1 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
Heavenly Father, King David captures the desire of our hearts, which is to love, praise, and bless you, with everything we have and are. If you never gave us anything, you would still be worthy of my whole-soul worship. But in fact, you have been outrageously generous. Here are a few of your grace-gifts we remember today.
3 who forgives all your sins
Through the finished work of Jesus, you’ve forgiven all our sins—not just the 4% we’re aware of, the other 96% as well. Though we will be more like Jesus one Day, we’ll never be more forgiven than today.
and heals all your diseases,
Though you don’t always heal on our timetable, nonetheless, by the gospel, you have secured for us perfect health forever. One Day, every expression of our brokenness will give way to the fullness of Jesus’ beauty, joy, and life. All the ways sin and death have impacted our bodies, emotions, and thinking—it’s all going to be healed and made new. No more gunk, only glory. Hallelujah!
4 who redeems your life from the pit
Not only have you redeemed us from the ultimate pit of death and judgment, you also rescue us out of other kinds of pits—pits we naively fall into; pits we get pushed into; and pits into which we foolishly jump.
Waterless pits like self-pity and self-righteousness; dark holes of seething bitterness and soul-sucking resentment; caverns of toxic shame and vain regrets; the bottomless craters of hopelessness and the dark dry prison of unbelief. Continue your rescue pit-rescuing mission in our lives, and in the lives of those we love.
and crowns you with love and compassion,
Indeed, Father, in Jesus you have removed our grave-clothes of death and have dressed us in garments of your grace. We are no longer condemned for our sins; we are crowed with your compassion. We are righteous in Christ—beloved and delighted in, and desired and enjoyed. You cannot love us more and you’ll never love us less. Hallelujah! So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ wonderful and merciful name.
