Bible reading: Psalm 103 (excerpts, NIVUK:)

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul … 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… The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Reflection

We’ve been listening to Matt Redman’s 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) quite a lot lately, My son seems quite taken with it! This song was majorly inspired by Psalm 103 written by David, the first line of which reads ‘Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name’ (New International Version). Within Psalm 103 David lists reasons to worship God; He forgives our sins and heals our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit and crowns us with love and compassion, satisfies our desires and renews us, and works righteousness and justice for the oppressed. In an interview Matt Redman provided insight into the point behind ‘10,000 Reasons’, “If you wake up one morning and you cannot think of a reason to bring God some kind of offering of thanks or praise, then you can be sure there’s something wrong at your end of the pipeline, and not his. We live beneath an unceasing flow of goodness, kindness, greatness, and holiness, and every day we’re given reason after reason why Jesus is so completely and utterly worthy of our highest and best devotion.”

The attached picture was sent to me by friends who recently visited Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I was lucky to visit myself in 2005. I love how Jesus is welcoming us all. I encourage you; to read Psalm 103 and listen to 10,000 Reasons – reflecting on the words within both and consider why we should Praise the Lord, to spend time looking at the picture of Christ the Redeemer, and to conclude in the following prayer based on the song:

Prayer
Bless You Lord, oh my soul. I’ll worship Your Holy name and I’ll sing like never before. You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger. Your name is great and Your heart is kind. For all Your goodness I will keep on singing, ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. Bless You Lord, oh my soul. Amen.
K R-S
PS Composing this reflection I came across this book which looks interesting!