The Song of Steadfast Love
Psalms: Songs of God's People • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Just think of all that we have learned in this series as we bring it to a close:
The Psalms are more than just a book of the Bible
The Psalms can be prayed
They can be read with Jesus as the Messiah in mind
There are uncomfortable Psalms
Psalms are grouped by a phrase or theme
The Psalms can be sung in worship and in our daily life!
Today I want to look at just a single Psalm and develop a way we can study the Psalms as we look at everything around it.
The Psalm today is a Song of steadfast love - Psalm 103.
Psalm 103 A Psalm of David, Bless The Lord, O My Soul
I am using the ESV today, if you are following along in the chair Bible pg. 404
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Are you ready for the message God has for us today?
Cool let’s take out notes and dig in!
A preacher once stated that; “A text out of context is a pretext.”
In my studies this has been so important, from early on I have been told, context, context, context!
When a passage is taken out of its context it can mean anything.
Establishing the context of a passage in the bible is a prerequisite for understanding what it teaches.
This is true for Psalm 103 as we look at it today.
Establishing the Context
Establishing the Context
With any passage of the Bible take it of context you justify almost anything.
Working on the context in the Psalms some see as a difficult task.
Prior to the 19th century commentators read the Psalms as religious poems of the devout in ancient Israel.
Scholarship in the 20th century introduced a fundamental shift in contextualizing the Psalms.
They came to be seen as essentially songs or prayers composed for worship in the temple.
John Eaton in his book “The Psalms,” an uplifting commentary on the Psalms followed this thinking.
He saw for example Psalm 103 as written for the autumn festival of tabernacles.
So this would be the Psalm’s primary purpose in Israel - develop
At the end of the 20th century another shift took place.
Each Psalm should be read in the context of the whole collection.
Consider its place in the whole book, and its place in one of the five books.
This canonical approach has been the most innovative and least speculative of all critical readings of the Psalms.
Psalm 103 and the Psalms after
Psalm 103 and the Psalms after
As a whole book the Psalms are considered a book of the Bible, and this book contains 5 books or collections of Psalms.
Then there are links between the individual Psalms, so it would seem natural then to read the Psalms in sequence.
Then we have the titles that we have seen further help establish what is going on with the Psalmist and in the Psalm itself.
So what is the place of Psalm 103?
Psalm 103 begins and ends with the exhortation — Bless the Lord, o my soul!
This expression links Psalm 103 with 104.
Psalm 104 praises the perfection of God’s creation.
It is a kind of paraphrase of Genesis 1.
Then Psalm 105 recounts the story of Israel from the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to the exodus out of Egypt.
Then comes Psalm 106 the Psalm that concludes book 4 of the Psalms.
Psalm 106 recounts Israel’s sins while in the wilderness.
Thus these Psalm are tied to the Torah, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
What we are learning is that Psalm 103 serves as the prelude to the summary of the Torah.
Get this, without Psalm 103, the next three Psalms make a very gloomy impression!
In this context of the Psalms, Psalm 103 is necessary!
All of God’s generosity is displayed in creation and redemption, that is the call of Abraham and the exodus out of Egypt — What did that lead to?
How did Israel respond?
One act of rebellion after another, sin after sin, idolatry, inter marrying with the nations around them, the list goes on!
We learn in Psalm 106 that this particular Psalm was written during the time of exile.
Psalm 106:40–41 (ESV)
Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he despised his heritage;
he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.
When we consider all this we learn the setting of Psalm 103 before the gloomy sequence of Psalm 104-106.
Psalm 103 celebrates God’s steadfast love, demonstrated in God’s pardoning of the golden calf and David’s adultery.
If Moses and David experienced God’s mercy all those years ago, then there may be hope for exiled Israel in another act of God’s mercy!
Psalm 103 and the previous Psalms
Psalm 103 and the previous Psalms
Book 2 of the Psalms ends with a very up beat prayer, David’s prayer for Solomon — Psalm 72:8-11
May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth!
May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
Solomon did not live up to his father’s hopes.
Eventually the once great house of David fell apart, leaving the little kingdom of Judah to the mercy of the Babylonians.
This seems to contradict God’s promise to David.
Here is how book 3 closes - Psalm 89:38-40
But now you have cast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.
You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.
You have breached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
Book 4 and the Psalms it contains, including Psalm 103, are an answer to this plea!
Psalm 90 — God does not change; a theme central to Psalm 103.
Several of the Psalms in Book 4 contain the phrase “The Lord Reigns” another theme found in Psalm 103 — Psalm 103:19
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Who is the author of this Psalm? Who sums up his experience and invites the whole of creation to praise God?
—> David!
In book 4 where this Psalm is located 2 are Davids, 1 is Moses and the rest are unknown!
Psalm 103
Psalm 103
In this Psalm David praises God in his soul!
From deep within himself he gives praise to God!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
We are encouraged to reflect upon what God has done
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Growing up we sang a song, you may know it “Count Your Blessings” where the last half of verse one states— “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise what the Lord hath done!”
Then David takes us to Moses and reminds us of God’s dealing with Israel. Bringing hope of God’s forgiveness!
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
David is reaffirming his faith in God!
The steadfast love of God is central to that thought!
Conclusion:
God keeps his promises to children’s children!
Psalm 103 is a a song of hope to a down cast nation!
It is found in a context of exile in Babylon
We may be tempted to despair, but Psalm 103 gives us a reason to hope!
The offer included in this Psalm for forgiveness of sin is open to all!
Even if we think we are the greatest of sinners!
This promise is for those who fear him!
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!