Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:1-5
As I consider more on crowns this week, I am reminded again of Psalm 103. This is the Psalm that I think on repeatedly this year, as if God is saying I need to soak it in, believe it, practice it, and remember it.
We praise the Lord with all our inmost being. We give our crowns to the King of King; we give our everything. We lay down our selfishness, our pride, our laziness, our greed. We lay down our addictions, our sorrows, our everyday things. And all this is because we are at the end of ourselves. We know we can’t live this life alone. We know we can’t survive. In weakness we only to fall flat in a cycle we can’t seem to end.
But we cry out. And we trust. And we believe. And as that tiny bit of faith reaches out in hope, we aren’t condemned. We may hear the voice of GUILTY time and again. For me, it’s my own judgmental voice shouting at me. I sense the weight of my sin. I feel the heavy accusations as the enemy taunts! Shame overtakes me and I want to hang my head in shame, run and hide.
But in this eternal Kingdom I live, I am crowned. As a child of God, you are crowned, too! Our heads are topped, and overflowing with steadfast love and mercy. God’s kindness and compassion continuously flow like a bubbling fountain that never runs out. It’s incredible, and amazing. It’s the grace we sing about. And salvation is satisfied, flowing down over me and over you as a healing balm. We need his love and his mercy. And we need to keep believing we still have this gift, these crowns we wear upon us.
We don’t deserve such honor, such a gift. But that is what he crowns us with. It’s like the icing on the cake. The best of the best. It sits above us, flowing over us like good priestly oil, running over us in anointing. We become a part of the priesthood of believers. We are accepted and join in unity with a congregation expanding nation upon nation. This salvation is worn like a helmet, Paul says in Ephesians 6. And here in Psalm 103, we see it wrapped up in love and mercy, crowning us in all its glory. LOVE. Deep everlasting steadfast love. Love that fills us up when we are down. Love that strengthens, that wraps us in light, which enters in and roots us. That root makes us strong, steady and upright. And this love, is all because of Christ Jesus who holds all things together, all because of his own sacrifice, giving his very own life. This causes me to rejoice and burst in song, reminding me of the old hymn from my childhood:
Such Love! Such wondrous love!
Such Love! Such wondrous love!
That God should love a sinner such as I,
How wonderful is love like this!
Written by C. Bishop Tune, 1929
P.S. Let others know they can have access to such a crown, too!