Bless the <\/i>Lord<\/i>, O my soul,<\/i> and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits\u2026Who redeems your life from the pit\u2026 <\/i>Psalm 103:1-2, 4a<\/p>\n
Have you been commanding your soul to bless the Lord? If you have, you have likely experienced some resistance, but as you stick with it, strength, victory, joy, and resolve will rise up within you.<\/p>\n
While you bless the Lord, are you also focusing on His benefits? He has pardoned all your iniquities and is the One who heals all your diseases. Both of these benefits were foretold by the prophet Isaiah. He wrote, \u201cSurely our griefs He Himself bore,<\/i> and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed<\/i>\u201d (Isaiah 53:4-5).<\/p>\n
The Lord has also redeemed your life from the pit according to the psalmist. In Tuesday\u2019s blog, I mentioned that the benefit, \u201cWho pardons all your iniquities<\/i>\u201d was the most important benefit on the list, and therefore was mentioned first.<\/p>\n
You may wonder why I believe that pardoning of sin is more important than having a life that is redeemed from the pit. Romans 5:12 states, \u201cTherefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin<\/b>, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned<\/i>.<\/i>\u201d It was Adam\u2019s sin that opened the door <\/i>to sickness, death, and loss of fellowship with God. Without the complete forgiveness and remission of sin, neither you nor I would be able to enter eternal life with God when we died. The alternative\u2014eternal separation from God\u2014is the only available outcome for us unless we receive full forgiveness of our sin through the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
With this in mind, when David lists the fact that God redeems your life from the pit<\/i>, this benefit hinges upon receiving the pardon of sin. First accept His wonderful forgiveness of your sin through Jesus Christ, and then, when you take\u00a0Jesus as your Lord, He absolutely redeems your life from eternal separation from God!<\/p>\n
Who redeems your life from the pit\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
What is the pit<\/i>? One writer asked, \u201cIf life is a bowl of cherries, then why am I in the pits?\u201d Is the pit as simple as this tongue-in-cheek comment suggests, merely a drag of a life? Or is it more specific, referring, perhaps, to what is commonly called the \u201cpit of hell\u201d?<\/p>\n
The word pit in Hebrew is shachath<\/em> and can mean a literal pit or, indeed, the pit of hell. It also can refer to destruction or can signify the grave (see<\/em> http:\/\/www.blueletterbible.org\/lang\/lexicon\/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7845&t=KJV <\/a>).<\/p>\n Therefore, whether He is redeeming your life from hell, an early grave, or\u00a0a pit of destruction poised to ensnare you for months or years, He redeems your life from the pit. It is my opinion that this benefit is good towards all of the above. The bottom line is: He redeems your life from the pit. Don\u2019t forget it!<\/p>\n What exactly does the Lord do when He redeems <\/i>something? The answer to this question caught me off guard.<\/p>\n Ga’al<\/em>, the Hebrew for \u201credeem\u201d means, first of all, \u201cto redeem, act as kinsman-redeemer, avenge, revenge, ransom, do the part of a kinsman.\u201d\u00a0The source\u00a0further points out that this word infers that the One who redeems \u201c\u2026act[s] as kinsman, [does] the part of next of kin, act[s] as kinsman redeemer\u201d (http:\/\/www.blueletterbible.org\/lang\/lexicon\/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1350&t=KJV) <\/a>.<\/p>\n When God redeems your life from the pit, He does so as your next of kin.<\/i> He redeems your life because <\/i>of His intimate sense of kinship with you. To Him, you are<\/i> His next of kin, and He relates to you as such, with tender love, mercy, and concern.<\/p>\n At times, you can feel as if no one really cares, as if you are absolutely alone in life. Of course, as a believer, you know that God is for you and loves you, but that truth doesn\u2019t necessarily hit home when you feel isolated, ignored, or invisible.<\/p>\n But when you read that God, as your next of kin, went to bat to redeem you<\/i>\u2014not just a nebulous \u201ceveryone\u201d\u2014can you picture Him, as I did, peering throughout history from before the beginning of time for the exact way and due season to redeem you<\/i>\u2014you<\/i>, yourself? As I thought about this, I realized that I had tears in my eyes.<\/p>\n Perhaps you have no one in your life—either as next of kin or dear friend—willing to go to bat for you, to take up your cause, or to simply be there for you when you need a hand out of the pit. But here\u2019s the good news: \u00a0you do<\/i> have a Redeemer. He, the God of the universe, has chosen<\/i> to be your next of kin. Even if others forsake you, He<\/i> is not ashamed of you. He, from the very foundation of the earth, carefully prepared the way for your life to be redeemed from destruction. And that\u2019s<\/i> worth remembering.<\/p>\n Hebrews 2:11 says it very clearly. \u201cFor both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n Your God\u2014your closest Kinsman\u2014through the blood of His dear Son, has redeemed your life from the pit. Never forget it.<\/p>\n Blessings to you as you bask in this redemptive\u00a0love of your closest Kinsman!<\/p>\n Dorothy <\/p>\n