Readings: Psalm 34, Psalm 51, and Psalm 103

Thankfulness is defined as “being conscious of the benefit received” (Merriam-Webster, n.d). This state of consciousness for the people of God often results in songs of praise. King David echoes this pattern of praise in Psalm 103 when he sings “Praise the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits—.” Gratitude and praise go together like inhaling and exhaling.

David’s early life reveals a man who honored God and was honored by God. He wrote in Psalm 34, “Taste and see the Lord is good.” He loved and trusted God. Whether it was defeating Goliath, refusing to harm Saul, leading his men to victory in battle, or dancing undignified before the Lord, David proved to be “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). He didn’t just sing the songs. His life was a melody of praise. But something changed in David’s life along the way. Before He wrote Psalm 103, he experienced Psalm 51.

In 2 Samuel 11, King David stays home from battle during a time when kings go off to war. This was out of character for him. Where was that shepherd boy who would go face-to-face with giants? This was a different David.

He appears to have forgotten all His benefits. And by losing a heart of gratitude, David became complacent in his identity as a man after God’s own heart. While his brothers-in-arms capture the enemy in battle, David is captured by a woman who is bathing. As his men marched together through the valley in victory, David stood alone on a rooftop of defeat. The rest is history.

In a twisted attempt at atonement, David tries to cover his sin by killing an innocent man (2 Samuel 11:17). Widely known as the king who removed his outer shell to praise the Lord (2 Samuel 6:22), he is now a shell of the man he once was. No longer desperate for God to save, David becomes desperate to save himself. God eventually chimes into the situation and says, “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?” (2 Sam 12:7-10). God had provided all David needed, and would have given him even more. But David forgot to live his own words, to taste and see the Lord is good. He chose to satiate his appetite elsewhere.

Reading Psalm 103, I imagine David singing “Praise the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all His benefits” and I can’t help but wonder if he wasn’t reminded of his Psalm 51 experience. David paid a high price to pen those words on paper, and more importantly, on his heart. May we learn from his victories and his failures. May we keep our eyes on God in the valleys of our pain as well as on the rooftops of our pleasure. Let us “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).