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 forgiveth all thine iniquities;
who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;
who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good (things);(so that) thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The Lord executeth righteousness
and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways unto Moses,
his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide:
neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins;
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame;
he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass:
as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,
and his righteousness unto children's children;
18 To such as keep his covenant,
and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens;
and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.
21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts;
ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all His works
in all places of his dominion:
bless the Lord, O my soul.
Comments by Joan Boney
forget not all His benefits:
HE leads us. HE guides us. HE teaches us. HE gives us real truth, not the imagined truth of man.
HE gave us HIS Spirit so we would no longer have to go by the spirit of the flesh of man and we could know HIS will.
We have a different Spirit now because of HIM. We are no longer as we once were, living by our own flesh and the ideas of our fleshly minds. For we have another Spirit now, HIS Spirit.
HE delivers us from evil by HIS Spirit quickening us ... We sense right from wrong by HIS Spirit pricking us.
We hear HIS voice by HIS Spirit. We are HIS sheep. We know HIS voice and we no longer follow voices of strangers.
The devil speaks to us and tries to get us to do "good" according to the thinking of the devil. But that good troubles us. We know it is a little off. Because we have the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus.
The devil spoke to Jesus also. But Jesus didn't go along with the devil.
Mt. 4 ... 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down:for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee:and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan:for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
You can go along with devils, but you do not have to go along with devils.
James 4 ... God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
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7 He made known His ways unto Moses,
his acts unto the children of Israel.
God makes HIS ways known to us today who belong to HIM. We must go in HIS ways.
James 3 ... 13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
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15 As for man, his days are as grass:
as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,
Man's days are like the flower of the field ... A flower in a field blooms and can be very beautiful, until man pulls it or the field is mowed ... When the field flower is pulled it wilts so fast and it's beauty disappears. So is the glory of man. And so are the works of man. And in the end the ugliness of the flesh is often shocking where it once had such glory.
So how can we fear man who is destined for fleshly decay. How can we honor man so much when we know his end.
It is God who is everlasting.
Consider who you are exalting.
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20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.
21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts;
ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all His works
We bless the Lord by doing what HE created us to do and by continuing to do what HE created us to do.