“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction [lit. the Pit], who crowns you with lovingkindness, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:2-5).
Dear Praying Friends:
When David calls his soul to bless and thank and praise God for all the benefits he has received, he starts by saying, “He forgives [pardons] all your iniquities.” The Hebrew word for “iniquities” is a strong one, and can also be rendered “crooked behavior, perversion,” and it gets to the root of our wickedness.
Indeed, God’s forgiveness of our sins opens the door to all his other acts of grace toward us, and it flows from his unconditional love: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy . . . He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (8, 10). His love is immeasurably great, and extends immeasurably far (verses 11-12), even unto eternity (17).
More times than I can remember, this psalm has brought comfort and peace to my justifiably troubled conscience, even as recently as last night.
As one instance of this amazing grace, God hears and answers our prayers. Thank you for praying last week. The Lord enabled me to prepare both for our Board meeting (February 23) and for my upcoming trip to Taiwan (March 25-April 24), have eight important conversations, and write more on Hebrews and on Samuel Wells Williams for the BDCC.
By way of reminder: The Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity (BDCC) is an online collection of brief biographies about outstanding Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries.
Its goals are to (1) glorify God by recording what he has done through his faithful servants; (2) encourage Chinese Christians through stories of their spiritual forebears; (3) refute anti-Christian propaganda that portrays missionaries as agents of foreign imperialism and Chinese Christians as traitors to their country and their culture; and (4) provide role models for all readers.
I find this work to be extremely uplifting, and I commend these stories to you also.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and let all that is within me bless His holy name” (Psalm 103:1).
Yours in his manifold mercies,
Wright