Psalms Chapter 103 By David.
1 Praise the LORD, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!
2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and don't forget all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,
5 who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
9 He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness towards those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.
17 But the LORD's loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant, to those who remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfil his word, obeying the voice of his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure.
22 Praise the LORD, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise the LORD, my soul!
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Psalms Chapter 103 By David. Guide
It seems almost a work of supererogation to write anything about this psalm. It is perhaps the most perfect song of pure praise to be found in the Bible. It has become the common inheritance of all who through suffering and deliverance have learned the goodness of Jehovah. Through centuries it has been sung by glad hearts, and today is as fresh and full of beauty as ever. It is praise intensive and extensive.
As to its intensity, notice how the entire personality of the singer is recognised. The spirit of the man speaks. He addresses his soul, or mind, and calls it to praise first for spiritual benefits, and then for physical. And again notice how in the sweep of the song, things so small as the frame of the physical and its constituent dust are recognised, while yet the immeasurable reaches of east and west are included.
The extensive mercy of Jehovah, as evident in the same system, is seen in other psalms, but perhaps never so majestically as here. It begins with individual consciousness (vv. Psalms 103:1-5); proceeds in recognition of national blessings (vv. Psalms 103:6-18); and ends with the inclusion of all the angels, and hosts, and works in the vast dominion of Jehovah. The “my” of personal experience merges into the “our” of social fellowship, thus culminates in the “all” of universal consciousness. Yet all ends with the person word, and the perfect music of the psalm is revealed in the fact that it opens and closes on the same not.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Psalms Chapter 103 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- An exhortation to bless God for his mercy. -- (1-5)
- And to the church and to all men. -- (6-14)
- For the constancy of his mercy. -- (15-18)
- For the government of the world. -- (19-22)
Verses 1-5
By the pardon of sin, that is taken away which kept good things from us, and we are restored to the favor of God, who bestows good things on us. Think of the provocation; it was sin, and yet pardoned: how many the provocations, yet all pardoned! God is still forgiving, as we are still sinning and repenting. The body finds the melancholy consequences of Adam's offence, it is subject to many infirmities, and the soul also. Christ alone forgives all our sins; it is he alone who heals all our infirmities. And the person who finds his sin cured, has a well-grounded assurance that it is forgiven. When God, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, recovers his people from their decays, and fills them with new life and joy, which is to them an earnest of eternal life and joy, they may then be said to return to the days of their youth, Job 33:25.
Verses 6-14
Truly God is good to all: he is in a special manner good to Israel. He has revealed himself and his grace to them. By his ways we may understand his precepts, the ways he requires us to walk in; and his promises and purposes. He always has been full of compassion. How unlike are those to God, who take every occasion to chide, and never know when to cease! What would become of us, if God should deal so with us? The Scripture says a great deal of the mercy of God, and we all have experienced it. The father pities his children that are weak in knowledge, and teaches them; pities them when they are froward, and bears with them; pities them when they are sick, and comforts them; pities them when they are fallen, and helps them to rise; pities them when they have offended, and, upon their submission, forgives them; pities them when wronged, and rights them: thus the Lord pities those that fear him. See why he pities. He considers the frailty of our bodies, and the folly of our souls, how little we can do, how little we can bear; in all which his compassion appears.
Verses 15-18
How short is man's life, and uncertain! The flower of the garden is commonly more choice, and will last the longer, for being sheltered by the garden-wall, and the gardener's care; but the flower of the field, to which life is here compared, is not only withering in itself, but exposed to the cold blasts, and liable to be cropt and trod on by the beasts of the field. Such is man. God considers this, and pities him; let him consider it himself. God's mercy is better than life, for it will outlive it. His righteousness, the truth of his promise, shall be unto children's children, who tread in the footsteps of their forefathers' piety. Then shall mercy be preserved to them.
Verses 19-22
He who made all, rules all, and both by a word of power. He disposes all persons and things to his own glory. There is a world of holy angels who are ever praising him. Let all his works praise him. Such would have been our constant delight, if we had not been fallen creatures. Such it will in a measure become, if we are born of God. Such it will be for ever in heaven; nor can we be perfectly happy till we can take unwearied pleasure in perfect obedience to the will of our God. And let the feeling of each redeemed heart be, Bless the Lord, O my soul.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.