Brothers and Sisters,
The psalm appointed for this week, Psalm 103, is a stunning reminder of the goodness of the Lord. In verses 2-4, we read:
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgives all your sin and heals all your infirmities, Who saves your life from the pit and crowns you with mercy and lovingkindness.
As we read Psalm 103, it’s easy to remember the Lord’s benefits because the psalm reminds us!
We see, for example, that the Lord forgives all of the sins of all who come to him in faith and repentance. In verse 12, we even see this: As far as the east is from the west, so far has he set our sins from us. The Lord removes our sins completely. If we are in Christ, all of our sins are gone.
There is no condemnation for us. We’re fully and freely forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We’re set free from sin, and we’re also set free from death.
The Lord will heal all of our infirmities and save our lives from the pit. I’m personally reminded of the Lord’s ability to heal, as I’m making progress after a procedure with a long recovery period.
As wonderful as that is, the Lord’s healing power doesn’t stop there. He’s able to heal us, even from death, and he’ll do just that, completely and fully, when he raises us from the grave.
The Lord is merciful. He forgives our sins, he heals our infirmities, and he saves our lives from the pit.
Praise the Lord!
In Christ,
Fr. Caleb