(1.) 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. The idea is, that God is worthy of all the praise and adoration which the entire man can render. 34 May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord. and, when he had penned and sung this excellent hymn to his honour, he does not say, Now, O my soul! Web2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits: Psalm 103:2 New Living Translation (NLT) 2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 57:16]; Jer. The scripture says a great deal of the mercy of God, and we may all set to our seal that it is true, that we have experienced it. [1.] The psalmist, I. Stirs up himself and his own soul to praise God ( ver 1, 2 ) for his favour to him in particular ( ver 3-5 ), to the church in general, and to all good men, to whom he is, and will be, just, and kind, and constant ( ver 6-18 ), and for his government of the world, ver 19. II. It is in his nature to be so (v. 8): The Lord is merciful and gracious; this was his way which he made known unto Moses at Mount Horeb, when he thus proclaimed his name ( Exod 34 6, 7), in answer to Moses's request (ch. 2; also at the end of the psalm; and again in Psalm 104:1, 35. ". Password. [Note: Brueggemann, p. WebThis psalm calls more for devotion than exposition; it is a most excellent psalm of praise, and of general use. Realizing how easily people forget God, David reminds himself of the many blessings, physical and spiritual, that God Hitherto the psalmist had only looked back upon his own experiences and thence fetched matter for praise; here he looks abroad and takes notice of his favour to others also; for in them we should rejoice and give thanks for them, all the saints being fed at a common table and sharing in the same blessings. When the flower is in its perfection a blasting wind, unseen, unlooked for, passes over it, and it is gone; it hangs the head, drops the leaves, dwindles into the ground again, and the place thereof, which was proud of it, now knows it no more. A Psalm of David .Doubtless by David; it is in his own style when at its best, and we should attribute it to his later years when he had a higher sense of the preciousness of pardon, because a keener sense of sin, than in his younger days. Or by his ways we may understand his precepts, the way which he requires us to walk in; and by his acts, or designs (as the word signifies), his promises and purposes as to what he will do with us. csfa league table. 5. NKJV, Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Third Edition, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word, NKJV, Abide Bible, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version. See Job 33:24; Job 33:28. What is the crown of glory but God's favour? Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. 4. Is It Ok for Christians to Follow Zodiac Signs? Some groups of Christians (e.g., some Amish) give thanks to God at the end of their meals as well as at the beginning. "And so I like all these new discoveries, though I think a lot of them are just fanciful kind of interpreting of the data that they have with their own limited knowledge. These first verses are a tuning of the harp, a screwing up of the loosened strings that not a note may fail in the sacred harmony. It is the Lord that is to be blessed and spoken well of; for he is the fountain of all good, whatever are the channels or cisterns; it is to his name, his holy name, that we are to consecrate our praise, giving thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Or was he now doubly sensible of the importance, the imperative necessity of adoration? "He has given thee a prospect and pledge of long life: Thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Such is the purport of the blessing addressed to a congregation of worshippers. WebPsalm 103 Exposition Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings Hints to the Village Preacher Other Works TITLE. 34:6, 7; Num. thou hast blessed the Lord, sit down, and rest thee, but, Bless the Lord, O my soul! He says, "You didn't disappoint Me. And here he is commanding himself, commanding his soul to bless the Lord, "Bless the Lord, my soul." And you better perhaps read the fourteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, when the cup of the indignation of the wrath of God is overflowing and He pours out His judgment upon this Christ-rejecting earth. WebPsalms 103 COMMENTARY (Pulpit) < Go Back Bible Commentaries Psalm 103 Psalm 103:1 << Verse 1. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. David had been stirring up himself and others to praise God, and here, in the close, he calls upon the angels to do it; not as if they needed any excitement of ours to praise God, they do it continually; but thus he expresses his high thoughts of God as worthy of the adorations of the holy angels, thus he quickens himself and others to the duty with this consideration, That it is the work of angels, and comforts himself in reference to his own weakness and defect in the performance of this duty with this consideration, That there is a world of holy angels who dwell in God's house and are still praising him. 11For as the heavens are high above the earth,So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;12As far as the east is from the west,So far has He (J)removed our transgressions from us.13(K)As a father pities his children,So the Lord pities those who fear Him.14For He [a]knows our frame;He remembers that we are dust. "[3] This, of course, knocks the keystone out of the arch of critical devices for late-dating Old Testament writings. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits ( Psalms 103:1-2 ): So quickly we forget the benefits of serving the Lord. And the key here all the way through is to those that reverence God. God's all cannot be praised with less than our all. my soulmyself (Ps 3:3; 25:1), with allusion to the act, as one of intelligence. He has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities ( Psalms 103:9-10 ). 2Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies. A Psalm of David.. 1 Bless a the Lord, O my soul; . Babes may praise the divine goodness, but fathers in grace magnify his holiness. 103Bless (A)the Lord, O my soul;And all that is within me, bless His holy name!2Bless the Lord, O my soul,And forget not all His benefits:3(B)Who forgives all your iniquities,Who (C)heals all your diseases,4Who redeems your life from destruction,(D)Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,5Who satisfies your mouth with good things,So that (E)your youth is renewed like the eagles. Because the north is only about 12,500 miles from the south. "He has given thee true honour and great honour, no less than a crown: He crowns thee with his lovingkindness and tender mercies;" and what greater dignity is a poor soul capable of than to be advanced into the love and favour of God? 19The Lord has established His throne in heaven,And (P)His kingdom rules over all. How glorious. "O my soul! Psalm 103:1. He knows we are but dust. 2 O my soul, come, praise the Etern If we do not give thanks for them, we do forget them; and that is unjust as well as unkind, since in all God's favours there is so much that is memorable. The eagle is long-lived, and, as naturalists say, when she is nearly 100 years old, casts all her feathers (as indeed she changes them in a great measure every year at moulting time), and fresh ones come, so that she becomes young again. Oh, but scientists are gods aren't they? God's mercy is better than life, for it will out-live it. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Proud member his holy name(Ps 5:11), His complete moral perfections. As used with reference to people, the word implies a wish that they may be blessed or happy, accompanied often with a prayer that they may be so. "And all that is within me, bless his holy name." A man may be in peril of life, not only by his crimes, or his diseases, but by the power of his enemies; and therefore here also we experience the divine goodness: Who redeemed thy life from destruction (Psalms 103:4; Psalms 103:4), from the destroyer, from hell (so the Chaldee), from the second death. Think of the provocation; it was sin, and yet pardoned: how many the provocations, yet all pardoned! 147:3; [Is. 21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. It is out there, eight billion light years away, ten billion light years away." All these guys working out in the windows, standing there, curling, you know. According to the Talmud, Psalm 2 is a continuation of Psalm 1. II. Bless the Lord He calls on his soul, and all its faculties and powers, to magnify God for his mercies. Webantithetic parallelism in psalms. Why do I feel despondent? So David calls the angels, the heavenly hosts, in to the praising of God. Thus fairly does God deal with us. The work requires the inward man, the whole man, and all little enough. It needs spurring to its duty, though that duty ought to be its delight. God is a Father to those that fear him and owns them for his children, and he is tender of them as a father. WebPsalm 103 NKJV 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! I'm so excited with all of the positive aspects of serving the Lord that the negative doesn't really come into mind much. Though there is no real connection between this psalm and the preceding one, this one expresses thanks for answered prayer, which Psalms 102 requested. He does not become angry quickly, and he has great love. Hence the heavens are said to rule (Dan 4 26), and we are led to consider this by the influence which even the visible heavens have upon this earth, their dominion, Job 38 33; Gen 1 16. Full Name. Ps 103:1-22. Why do I feel blue? (3.) WebThis one hundred and third Psalm has ever seemed to us to be the Monte Rosa of the divine chain of mountains of praise, glowing with a ruddier light than any of the rest. if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. These two go together; for, as for God, his work is perfect and not done by halves; if God take away the guilt of sin by pardoning mercy, he will break the power of it by renewing grace. Our crimes were capital, but God saves our lives by pardoning them; our diseases were mortal, but God saves our lives by healing them. 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, . He has revealed himself and his grace to us (v. 7): He made known his ways unto Moses, and by him his acts to the children of Israel, not only by his rod to those who then lived, but by his pen to succeeding ages. Why am I feeling this way? 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. We were driving down to Newport Beach the other night and this place down there. BibleGateway+ is less than $5/mo. It is God's glory that he has such attendants, but more his glory that he neither needs them nor is benefited by them. 86:15; Jer. 50+ premium resources (>$2,400 value!). WebVerses 1-22. Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy desire with good things, So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle.". All his works, that is, all the children of men, in all parts of the world, let them all praise God; yea, and the inferior creatures too, which are God's works also; let them praise him objectively, though they cannot praise him actually, Ps 145 10. "He has not only saved thee from death and ruin, but has made thee truly and completely happy, with honour, pleasure, and long life." Christians more frequently turn to this psalm than to any other. He is all things to us, as our needs call for him, and our infirmities do but reveal him in new characters. The prophet, by stirring up himself to gratitude, gives by his own example a lesson to every man of the duty incumbent upon him. 2. "He has rescued thee from danger." "He has given thee true honour and great honour, no less than a crown: He crowns thee with his lovingkindness and tender mercies;" and what greater dignity is a poor soul capable of than to be advanced into the love and favour of God? And secondly, He pities us, just like a father pities his child. [2.] Psalm 103:12 King James Version (KJV 1900) 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. He is not soon angry, v. 8. Psalm 103, a masterful and well-loved composition, is classified as an Individual Hymn of Thanksgiving, a psalm in which a single voice praises God for Gods goodness to or on behalf of that individual, usually for deliverance from some trying situation. 30:5; Is. Bless the Lord He calls on his soul, and all its faculties and powers, to magnify God for his mercies. He made known his ways unto Moses, and his acts unto the children of Israel. 103:1-5 By the pardon of sin, that is ., p. He that made all rules all, and both by a word of power: He has prepared his throne, has fixed and established it that it cannot be shaken; he has afore-ordained all the measures of his government and does all according to the counsel of his own will. First, To their souls, which are immortal; to them the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting; from everlasting in the councils of it to everlasting in the consequences of it, in their election before the world was and their glorification when this world shall be no more; for they are predestinated to the inheritance (Eph 1 11) and look for the mercy of the Lord, the Lord Jesus, unto eternal life. The work requires the inward man, the whole man, and all little enough. 3 b Who forgives all your iniquities, . Mirrors, all over the walls. 5:10; Neh. I. He knew that I was but dust. It can never be employed in a more appropriate or a more elevated act than when engaged in his praise. Certainly, he uses no vain repetitions, for the Holy Spirit guides his pen; and thus he shews us that we have need, again and again, to bestir ourselves when we are about to worship God, for it would be shameful to offer him anything less than the utmost our souls can render. Verse Psalms 103:1. A PSALM of joy and thanksgiving for God's manifold mercies, especially for his loving kindness in forgiving sin and transgression (Psalms 103:3, Psalms 103:8-12, Psalms 103:17) passing into adoration of him upon his heavenly throne (Psalms 103:19), and a call on all creation to praise him (Psalms 103:20-22).The "title" assigns the Web1 O my soul, come, praise the Eternal with all that is in mebody, emotions, mind, and willevery part of who I am praise His holy name. The Lord has saved us with a great salvation, shall we render no recompense? God's praise is a subject that will never be exhausted, and therefore we must never think this work done till we come to heaven, where it will be for ever in the doing. WebPsalms 103 1 A Psalm of David. Let others forbear if they can: "Bless the Lord, O my soul." All the creatures are his servants, but not as the angels that attend the presence of his glory. And forget not 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 1031A Psalm of David. All right, keep searching man; you're only expanding the mercy of my God. The redemption of the soul is precious; we cannot compass it, and therefore are the more indebted to divine grace that has wrought it out, to him who has obtained eternal redemption for us. (2.) 4. 33 13), I beseech thee, show me thy way, that I may know thee. But you can start off tonight flying east, and you'll fly east the rest of your life, if you don't change directions. When the cause is gone, namely, iniquity, the effect ceases. Observe, I. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Jehovah is worthy to be praised by us in that highest style of adoration which is intended by the term bless - "All thy works praise thee, O God, but thy saints shall bless thee." Reader, have we not cause enough at this time to bless him who blesses us? It is the Lord that is to be blessed and spoken well of; for he is the fountain of all good, whatever are the channels or cisterns; it is to his name, his holy name, that we are to consecrate our praise, giving thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. The Psalmist strikes the best key-note when he begins with stirring up his inmost self to magnify the Lord. But God remembers it's just dust. It contains no requests. I thought I could I leap buildings with a single bound, and He knows my frame. 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, . "He has cured thy sickness." (2.) He has forgiven all our trespasses. All rights reserved. The sins of believers shall be remembered no more, shall not be mentioned unto them; they shall be sought for, and not found. See who those are that have a good memory, as well as a good understanding (Ps 111 10), those that remember God's commandments, not to talk of them, but to do them, and to be ruled by them. High as the heaven is above the earth. How he furnishes himself with abundant matter for praise, and that which is very affecting: "Come, my soul, consider what God has done for thee." The LORD executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. The lives even of great men and good men are so, and neither their greatness nor their goodness can alter the property of them: As for man, his days are as grass, which grows out of the earth, rises but a little way above it, and soon withers and returns to it again. 7:18], [2 Sam. In one psalm, David, in talking to his soul, said, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Now you have heard people say, "Well, there is the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. Interesting that he said as far as the east is from the west, rather than as far the north is from the south. What's wrong, soul? The old body cult. And all that is within me - All my powers and faculties; all that can be employed in his praise: the heart, the will, the affections, the emotions. How he pitiesas a father pities his children, and does them good as there is occasion. That is one dimension of it, but from another dimension, it's from everlasting to everlasting, from the vanishing point to the vanishing point, God's mercy. He calls the fowls, and they come; the beasts, and they hear: the trees, and they spring to obey him. Let me at Satan, you know." What would become of us if God should deal so with us? Facts can't change. Come on out and fight." Bible commentary on the Book of Psalms, chapter 103, by Dr. Bob Utley, retired professor of hermeneutics. I don't know how high the heaven is above the earth, but however it is, that's just how high God's mercy is towards me. They are such as fear God, such as are truly religious, from principle. 2. Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! He soliloquizes, holds self-communion and exhorts himself, as though he felt that dulness would all too soon steal over his faculties, as, indeed, it will over us all, unless we are diligently on the watch. Then all of his works, all of the places of God's dominion. And he declares, "Jehovah is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, plenteous in mercy." How he stirs up himself to the duty of praise, Psalms 103:1; Psalms 103:2. And if they said if we evolved from the tadpole, surely they must know. But in the midst of this universal praise, each individual has special cause to praise him (22). And all that is within me, bless His holy name! as he began, v. 1. 276. 3. They are his angels, and ministers of hishis, for he made them, and made them for himselfhis, for he employs them, though he does not need themhis, for he is their owner and Lord; they belong to him and he has them at his beck. Under such a weight of obligation the lips can do little; the soul and all its powers must be engaged. WebFor as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; Tools. Many are our faculties, emotions, and capacities, but God has given them all to us, and they ought all to join in chorus to his praise. "For He crowns thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies. WebMatthew Henry's Concise Commentary 103:1-5 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. Dust thou art. Whom he pitiesthose that fear him, that is, all good people, who in this world may become objects of pity on account of the grievances to which they are not only born, but born again. In Psalm 103, David praises the Lord for His abundant mercies. ", "This [Psalms 103] is perhaps the best-known and best-loved of all the hymns." [2.] We make nothing of our religious performances if we do not make heart-work of them, if that which is within us, nay, if all that is within us, be not engaged in them. Note, Divine revelation is one of the first and greatest of divine favours with which the church is blessed; for God restores us to himself by revealing himself to us, and gives us all good by giving us knowledge. WebHe touches the hills, and they smoke. Those only shall have the benefit of God's promises that make conscience of his precepts. Or it may be understood of those who have not yet received the spirit of adoption, but are yet trembling at his word; those he pities, Jer 31 18, 20. Observe that he calls all that is within him to remember all the Lord's benefits. And God looks down upon us and He is, number one, merciful, because we reverence Him. And to those who remember His commandments to do them. How he stirs up himself to the duty of praise, v. 1, 2. and all that is within me, bless his holy name. A Psalm of David.. 1 Bless a the Lord, O my soul; . 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His Not content with calling upon his soul (by which he unquestionably means the seat of the understanding and affections) to bless God, the prophet expressly adds his inward parts, addressing as it were his own mind and heart, and all the faculties of both. "So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle" (Psalms 103:5). For less than $5/mo. Email. He has secured the happiness of his peculiar people by promise and covenant, but the order of mankind, and the world in general, he secures by common providence. WebIn both fire and water, those two raging elements that have no mercy, he shows mercy; delivers us from both in both. Here David begins his list of blessings received, which he rehearses as themes and arguments for praise. STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS. For continual communications of spiritual and temporal good; so that the vigour of his mind was Verse Psalms 103:5. Who satisfieth thy mouth . 17:14, [Ex. (1.) He didn't understand his own feelings. (2.) Praise for the Lord s Mercies. Why do I feel discouraged? 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. If we do not give thanks for them, we do forget them; and that is unjust as well as unkind, since in all God's favours there is so much that is memorable. Now there is some scientific discussion as to just how high that might be. 2; also at the end of the What is your problem? 1. All that is within me, bless his holy name . Secondly, To their seed, which shall be kept up to the end of time (Ps 102 28): His righteousness, the truth of his promise, shall be unto children's children; provided they tread in the steps of their predecessors' piety, and keep his covenant, as they did, then shall mercy be preserved to them, even to a thousand generations. And so science is changing. WebPsalm 103 . . EXPOSITION. There was an ancient fable of the eagle renewing its youth in old age, similar to the fable of the Phoenix; but as Briggs noted, "It is doubtful whether there is any allusion here to the fable; but at all events it is the fulness of the life and vigor of the eagle that is thought of."[5]. He has revealed himself and his grace to them. Bless the LORD, O my soul ( Psalms 103:1 ): Now this is a command of David, or a command of David, the psalmist to himself. To "bless" is more than to Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 103 Psalm 103 Bless the LORD, O My Soul This psalm is simply titled A Psalm of David. We dont know the circumstances in which it was written, but since David was a man who knew the grace and deliverance of God many times, it could have been written at many different times of his life. Think of the provocation; it was sin, and yet pardoned: how many the provocations, yet all pardoned! And as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us ( Psalms 103:11-12 ). Man's life is not only wasting of itself, but its period may be anticipated by a thousand accidents. WebPsalm 103 Bless the LORD, O My Soul This psalm is simply titled A Psalm of David. 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. We think, "Man, I can stand, you know. 14:18]; Deut. Compare Numbers 6:23-27. He knows our frame; He knows we are but dust.Which means that God doesn't really expect as much out of me as I expect out of myself. He takes cognizance of all the inhabitants, and all the affairs, of this lower world, and disposes all persons and things according to the counsel of his will, to his own glory (Dan 4 35): His kingdom rules over all kings and all kingdoms, and from it there is no exempt jurisdiction. Now man in passing, we are dust, we are transient, we are passing, like the grass or the flower. The superscription identifies this as a Psalm of David; and, "Nothing in it forbids the supposition that he was the author. This honour have all his saints. If the law of justice demanded all our heart and soul and mind for the Creator, much more may the law of gratitude put in a comprehensive claim for the homage of our whole being to the God of grace. NKJV, Ancient-Modern Bible, Comfort Print: One faith. It is as the apple tree among the trees of the wood, and its golden fruit has a flavour such as no fruit ever bears unless it has been ripened in the full suushine of mercy. Such a thing is man: God considers this, and pities him; let him consider it himself, and be humble, dead to this world and thoughtful of another. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that reverence him. And all that is within me - All my powers and faculties; all that can be employed in his praise: the heart, the will, the affections, the emotions. Oh God, I am so sorry I disappointed You." Let others bless themselves and their idols, but do thou bless the Lord. "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities." For he knows our frame; and he remembers that we are dust ( Psalms 103:13-14 ). 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, . God has been merciful to us. (3.) Psalm 103 tells of God who deliversthe nation from bondage (7) and the individual from sin (10-13). ; Psalm 103:2 tn Or his benefits (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord). Observe, [1.] As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. WebMatthew Henry's Commentary Psalm 103:1 << A Psalm 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 b Who forgives all your iniquities, Who c heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, d Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies