Daily Encouragement Day 151 – Psalm 103

Psalm 103, the first of a group of psalms of praise (Psalms 103-107), reminds us with skill and beauty that God’s lovingkindness is the source of our greatest satisfaction.  The psalm begins with a personal hymn of thanksgiving (verses 1-5) in which David recounts several reasons to praise the Lord from his personal experience of walking with Him.  The psalm shifts in the second stanza from an individual thanksgiving to a communal hymn of praise around the theme of God’s loyal love (verses 6-18).  The third stanza of the psalm transports us from the individual and the community to the entire created order (verses 19-22).  The meditation moves from God’s grace to God’s greatness as the psalmist invokes the myriad angelic and heavenly hosts to bless the holy Name.

READING of PSALM 103

Prayer:

Lord, if I do not love You with my whole being, I will love some lesser good with my whole being.  I ask that I would put You first in my affections and seek You as my supreme good and final joy.

Meditation passage for today: verses 1-5, 8, 11-13