Of David.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Psalm 103
Alexander Maclaren says of this Psalm: 'There are no clouds on the horizon, nor notes of sadness in the music of this Psalm. No purer outburst of thanksgiving enriches the Church'. This is surely true; but like many of the very well-known passages of Scripture, it is more often read, and savoured, or sung, than studied, and it is possible to miss its real greatness for this reason. It is good therefore to take a somewhat closer look at its message in these Notes.
The Psalm divides into four sections. In 1-5 there is a call to bless the Lord for all His blessings the Psalmist has experienced from His bountiful hand. In 6-13 there is a broader canvas, which provides the background for the experience described in 1-5. The Psalmist sees the blessings he has personally enjoyed against the background of his life in a nation that has been singularly blessed by God. In 14-18, man's frailty is given as one reason for the divine compassion. Man is so frail; God is so great! In 19-22 we see that human praise is not sufficient for the glory of God - all creation, including heavenly beings, must join in.
In the first section (1-5) the Psalmist addresses himself, to rouse himself, to shake
off apathy and gloom, using mind and memory to kindle his heart to praise. Memory especially needs to be stirred: we forget so soon. The Psalmist stirs himself to some purpose here, however, and it is the sheer riches and prodigality of God's bountiful dealing with him that inspires his praise. The healing in 3 is more than physical, and includes the removing of the effects of sin from the life - all the things that 'destroy' the believer's testimony. This is renewal indeed (5). Of such renewal one commentator writes: 'The Psalmist realises that the opportunities which life offers lie before him just as they did in the sunny days of his youth; he is able to infer from his own experience that it always means a new beginning when God enters into a man's life'. Spurgeon adds: 'Why is there so little of the 'eagle' in our experience, and so much of the 'sparrow alone upon the housetop' (Psalm102:7)?' A good question indeed!