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Psalms 103

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Bless the Lord, O My Soul 1–5

1
Bless Jehovah, O my soul; And all that is within me, blesshis holy name. ​
2
Bless Jehovah, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits: ​
3
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; ​
4
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; ​
5
Who satisfieth thy desire with good things, So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle. ​

The Lord's Justice and Abundant Mercy 6–18

6
Jehovah executeth righteous acts, And judgments for all that are oppressed. ​
7
He made known his ways unto Moses, His doings unto the children of Israel. ​
8
Jehovah is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness. ​
9
He will not always chide; Neither will he keephis angerfor ever.
10
He hath not dealt with us after our sins, Nor rewarded us after our iniquities. ​
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is his lovingkindness toward them that fear him. ​
12
As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. ​
13
Like as a father pitieth his children, So Jehovah pitieth them that fear him.
14
For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. ​
15
As for man, his days are as grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. ​
16
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; And the place thereof shall know it no more.
17
But the lovingkindness of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, And his righteousness unto children’s children; ​
18
To such as keep his covenant, And to those that remember his precepts to do them. ​

Universal Sovereignty and Cosmic Praise 19–22

19
Jehovah hath established his throne in the heavens; And his kingdom ruleth over all. ​
20
Bless Jehovah, ye his angels, That are mighty in strength, that fulfil his word, Hearkening unto the voice of his word. ​
21
Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts, Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22
Bless Jehovah, all ye his works, In all places of his dominion: Bless Jehovah, O my soul. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 103

Verse 1

all that is within me — Qereb, the inward part, the centre of a man; with nephesh, 'my soul', it makes the whole person the speaker. Barak, 'bless', is literally to kneel. The call 'Bless the LORD, O my soul' opens the next psalm too (Ps 104:1). The 'holy name' (shem qodsho, 'the name of his holiness') is the LORD as he has made himself known.

Verse 2

forget not all his benefits — 'Benefits' is gemul, from gamal, the verb of 'rewarded' in v.10. Elsewhere the word is a reward or recompense: 'render a reward to the proud' (Ps 94:2); 'the recompence of a man's hands' (Prov 12:14). Here it is what the LORD has dealt out to his people. 'Forget' (shakach) is set against 'remember' in v.18.

Verse 3

forgiveth all thine iniquities — Salach, to forgive, and avon, iniquity. Healing follows in the same breath, 'all thy diseases' (tachalu, a word found five times in Scripture). 'I am the LORD that healeth thee' (Ex 15:26); 'with his stripes we are healed' (Isa 53:5). 'O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me' (Ps 30:2).

Verse 4

redeemeth thy life from destruction — Ga'al, to redeem, is the kinsman's verb: 'If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it' (Ruth 4:4). 'Destruction' is shachat, a pit, the word of 'neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption' (Ps 16:10). 'Crowneth' is atar, to encircle, as in Ps 8:5. Rachamim ('tender mercies') shares a root with 'pitieth' in v.13.

Verse 5

satisfieth thy mouth with good things — The Hebrew word is 'adi, an ornament (Ex 33:4, 'ornaments'), rendered 'mouth' here and in Ps 32:9. 'Renewed' is chadash, to make new, and the eagle (nesher) is the bird of Isa 40:31, 'they shall mount up with wings as eagles'. 'He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness' (Ps 107:9).

Verse 6

all that are oppressed — Ashaq, to press upon, the oppressed whom the LORD 'executeth' righteousness and judgment for. So 'The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed' (Ps 9:9), and he 'executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry' (Ps 146:7). 'Now will I arise, saith the LORD' for the poor and needy (Ps 12:5).

Verse 7

his ways unto Moses — 'Made known' is yada, the verb of Moses' prayer, 'shew me now thy way, that I may know thee' (Ex 33:13). The 'ways' (derek) are given to Moses, the 'acts' (alilah, deeds) to all the children of Israel who saw them. 'He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel' (Ps 147:19).

Verse 8

merciful and gracious, slow to anger — Four of the words of Ex 34:6: rachum (merciful), channun (gracious), erek appayim (slow to anger, literally long of nostril) and rab chesed (plenteous in mercy). The LORD proclaimed them as he 'passed by before' Moses. They are repeated in Ps 86:15 and in Joel 2:13, 'rend your heart, and not your garments'.

Verse 10

hath not dealt — The first verb is asah, to do, and 'rewarded' is gamal, the root of 'benefits' (gemul) in v.2. 'Sins' are chet, a fault, and 'iniquities' avon. 'If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?' (Ps 130:3); 'his compassions fail not' (Lam 3:22).

Verse 11

as the heaven is high — 'High' is gabah, to soar, and 'great' is gabar, to prevail, to be strong: the mercy (chesed) is as strong as the heavens are high. It is bestowed on 'them that fear him' (yare). 'Thy mercy is great unto the heavens' (Ps 57:10); 'Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens' (Ps 36:5); 'his mercy is on them that fear him' (Luke 1:50).

Verse 12

so far hath he removed our transgressions — Rachaq, to be far off; mizrach (east) and ma'arab (west) never meet. 'Transgressions' is pesha, revolt. 'I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins' (Isa 43:25); 'Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression' (Mic 7:18).

Verse 14

he knoweth our frame — Yetser, a form, from yatsar, the verb of Gen 2:7, 'the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground'. 'Dust' is aphar, the word of 'for dust thou art' (Gen 3:19). The LORD knows what he formed. 'He remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away' (Ps 78:39).

Verse 15

his days are as grass — Enosh, the mortal; 'flower' is tsits and 'flourisheth' tsuts, from one root: the flower is what blooms. Peter takes up the figure: 'For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass' (1 Pet 1:24); James applies it to the rich man (Jas 1:10–11).

Verse 17

from everlasting to everlasting — Olam ad olam, the span of Ps 90:2, 'from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God', set against the grass-like days of v.15. 'Mercy' is chesed, covenant kindness. 'His righteousness' (tsedaqah) reaches 'children's children'; compare 'shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me' (Ex 20:6).

Verse 18

keep his covenant — Shamar, to guard, with berith, the covenant, and 'remember' (zakar) joined to 'to do them', so remembering is acting. 'Forget not' in v.2 is the same call from the other side. 'Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy' (Deut 7:9); 'All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth' (Ps 25:10).

Verse 19

prepared his throne in the heavens — Kun, to set upright, to establish, as in 'he hath prepared his throne for judgment' (Ps 9:7). The 'kingdom' is malkuth, and 'ruleth' is mashal, whose noun is the 'dominion' (memshalah) of v.22. 'The LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth' (Ps 47:2).

Verse 20

ye his angels, that excel in strength — Mal'ak, one sent, and gibbor koach, mighty in power; they do his word, 'hearkening unto the voice of his word'. One of them 'smote in the camp of the Assyrians' (2 Kings 19:35). Gabriel says 'I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God' (Luke 1:19); 'Praise ye him, all his angels' (Ps 148:2); 'ministering spirits' (Heb 1:14).

Verse 22

all his works in all places of his dominion — The works (ma'aseh) answer in every place (maqom) of his rule (memshalah, from the verb of v.19). 'All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD' (Ps 145:10). The psalm ends where it began, 'Bless the LORD, O my soul' (v.1), and the next psalm begins with it again (Ps 104:1).