1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy Name! 2Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits. ~ Psalms 103:1-2
Psalms 103 opens as a psalm of self-encouragement. David is speaking to his own soul, reminding it that he is not alone and that God is for him. The same truth holds for us: if God is for David, He is for us as well. There are real, tangible benefits in belonging to the LORD. Chief among them is this: we are in a blood covenant with the Omnipotent Creator of the whole world. The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof. Everything is under His authority and within His control. Yet so many of the blessings and exceedingly great benefits that are already ours go unclaimed—often because we either do not realize they are ours or we do not fully believe they are ours.
David’s charge is simple and urgent: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” This covenant was not our idea. We did not approach the Almighty and propose a treaty so we could gain access to what is His. God Himself initiated it. In Jeremiah 31:31–32 He declared: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.”
He goes on to say that under this New Covenant He will write His law on their minds and hearts, and He will be their God. That promise finds its fulfillment in Jesus. At the Last Supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). What God promised through Jeremiah was established in the blood of Christ. The writer of Hebrews notes that this New Covenant rests on better promises—promises enacted and secured by God Himself. These are not merely external commands imposed from outside. They are written inwardly on the hearts of His people. Because the perfect tense is used in the original language, it points to an action already accomplished with ongoing results. Jesus Himself mediates the New Covenant and its promises. God, who said in Jeremiah 1:12, “I am watching over My Word to perform it,” keeps vigil to ensure His Word accomplishes what He sent it to do. It will not return to Him void. Therefore, the promises of this covenant are guaranteed.
In short, the New Covenant comes with excellent fringe benefits. We are in a blood covenant with the LORD Jesus, who is obligated to stand by and fulfill every one of His promises. Because of this New Covenant, we now have the right to become:
- Children of God (John 1:12)
- Not only children, but heirs and joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:16–17)
So, take a moment today to speak to your own soul. Bless the LORD. Deliberately call to mind the benefits of belonging to Him through the blood of Jesus. You are not left to hope weakly that God might be for you. You stand in a covenant He designed, He initiated, and He continues to watch over. The law is written on your heart. The promises are better. The Mediator is faithful. The inheritance is secure. Forget not all His benefits. In other words, never forget all of the benefits you have in the LORD.
Father, thank You for the benefits that You have lavished upon us. Help me not to forget all of Your benefits, and at the same time, help me not to take advantage of You and Your kindness. But in humility and strong hope, help me to live my life pleasing to You, in Jesus’ great and mighty Name, amen.