Psalm 103, conclusion

David began this Psalm by telling himself to bless the Lord. Was he in a funk? Was he depressed? Sad? If so, he certainly talked himself out of it, by the end of the Psalm!
Let's dive in!

I've heard it said that it's OK to talk to yourself.....no worries about dementia or eccentricity there. But when one starts to answer? Maybe we should talk!
All kidding aside, in the particularly difficult moments of a day, how do you talk to yourself? Do you exhort yourself to hope and believe in God?
Psalm 103 began and now is ending with David exhorting himself to bless the Lord. I think perhaps we can learn one more lesson from this psalm.

First, just like David, we can remind ourselves of what the Lord has done. Many times we allow sin, pain, or sorrow to blind us to the workings of God in our lives. Occasionally, we become so low and so blue that we will overlook the miraculous ways that He has worked in our lives in the past. After recounting to himself the "benefits" of God: forgiveness, healing, redemption, and more, David helps us by reminding himself (and us) of God's work for his people. In verses six and seven he takes us back to the most pivotal event that he can think of -- here's a shock; it's NOT the time he took three smooth stones and his sling and faced Goliath!
Instead, David takes us back to the moment when God worked powerfully to redeem His people from bondage:

The Lord works righteousness    and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,    his deeds to the people of Israel: (v. 6-7)

The Lord worked decisively to demonstrate His love for His people, and to reveal the faithfulness that they could rely upon; He showed His covenant-keeping love.
David is showing us that in our fight to "think straight" and command our hearts to praise God, we should not only call to mind the things that are true about the Lord Himself, but we should also get our heads around the realities of His workings in our lives. We can lift our eyes from our shoe tops, and take our eyes off our circumstances, and look at the Lord's acts of deliverance and grace in the past.
It may help to make a card to carry with us, or have a tiny notebook where we have written down examples of God's providence and His direct interventions in our lives. We can tell ourselves again what God has done for us. It will lift our spirits and cause us to come closer to blessing Him.

Secondly, we can do as David did, and grab hold of a specific truth about the Lord. He's already reminded himself of Who God is, and he also has reminded himself of what God has done for him in the past -- now David latches on to a particular text.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,    slow to anger, abounding in love. (v. 8)

David is quoting from Exodus 34:6. Right in the middle of exhorting himself to bless God, he remembers this text. (The prophet Joel recalled it in the midst of sin; Jeremiah and Hezekiah and more remembered it and clung to it in times of sorrow and pain.)
David doesn't stop by quoting the verse; now he begins to spin out all of it's implications: God will not stay angry forever, sin has been cast away, and God's compassions will not fail.

David's heart is moved and now his spirits are soaring. He says with gratitude:

Praise the Lord, you his angels,    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,    you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works    everywhere in his dominion.Praise the Lord, my soul. (v 20-22)

When we talk to ourselves, are we reminding ourselves of what God has done for us? Do we have specific texts that help our spirits rise?

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20b)

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;    he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.    What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.    I look in triumph on my enemies. (Psalm 118:5-7)

So do not fear, for I am with you;    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

Texts like these can be on cards, in a notebook, or better yet, committed to memory! They will help us remember that we are more blessed than we know. All that we believe and hope for is found in the cross of Christ.
Are you weak? Me too.
Are you needy? So am I.
Are you guilty? Yup, that's me, too.
Are you like dust? We all are.
God tells us, his weak, needy, guilty, dusty children, that He knows us and loves us anyway. He says for us to rest in Him. Make Him our rock.
God's mercy is enough for all of us.

Praise Him!