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,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the to the people of Israel.
Psalm 103:1-7
Those who are children of God have been adopted by a loving heavenly Father, and the psalmist writes of the beautiful ongoing benefits of this status. The verb tense signifies not only what He has done, but what He is actively continuing to do. In verse six, God gives a promise to the oppressed—those who especially need the comfort of their Father. It is not that we will never experience oppression in this world, but God sees those who are oppressed, and the oppressor will not go unpunished. There will ultimately be justice for the situation, and God can even turn it for the good of His people and His glory.
During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Exodus 2:23-25
When reading this psalm I think of Joseph’s story and the subsequent history of Israel, which was drastically changed when Joseph was afflicted by his jealous brothers. But what they meant for evil God blessed for good, and the nations of Israel and Egypt survived the famine under Joseph’s leadership. After Joseph and his close descendants died, the new king of Egypt did not value what God had done through Joseph. He could only see how great and mighty the Israelites had become, and he feared the consequences of any future hostility from this growing nation. The pharaoh reacted in defense by turning the Israelites into his slaves. But God saw this persecution and heard the people’s cries. In verse seven, the Psalmist recounts how God raised up Moses to be the leader to enact justice and righteousness, the instrument God would use to rescue his people from slavery.
God made known his acts to Moses after speaking directly to him from a burning bush, giving him explicit instructions for how to approach the pharaoh. When the pharaoh’s heart was hardened, God gave Moses the power to perform miracles and sent the Egyptians plagues to verify the message He spoke through his servant Moses. All the Egyptians and Israelites knew these plagues were a punishment from God, however, God protected the Israelites from the impact of the plagues in the land of Goshen. When the Israelites finally left, the Egyptians even gave them their silver and gold! The Israelites had a front row seat to God’s display of love by answering their cries for help and releasing them from slavery, even taking them out of Egypt by parting a sea so they could cross on dry land and providing a leader to lead according to God’s instruction and under God’s protection.
In any circumstance we face, the psalmist reminds us of the encouraging truth that God works all things for the good for those who walk with him for his glory.
Keys for the Kingdom 