Some years ago, I was driving with a friend who had paid a very high price for becoming a Christian. He had been wealthy and well-respected. Over the months and years that followed, he lost everything—his reputation, his job, his money. The final straw was coming home one night to find his apartment broken into and everything stolen. How was he going to provide for his wife and four children? My friend was angry at God. He said, “I’ve given everything to God and still He brings more trouble on me.”

Personally, I’d never suffered like him, so I didn’t know what to say. I just asked him to tell me again how he had become a Christian. Over the next hour, as he remembered his wonderful encounter with God’s love, all his bitterness melted away, and he began to praise the Lord.

Psalm 103 is the first of five psalms of praise (103–107). It encourages us not to forget all of God’s “benefits” (v. 2). When we remember and rehearse the many examples of God’s love and compassion to us, we honour Him, and it’s good for us—as my friend can testify.

Chief among God’s benefits is forgiveness (vv. 3, 10, 12). God has cast our sins far away. It’s sad, then, that many Christians still keep their sins close to their hearts. They continue to live with guilt and shame. Instead, let’s praise God that He has dealt with the sins, regrets, and mistakes of our past. He knows well our human frailty, and is full of mercy towards us as our heavenly Father (v. 13).

At the same time, we must never take for granted the fact that God is gracious, abounding in love and slow to anger. His compassion is on “those who fear him” (vv. 13, 17) and “remember to obey his precepts” (v. 18).

The psalm ends by calling on all the angelic hosts to join “all his works everywhere” in praising Him (vv. 20–22). This morning, that’s what I did. Please join me:

I praise You for Your gifts in creation—for food and drink, life and health, the beauty of this world, for earth, sky, and sea, for plants, animals, and birds, for music and books.

I praise You for the blood of Jesus that washes clean all my sins, for choosing, calling, justifying and sanctifying me.

I praise You for family and friends, for the gifts You’ve given me to serve Your church and Your world, for the people and churches who have blessed me over the years, for times of joy and burdens shared.

I praise You for making me a temple of Your Holy Spirit who dwells within me, for the Bible, for Your gospel plan for the nations, and for the hope of Christ’s return.