Introduction
I know this message from Psalm 103:1-12 may seem odd for a Palm Sunday message, but just hang with me and I think you will see how well it fits.
I believe it is fitting because within it we see many blessings that have been actualized into our lives because of Christ riding into Jerusalem on this day nearly 2,000 years ago.
We see that He did this willingly knowing what He faced.
In Luke 18:31-34Luke 18:31–34 ESV
31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” 34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
The people then saw Him coming and they were cheering and celebrating.
They saw this King coming that would overthrow the evil governing authorities.
They wanted a king to solve all their earthly troubles.
They cheered for that king coming and failed to see the king for who He is.
They wanted physical freedom and missed the spiritual freedom that was coming.
They felt oppressed and beat down and wanted relief. Very understandable but to only seek that is to miss the benefits of our faithful and loving God.
You see He went into Jerusalem to face death for us, so we could live. He went in to face death for us, so we could have these amazing blessings we see in the 103rd Psalm.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on this day many years ago to set the bound free, to love the hurt, to remove the taint of sin, to blot out the transgressions, to allow a way for the lost and dying of the world to have life everlasting.
He cam because He is a faithful and compassionate savior and because of Him we may see the amazing benefits that David spoke of nearly a thousand years before the Lord came to Jerusalem.
In Psalm 103:1-12 we readPsalm 103:1–12 ESV
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
What an amazing section of God’s Word that is. From this amazing section we see…
Faithfulness in His Benefits (vv. 1-5)
One morning a man named R.C. Chapman, a devout Christian, was asked how he was feeling. “I’m burdened this morning!” was his reply. But his happy countenance contradicted his words. So the questioner exclaimed in surprise, “Are you really burdened, Mr. Chapman?” “Yes, but it’s a wonderful burden–it’s an overabundance of blessings for which I cannot find enough time or words to express my gratitude!”
This is what we see David doing here. He is expressing great joy and praise to the Lord for His amazing benefits. Him blessing the Lord is his expression of love and gratitude for all He is and all He does.
David knew the goodness of God in all things. He knew He was a faithful and gracious God.
He does not want himself to forget how amazing and wondrous God is. He wants to always remember the greatness of God and the benefits that come only from Him.
In these first five verses we see six amazing benefits from the Lord.
He is a forgiving God. Meaning He is the only one who can forgive our sins. (v. 3)
He is a God of healing. Not every believer receives physical healing now, but the healing one receives is because of God. (v. 3)
He is a redeeming God. He is the only one who can redeem the lost and devastated. (v. 4)
He is a Grace-filled God. He is the one who pours out grace on the afflicted and wayward ones. ((v. 4)
He is a satisfying God. Only He can fully satisfy the desires and aches in us. As Augustine wrote many years ago, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” That is what true satisfaction is and that is only in our amazing Lord alone. (v. 5)
He is a restorative God. God is the only one who can renew us to where we should be. This is only through Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. But, He is also the one who gives strength to continue, energy to go on, the ability to live life in any situation. He is restorative. (v. 5)
The benefits we receive, the benefits that Jesus made available by going into Jerusalem to die and rise again, cover the materiel, physical, and spiritual as these few verses tell us. That means the benefits found in our amazing Lord cover every aspect of life. He truly is a faithful and loving God.
Warren Wiersbe stated it this way, “There is no satisfaction in this world, but we have satisfaction in Christ who is the Bread of Life (John 6:33–40) and the Good Shepherd who leads us into green pastures” (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series, 49.)
So true and so amazing that He is that mindful of us that He did this for all to have life with Him. To have this satisfaction with Him if they will just believe.
He desires that you have these benefits too so much so that He devised a way before time began.
We see His…
Faithfulness By The Plan (vv. 6-8)
We all know that a plan is what keeps things going the right way. We see the beginning of the Lord’s plan right at the beginning of the fall when He said Gen. 3:15Genesis 3:15 ESV
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The fall had occured but God had a plan and knew this would happen. He had a way for us then.
This section of three verses expresses the amazingness of the Lord in this plan.
He is a righteous and just God who delivers this justice to those who need justice. He delivers the oppressed.
Here David is referencing the Israelites being delivered from slavery and bondage. Yet, we are all in slavery and bondage to sin. We are all oppressed and needing help, whether we want to admit this or not.
We all need His righteousness in our lives. We all need help.
Thankfully God had a plan and this plan was followed through with.
He told the plan to Abraham first, then Isaac, and then Jacob. Moses here is said to have received His ways.
We know Moses received the Law and that God told him that the people would fail but that He would deliver them still. (Deut. 31:14-29).
The plan was for them to honor God and be His people who the world would see the glory of God through and come to Him. That was what was the human plan anyway. They failed so the full plan was still moving along, which was for their to be a man from Israel who would be perfect and keep all the Law and then be our sacrifice.
Through this man who would one day ride a lowly donkey into Jerusalem the plan would come to fruition.
We are not a good people no more so than Israel was. We are evil and desire our own ways. We want to have our cake and eat it too. We want to live how we want to live.
Thank God for His slow to anger and steadfast love. He created us in His image and we are people He sent His son for.
His plan may seem slow, but it is right on time for Him. We think things are slow or fast, but with the Lord everything is right on time.
This plan was patiently made to happen at just the right time and in just the right way for the world to explode with the truth of it.
It was a plan that was of epic proportions. It was the sacrifice of the only begotten son for all of us heathens. All of us dirt bags. And all of those before us and those who are after us.
We serve a patient and faithful God who is abounding with steadfast love and patience towards us who deserve no patience.
We also do not deserve the forgiveness from Him but in that forgiveness we see the Lord’s…
Faithfulness By Forgiveness (vv. 9-12)
God is holy and He does get angry at sin, He may be slow to anger but He does get angry at sin. We are all prone to rebel just as Israel was prone to do.
We are all little rebels at heart honestly. Look at our children. No one teaches them to be stingy or to get angry when something is taken, they just do it.
We are no different as adults but worse really.
But, God in His compassion forgives us and heals us if we are His. This is only possible because of the Son dying for those sins on the cross. Because the Son rode up to Jerusalem knowing this is what must be.
We see that God has much evidence against us. He could condemn all of us. He could sentence all of us to an eternal expulsion into damnation.
Yet, He does not always chide forever. He does not keep anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins nor our wrongdoings and evil actions.
Wiersbe again summarizes this well, “He has all the evidence He needs to condemn us, but He does not prolong the trial. When the judge is your Father, and when Jesus has died for your sins, there is full and free forgiveness available to all who will ask for it. If God gave us the punishment we deserved, we would be without hope. The punishment that we deserve was given to Jesus” ( Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series, 50.)
To all who have their hope in the Lord, they have received the steadfast love of the Lord.
They have received their forgiveness in completion and their transgressions and wicked acts are removed as far as the East is from the West.
When we travel North we will hit the North Pole. At it we then begin to travel South until we hit the South Pole. Once we hit it we begin to travel North to repeat the cycle again.
But when we go East or West we never change directions. There are no ends to the directions of east and west because these are on a continuous loop or one end connects around back to the other end. So if you keep going east eventually you return to the same point you started and start the same trip all over again.
That is how far your sins and transgressions are removed from before the Lord by His amazing grace through His Son.
It is only by His grace that we are saved and forgive. His faithfulness to follow through with what He planned made this possible. The amazing benefits from the beginning become ours when we become a part of the plan by faith in Jesus Christ to save us and give us everlasting life.
When you have done that, you have received East from West forgiveness and God’s amazing grace.
So, will you cheer for the right reasons today or the wrong just as many dd those centuries ago?
Will you be like them or like this wife?
Conclusion
It is said that Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, the monarch asked the prisoner, “What will you give me if I release you?” “The half of my wealth,” was his reply. “And if I release your children?” “Everything I possess.” “And if I release your wife?” “Your Majesty, I will give myself.” Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, “Wasn’t Cyrus a handsome man!” With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, “I didn’t notice. I could only keep my eyes on you- -the one who was willing to give himself for me.”
I ask you today, is your eye on the deceptive beauty of the world, or on the man who not only was willing to die for you, but did die for you?
His faithfulness to go knowing the outcome is amazing and something we all need to take a moment and examine. We need to look at our amazing savior and bless his holy name.
His amazing benefits await you because He will deliver all that He promised because He is The Faithful God who loves you and desires that you be saved too.
