Living in humility

 Psalm 103:1–22 (ESV): 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, 

and all that is within me, 

bless his holy name! 

 2  Bless the Lord, O my soul, 

and forget not all his benefits, 

 3  who forgives all your iniquity, 

who heals all your diseases, 

 4  who redeems your life from the pit, 

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 

 5  who satisfies you with good 

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 

 6  The Lord works righteousness 

and justice for all who are oppressed. 

 7  He made known his ways to Moses, 

his acts to the people of Israel. 

 8  The Lord is merciful and gracious, 

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

 9  He will not always chide, 

nor will he keep his anger forever. 

 10  He does not deal with us according to our sins, 

nor repay us according to our iniquities. 

 11  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, 

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 

 12  as far as the east is from the west, 

so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 

 13  As a father shows compassion to his children, 

so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 

 14  For he knows our frame; 

he remembers that we are dust. 

 15  As for man, his days are like grass; 

he flourishes like a flower of the field; 

 16  for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, 

and its place knows it no more. 

 17  But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, 

and his righteousness to children’s children, 

 18  to those who keep his covenant 

and remember to do his commandments. 

 19  The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, 

and his kingdom rules over all. 

 20  Bless the Lord, O you his angels, 

you mighty ones who do his word, 

obeying the voice of his word! 

 21  Bless the Lord, all his hosts, 

his ministers, who do his will! 

 22  Bless the Lord, all his works, 

in all places of his dominion. 

  Bless the Lord, O my soul! 

This psalm starts and ends with the same phrase, ‘Bless the Lord’, and the Hebrew word used for bless in this passage is בָּרֲכִ֣י (ba·ra·chi) which translates to kneel. Kneeling demonstrates humility, so when people kneel before God they are recognising Him as the Higher one, and themselves as lowly. Blessing God can only be done through humbling oneself before Him, and then giving Him praise, gratitude and love. The humility comes first, otherwise how can you truly worship God, unless you can recognise how great He is above all things, even yourself?

David seems to be writing this psalm to encourage himself to show humility to God in every area of his life, not just some of it, not just on a Sunday or just outside the home or just when i am not at a sports event. David wants to live with integrity and in humility to God always, to live his life in recognition that there is an awesome, mighty Lord who is above even him, the king of Israel. David, a strong, powerful king and warrior wants to humble himself before the Lord his God. He is not bothered by his own status, because no matter his rank in society, there is One who deserves being knelt before even by the highest worldly authority. Therefore David calls to mind the magnitude of what God has done and continues to do, things that only He can do:

‘forgives all your iniquity’

‘heals all your disease’

‘redeems your life from the pit’

‘crowns you with steadfast love and mercy’

‘satisfies you with good’

‘works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.’

‘made know his ways’

‘abounding in steadfast love’

‘shows compassion to those who fear him’

‘he knows our frame’

‘everlasting to everlasting’

‘established his throne in the heavens’

‘his kingdom rules over all’

What a list! All absolute truths about Our God. So, even when you are feeling flustered, overwhelmed, annoyed, hurt, disappointed or bored, all of this is still absolutely true about God! He has been and always will be; forgiving, healer, steadfast, desiring to come close, good, compassionate, understanding, eternal and in charge! David also comments within this psalm, ‘forget not all his benefits'. The list above is not exhaustive, it does not fully describe God, His character of deeds, they are not ALL of his benefits. Have you ever made a list of God's attributes? What would your list look like? Maybe you would have some of the same things on it, maybe you’d have some different ones. It doesn’t really matter, the important thing is that you do recall who God is, and recognise that He is worthy to bless. He is worthy of all of the angels, hosts and all of creation to bow before Him. Are you living in humility to God today?