This is Easter week. It seems early this year, April 5. February seemed to fly by and March is following suit. I want to spend this time before Easter preparing my heart.

As I was reading in Psalm 103 this morning, the opening words struck me. “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” [vs 1-2 NLT]

Then David begins to list the benefits he did not want to forget. As I read David’s words, I began to do the same, to list the benefits I do not want to forget, the benefits I received because of the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. David begins his remembrance with “He forgives all my sins.”

David understood what it was like to have sin forgiven. The law given by Moses made provision for unintentional sins, but there were no provisions for intentional ones. The intentional sin is what David referred to in Psalm 51:14 as “bloodguilt.” It was the sin of David with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. There was no provision in the law, yet David knew God’s mercy and the forgiveness of even bloodguilt. He desired to remember that forgiveness.

I, too, remember forgiveness. John wrote: “because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.” [1 John 2:12 NLT]

Because of what Christ did on the cross, I remember the One who forgives all my sins. Jesus from His cross asked God’s forgiveness for the very ones that were crucifying Him. And He provided, through His sacrifice that day, the forgiveness I need for even my grievous sins.

Praise the Lord, O my soul … forget not all his benefits … the forgiveness of all my sins.