does David list so that his soul will not forget what God has done? [10:39]
2. What words in Psalm 103:8-14 describe the Lord’s character, and what does the passage say He does not do with our sins? [14:43]
3. What pictures does Psalm 103 use to show the greatness of God’s love and the fullness of His forgiveness? [18:38]
4. At the end of the psalm, who is called to bless the Lord, and how does the psalm end the same way it began? [27:18]

Interpretation questions

1. David speaks to his own soul before speaking to anyone else. What does that suggest about how spiritual forgetfulness works in a believer’s life? [10:15]
2. Blessing the Lord is described as a bowed heart, while praise is the outward celebration of God. How do those two ideas help explain the difference between inward reverence and outward worship? [06:11]
3. Psalm 103 says God does not deal with His people according to their sins. How does that shape the way confession, repentance, and forgiveness should be understood? [15:39]
4. David reaches for the heavens and for east and west to describe God’s love and forgiveness. Why might such large images be necessary, and what do they reveal about the limits of ordinary human thinking about mercy? [24:24]

Application questions

1. Forgetfulness is not just a memory issue but a spiritual drift. Where has attention been pulled lately toward stress, busyness, loss, or frustration in a way that has made God’s goodness easier to overlook? [13:42]
2. “Forget not all his benefits” is a call to remember specific mercies. What answered prayer, daily provision, or rescue from the Lord needs to be named out loud and thanked for this week? [13:02]
3. Blessing the Lord begins with heart posture. What helps the heart actually bow before God during an ordinary week, and what habits tend to make worship feel rushed, shallow, or distracted? [06:36]
4. God’s mercy does not minimize sin, but it does invite honest confession. Is there any guilt, failure, or old sin still being carried around even though God calls His people to bring it into the light? [25:17]
5. God removes transgressions as far as the east is from the west. How could truly believing that forgiveness change the way a person speaks to himself or herself after failure? [24:39]
6. Worship is the proper response when God is truly seen. What does worship look like beyond singing on Sunday—at work, at home, in prayer, in gratitude, or in fellowship with other believers? [32:32]
7. People often celebrate sports, success, or good news quickly and loudly. What would it look like to become just as ready to celebrate the Lord’s goodness in everyday life? [30:11]