This psalm is one of the highest points of spiritual literature. It begins with a personal exhortation of oneself to praise the Lord with our whole being. This is no casual stroll into a religious setting in which one feels like they are in a holy place. Instead, it is David’s heartfelt, Spirit-guided expression of his relationship with the Lord personally and the blessings he had received. Then he speaks of the blessings to the nation, concluding the psalm by calling on the universe, “all places of His dominion,” to praise the Lord. In that way, it may look into eternity beyond the millennium to where “God is all in all.”
David began the psalm by stirring his spirit to praise the Lord and give thanks to God, and then he ended by stirring others to bless the Lord. It often is the case that when one person is enthusiastic about a matter and speaks of it to others, they too can catch fire from him. When complaints are made about something or someone, that also can be contagious and bring discontent to others. Contagious joy is a blessing not only to the initiator and those to whom he or she expresses that joy but also to the Lord, who has given us all things to enjoy.
Insight, as David had, comes from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came upon believers in the Old Testament, and “holy men of old spoke as the Holy Ghost moved them.” That is how we gain such blessings from the Old Testament scriptures. They are “God-breathed” expressions and writings put into words that, like this psalm, are beyond mere regular human expression. In this New Testament age, believers who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit can be moved and led by the Holy Spirit to praise and serve Him with understanding when we are in fellowship with the Lord.
Words like these were a comfort to Israel in the past and will be in the future. A believing Jew will find personal comfort in them today. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior find this psalm a source of strength when they are weak and light when all around seems dark. In this psalm, there are words of thanksgiving for all that God has provided and, particularly for us, heartfelt thanks for the Person of Christ. The admonition to praise goes beyond words, forms, church service, and rituals. These go to the most profound source of our being – our soul. We should hold nothing back when we praise God for His great goodness. In this personal exhortation to praise the Lord with his entire being, the psalmist uses the word “all.”
When we feel the journey is too complicated, and we think we have little to praise God for, we need to read David’s list: His ways and His actions; His justice and His mercy; His boundless forgiveness; His compassion and His affection – these all come to us constantly by God’s grace. Our whole outlook changes when we compare the shortness of our lives and the existence of God’s eternal kingdom. He forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, and renews us. Our sins have been forgiven, for which we are eternally thankful. No wonder we call upon our soul, our whole person, to bless the Lord.
God is righteous and carries out actions of righteousness and justice for those oppressed. He dispenses His lovingkindness and tender mercies to the undeserving because He is merciful and full of love and pity for the needy. He is gracious and slow to anger, so he holds back from giving the full punishment that sinful people deserve because of the riches of His grace. But He is just, and His character and will are laid out for our learning in the law, which is His standard and training manual. When God has forgiven us, there is no reason to bring up our sinful past with a sense of guilt. His forgiveness is real and permanent. When our time comes to forgive others, we must forget the sin they have committed against us, or we haven’t truly forgiven them.
The disease of sin is what causes “all thy diseases.” Forgiveness of those sins is what is essential. If and when God chooses to heal a person physically or many, as in the Gospel accounts and the book of Acts, that is His prerogative. Many of the godliest people who have lived, like the apostle Paul and many others, even today, have to live with physical affliction. Our youth will not be physically renewed until we have new bodies. Healing comes after forgiveness, and God alone can heal all kinds of diseases, not just some. He can heal by natural or supernatural means. Our Lord healed people when He was here, and many during the early church through His apostles. In the millennium, He will heal again.
God is not limited in any way, but “His ways” are not popular today, even among some Christian believers. There are biblical truths people will not accept because they interfere with what they do or want to do, or because they may not be what someone else taught them. God’s mercy is so great toward us that we are in danger of taking it for granted. Some even think they deserve His mercy. But even that does not stop God’s mercy from preserving us day by day. He is always merciful to us. He has redeemed us from the power of sin over us. His steadfast love and mercy are always there. He satisfies our souls and is gracious to us despite our failures.
The incredible vastness of the universe cannot contain the vastness of God’s mercy. The immeasurable distance from east to west tells us our sins will not be recalled when God has forgiven us. As our Father, He knows we are weak and frail but loves us anyway. He knows and cares for us, and His compassion is forever on those who love Him. He loves us, not for who we are, but for who He is.
His unchanging love continues to be demonstrated when we respond to His commands with reverential fear and a proper attitude toward our Lord. Presently, millions of individual believers bless the Lord with all their souls. Israel will bless the Lord as His people in the millennium. Angels are called upon to bless the Lord. All the hosts of intelligent beings are called to bless the Lord. Every person in every place on earth is called upon to bless the Lord. With this done in every place – in heaven and on earth, it is real to me as one who has been redeemed, forgiven, and experienced the blessings of God, to bow my heart and call upon my soul to bless the Lord!