Psalm 103 Of David.
1 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— 18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul.
Psalm 103 is another Psalm written by King David. It is found in book IV of the psalter which primarily focuses on God's reign and power over all creation. This is in response to the theme of exile in book III which we saw pieces of last week in Psalm 42. We see this them drawn out here, particularly in verses 19 and 22.
I think the overall structure of this psalm is best understood as offering praise to God for his covenant faithfulness, loving kindness, and mercy—all of these ideas are contained in the Hebrew word hesed. We will discuss this term more on Wednesday and Friday.
The scope of this poem begins with the individual in mind and works its way out to broader and broader groups of people.
- Verses 1-5 describe God's hesed in the context of the individual.
- Verses 6-12 describe God's hesed in in the context of the community of Israel.
- Verses 13-19 describe God's hesed in the context of all humanity.
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