Psalm 103 (3)

Psalm 103

Personal Praise (1-5)

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: [Soul=life and being]

And all that is within me, bless his holy name. [Name=reputation]

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

Why? Because of the Lord’s character

Because God is a god who….

WHO:

And forget not all his benefits: [Benefits in the sense of aiding us in our well being]

3 Who dforgiveth all thine iniquities; [He no longer holds us accountable for our moral failures]

Who ehealeth all thy diseases; [Even in the end, death is the final healing]

4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; [He brings us to safety…destruction=pit Psalm 40]

Who crowneth [to honor or bestow upon someone] thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; [a deep awareness of and sympathy for another’s suffering]

5 Who satisfieth [fill the need] thy mouth [this is actually the word for jewelry…I think its telling us that it’s ok to desire nice things and that God wants to provide us with nice things] with good [something that is valuable or useful and often in the sense of being valuable or useful collectively] things;

[For what purpose?] So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

National Praise (6-18)

How does God respond to the nation of Israel?

These promises in the OT are not to be used to force God into treating the USA like He has promised to deal with Israel

God is still gracious and He is still to be praised for His character in how He responds

6 The Lord executeth [behaves in a certain manner] righteousness [the sense of adherence to what is required according to a standard, i.e. a moral standard]

And judgment [the determination of rewards and punishments…this belongs to the Lord] for all that are oppressed. [He does this for ALL that are treated unjustly]

7 He made known his ways unto Moses,

His acts unto the children of Israel. [We can see these character traits when we look at how God dealt with Moses and Israel]

Specifically how does He display His grace and mercy?

8 The Lord is merciful [shows compassion…getting what we don’t deserve] and gracious, [not giving us what we do deserve]

Slow to anger [God is the Judge but He is not quick to execute and allows for repentance], [The literal wording is ‘indulgent nose’…first the nose was seen as an important part of the face because that’s where God breathed in life to Adam (Gen. 2:7) but is also where emotion is expressed, namely anger. The thought is that God takes a long deep breath in as He holds back His anger. Proverbs 25:15 uses this in respect to human rulers.]

and plenteous [Rich] in mercy.

9 He will not always chide: [strive or oppose]

Neither will he keep his anger for ever.

10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins;

Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

[He has not dealt with us in the way we would deal with people who don’t reach our standard]

11 For as the heaven [Not the sun, moon, and clouds but the abode of God and the angels] is high above the earth,

So great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

12 As far as the east is from the west,

So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

The word picture of a father and a child is used to describe God’s relationship with His people

13 Like as a father pitieth [to show kindness or gentleness] his children,

So the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

14 For he knoweth our frame; [He knows us in every sense…The word is used of a potter molding clay, he knows not only its substance but what it will become and how it will come to take that form]

He remembereth that we are dust. [A play on words as this word can mean dirt, dust, or clay…Don’t forget who is the potter and that you are His clay]

15 As for man, his days are as grass: [Short as compared to other plants like trees]

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.

How long is the Lord merciful?

17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting [We open to Genesis 1:1 and there is God and He has existed forever before then…we turn to Revelation 22:21 and there is Jesus Christ and will continue to be forever after…from everlasting before us until everlasting after us] upon them that fear him,

Who is the Lord merciful to?

And his righteousness unto children’s children;

18 To such as keep his covenant,

And to those that remember his commandments to do them.

[God is merciful and patient to those that fear Him and to the children of parent who train up their children to fear Him]

Praise From All Creation (19-21)

19 The Lord hath prepared [set up or established] his throne in the heavens;

And his kingdom ruleth over all.

20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels,

That excel in strength, that do his commandments,

Hearkening unto the voice of his word.

21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; [An army…I believe he is referring to believing Israel]

Ye ministers [servants] of his, that do his pleasure. [His will]

22 Bless the Lord, all his works [labor in the sense of what is accomplished through that labor]

In all places of his dominion:

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Where are we to praise and bless God? Everywhere

Why are we to praise God? Because of everything He has done, is doing, and will do.

Who is to praise God? Everyone and everything