Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Psalm 103 is our beloved "Day of Atonement" song of reconciliation with the Lord. It begins and ends with "Bless the Lord, O my soul." The word "bless" obviously means "to make happy." So the psalm tells us how to make the Lord Himself to be happy.
Does He need any help? That's a nice life work for any of us!
The way to make Him happy is to be happy ourselves "in Christ" in these last days of the Savior's ministry as our great High Priest. The psalm's high point is: (1) He "forgives all your iniquities," and parallel to that, (2) He "heals all your diseases" (vs. 3). We must walk softly here, for there are sick people whose sins have all been forgiven, and sometimes they even die. But wait a moment: are we really sure that all of our unknown sins have been forgiven in the true sense of the word, that is, taken away--not just pardoned?
That "blotting out of sins" is distinct from the pardoning of sins. This is the special work of Daniel's "cleansing of the sanctuary" (8:14). This work cannot be accomplished in heaven until first of all the sins have been forgiven, blotted out, in and from the hearts of those who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4, 5). They are that special group known as the 144,000. (Don't be afraid that there won't be "room" for you; the "room" depends on the width and length and depth and height of your faith, which is a heart appreciation of the love [agape] of Christ, Eph. 3:17-19.)
Part of the happiness the Lord wants us to know is that our mouth is satisfied "with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalm 103:5). Is such dietary pleasure health-inducing? It says so. It's re-educating our taste to be "reconciled" (there's "atonement" again!) to enjoy the foods that God has created to be "received with thanksgiving" (1 Tim. 4:4).
Day of Atonement living includes that re-educating of our diet. To list all those delicious foods is impossible. How can you doubt there is a loving Creator who created them all in six days when you consider alone the annual progression of fruits through the year, from the earliest strawberries in spring, through summer peaches, then pears, to those delicious persimmons in late autumn! Just a tiny example of the Lord's goodness. Yes, "bless the Lord, O my soul"! He heals diseases, and enjoying foods He has created is one way.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 3, 2006.
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