Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Gratitude
Psalm 103 is a good psalm to remember, and it’s a psalm, in part, about remembering. Psalm 103:1-2 says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Gratitude is more a matter of what you remember than what you have. “Bless the Lord” is put into direct contrast with “forget not.” To forget is to be ungrateful.
Is the healthiest, wealthiest person you know the most grateful person you know? I doubt it. A person is not grateful because of how much they have but because they remember what it is they do have.
Sometimes I realize what I had, whether a person, thing, or position, only after I have lost it. Then I think, “Boy, I wish I had that. I should have been grateful when I did have that.” It’s better to think now and realize what would be missed and to be grateful for how God has blessed us.
When the Bible says, “Bless the LORD,” it is not talking about our blessing God the way He blesses us. The word “bless” there means “to kneel.” In other words, this is not a simple, trite text message like “Thx.” This is a kneeling before God, an acknowledgement of Who He is and what He has done. I am also to “forget not all his benefits.” The rest of the psalm is about all the benefits and blessings that God has lavished upon us.
There are many things for which to thank God. We are reminded of some of them in this psalm. Some are very basic things like food. Verse 5 says, “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things.” It is amazing all the simple habits in life, like eating, that God created us to need but from which we also derive enjoyment. I Timothy tells us that God has given us “richly all things to enjoy.”
We should also thank Him for what we do not have. So many times, including in this psalm, the Bible makes reference to God’s mercy. God has shown His mercy by not giving us what we do deserve. We become ungrateful when we think we have not received what we deserve until we remember that what we deserve is banishment from God and judgment.
We are to bless God and His holy name for the benefits that He has given to us and for the judgment that He has withheld from us. We are to bless the Lord and kneel before Him because gratitude is more a matter of what you remember than what you have.