I am a fan of many different styles of music. Each type brings something to the table for the listener to enjoy. I have come to notice that one characteristic stands out to make a song a great one. It really has nothing to do with the instruments or who is singing. The one characteristic that I think makes a song great is the fact that it tells a story. Think about the great songs of the past: they all tell a good story.

When a person reads through the Psalms of the Bible, it is easy to just read through them like any other style. The truth is that the Psalms are songs. They are not to be read like a narrative. They are lines that are meant to tell a story. Each line is important because without it, the song (and its story) would be incomplete.

Psalm 103 is a song written by David that is talking about the many blessings of God towards His people.  He talks about everything from forgiveness of sin (v 3) to justice (v 6) to God being a Father to His people (v 13).  There are so many reasons to praise the Lord.

While this song has given us great verses like these:

“The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love” (Psalm 103:8)

“He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12)‬‬

There is one verse that has intrigued me in this psalm that I have never paid much attention to before. It was verse 7 which says, “[The LORD] revealed His character to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel.”  A casual reading of this verse, and you just might miss the whole point of the entire psalm.

David writes this song not to show off all the blessings God has brought His way, but he wants to show that we are to praise the Giver of all these good gifts. In verse 7, David shows two very different options.

David said that the Israelites experienced “the deeds of God.” They saw God do mighty things like bring the plagues upon the Egyptians, part the Red Sea for them to cross, and provide food in the wilderness. These are all really good – even miraculous – things. One problem was that the Israelites apparently had grown comfortable with the blessings. So much so, they did not seek after the Giver.

Not so with Moses. As this song goes, David shares that God revealed His character to Moses. God showed Moses His heart not just His mighty deeds.

Moses experienced the same mighty acts as the rest of the Israelites did. He saw the plagues, walked through the Red Sea, and ate his share of manna. What was so different between Moses and the others? Moses was not content with just knowing what God does. He wanted to know the Giver who was behind the gifts.

There are times when we may experience the blessings of God and totally miss the whole point. We may say something like, “thank You, Lord for these blessings. They are good. I will stay here in the comfort of these blessings.” By doing this, we show that we never understood the gift at all.

God does not bless us with blessings because He has nothing better to do. God does not even bless us for the sole purpose of us enjoying the blessing. Each time God blesses us, He shows us a little more of His heart. He opens a window of opportunity for us to experience Him in a greater way.

When was the last time this scene played out in your life: before you lies many blessings God has richly poured upon you. You back away from the gifts and make your way to the Giver. You say, “thank You so much for these blessings. They are great. But honestly, more than these blessings, I want more of You, Lord”?

The Holy Spirit uses David to show that there is a great difference between Moses and the children of Israel. The children were content to dwell in the blessings and never go further to actually knowing the Giver. Moses wanted the Giver more than anything.

Which are you more interested in: the gift or the Giver?