"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
Youth renewed like the eagle's, the freshness and exhilaration of youth, with its adventuresomeness and daring, its glow, vitality and joy - can this be possible for those who are no longer young? Yes, according to the Psalmist. But where to find this renewal? The answer to that question is given in 6-13. The significance of these verses is that the Psalmist underlines the fact of God's revelation to Moses, and through Moses to Israel. This is basic and significant in the Psalm. The Psalmist had learned all he knows from God's historical self-revelation, and it is this historical revelation which is the basis of the Psalmist's experience. A God Who had made Himself known in the history of His people as a conquering God - this is the basis of the Psalmist's, and of every man's, experience. But we need to see the implication of this. It means that all that the Psalmist has spoken of divine grace is a truth in the Word, the historical revelation, first before it becomes a truth in experience. And therefore, to find the renewal of which the Psalmist speaks, we must look to the Word, and find it there. The reference in 7 to Moses being given the revelation of God's ways takes us back to Exodus 34:6 (but see Exodus 33:13). The context is the story of the golden calf and Israel's backsliding. And, as no story surpasses Exodus for a record of human unworthiness, so also none gives a more abundant record of grace unbounded. This is where David learned the wonder of forgiveness and of not being dealt with after his sins, or rewarded according to his iniquities. He met this 'historical' God, and found Him to be the same unchanging God of grace. And happy is the man who, meeting with such a God in the Word, proves Him in his experience to be all that that Word says He is.