Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits —
Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:2-5
A benefits package is the total amount of pay and all the other advantages that an employee may receive working for a company. It might include things like bonuses, health insurance, a company car.
A study of these four verses of Psalm 103, noting all those verbs, got me thinking about the benefits package included in a relationship with God.
He forgives all my sins. (Enough right there)
He heals all my diseases. (Those of body and mind)
He redeems my life from the pit. (I slip into it on occasion)
He crowns me with love and compassion. (Eat your heart out, Miss America)
He satisfies my desires with good things. (His good always superior to what I determine as ‘good’)
He renews my youth like the eagle’s. (Energizes me to serve him more and better)
Imagine if I sat for an interview and asked my employer-hopeful to include those things…along with a company car, of course. I’d not get far before the one handling my resume ended the conversation with proffered hand and said, “Uh, don’t call us. We’ll call you.”
Not God.
He offers a superior benefits package!
He justifiably instructs me not to forget all these perks and to remember what He hasn’t done (previous post here: So Thankful For What God Hasn’t Done)
He will not always accuse. (vs 9).
He will not harbor his anger forever. (vs 9)
He does not treat us as our sins deserve. (vs 10)
He does not repay us according to our iniquities. (vs 10)
In short order, this Psalm upends my list of things I need God to do for me and details a holy and unmatched benefits package that surpasses anything a Fortune 500 company can offer.
Anyone ready for hire?