Psalms 103:1-5 - Homilies By C. Short

Gratitude for unbounded mercies.

I. THE SOUL URGENTLY SUMMONED TO PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GOODNESS . Inward praise, not the praise of the lips, is here called for—spiritual, not bodily worship.

II. THE WHOLE INWARD MAN IS TO RECOUNT TO ITSELF THE MERCIES OF GOD .

1 . Every power he has— memory, heart, and reason— is to assist in recognizing the Divine benefits he has received.

2 . Our temptation and danger are to forget. And we are to resist and conquer forgetfulness and ingratitude.

Especially apt to forget the mercies:

1 . That we receive in common with others .

2 . The mercies that are uninterrupted by constraint .

3 . Mercies of a spiritual nature.

III. A THANKFUL SURVEY OF THE FATHERLY MERCIES OF GOD . "The poet calls upon his soul to arise to praiseful gratitude for God's justifying , redeeming, and renewing grace."

1 . The forgiveness of all his sins.

2 . Recovery from bodily sickness and infirmity. Sin, the sickness of the soul; disease, the sickness of the body; and God is the Physician of both.

3 . Deliverance from threatened death. The pit—a name of Hades—the abode of the departed.

4 . Loving kindness and tender mercies make him rich and royal. Like a king, they crown him.

5 . No real want of the soul is left unsatisfied. "Shall not want any good thing;" "Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."

6 . His strength is thus constantly renewed. ( Isaiah 40:31 .) "They that wait upon the Lord," etc.—S.