Now you have heard people say, "Well, there is the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. 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. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. He bears long with those that are very provoking, defers punishing, that he may give space to repent, and does not speedily execute the sentence of his law; and he could not be thus slow to anger if he were not plenteous in mercy, the very Father of mercies. Think of the provocation; it was sin, and yet pardoned: how many the Why are you so disquieted within me?" 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. 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. my soulmyself (Ps 3:3; 25:1), with allusion to the act, as one of intelligence. 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. If even the prophet, who was inflamed with a more intense and fervent zeal than other men, was not free from this malady, of which his earnestness in stimulating himself is a plain confession, how much more necessary is it for us, who have abundant experience of our own torpor, to apply the same means for our quickening? Try Bible Gateway Plus free today! 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. David called on himself to bless the Lord wholeheartedly because of all His many blessings. Bless the Lord He calls on his soul, and all its faculties and powers, to magnify God for his mercies. Psalm 103 tells of God who deliversthe nation from bondage (7) and the individual from sin (10-13). Our very life and essential self should be engrossed with this delightful service, and each one of us should arouse his own heart to the engagement. and his righteousness to the children's children [that's my grandkids]; And to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. Think of the provocation; it was sin, and yet pardoned: how many the provocations, yet all pardoned! Observe, I. "Oh, I thought I was stronger than that, I thought I was better than that and all. 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. 2 Bless the LORD, 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 mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. It is my way, says God, to pardon sin. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all 2 O my soul, come, praise the Etern Let others murmur, but do thou bless. It is a continued act; he is still forgiving, as we are still sinning and repenting. No one of his faculties or powers should be exempt from the duty and the privilege of praise. WebVerse Psalms 103:1. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary, Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, "So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle". The name of ingrate is one of the most shameful that a man can wear; surely we cannot be content to run the risk of such a brand. 103 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! "Of course, it cannot be denied that liturgical use of many psalms could have been made, but it is equally correct that they are beautifully adapted to personal use."[4]. 1.Bless Jehovah, O my soul! 2. In short, the blessed angels are glorious attendants upon the blessed God. He knows we are but dust. He began with Bless the Lord, O my soul! Its terminology has entered into the speech of all generations. 15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. We were driving down to Newport Beach the other night and this place down there. 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. 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. 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 ( v. 4), from the destroyer, from hell (so the Chaldee), from the second death. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that reverence him. WebPsalm 103 . The Christian life is far from a negative experience and too many people are only emphasizing the negative aspects. Then again, as he started the psalm, he ends it, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." WebPsalm 103 Bless the Lord, O My Soul. A Psalm of David.. 1 Bless a the Lord, O my soul; . See Isa 40 6, 7. 2 Bless the Lord, 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 mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. It was the inspiration for H. F. Lytes popular hymn, "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven. God has been merciful to us. He desires the assistance of the holy angels, and all the works of God, in praising him, ver 20-22. d Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender If God acted only according to his justice, all sinners would perish. I thought I could I leap buildings with a single bound, and He knows my frame. Remember how the Persian king, when he could not sleep, read the chronicles of the empire, and discovered that one who had saved his life had never been rewarded. Psa 103:12. 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. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, . Bless, &c.when God is the object, praise. Who is it who cannot make the spirit of this worship his own? Blessing God and giving him glory must be the alpha and the omega of all our services. WebClarke's Commentary. Tools. The pardon granted is a present one - forgiveth; it is continual, for he still forgiveth; it is divine, for God gives it; it is far reaching, for it removes all our sins; it takes in omissions as well as commissions, for both of these are in-equities; and it is most effectual, for it is as real as the healing, and the rest of the mercies with which it is placed. We must fear the Lord and his goodness. "He has rescued thee from danger." 35 May sinners be consumed from the earth, For he knows our frame; and he remembers that we are dust ( Psalms 103:13-14 ). Web12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. "Bless the Lord, O my soul." God's mercy is better than life, for it will out-live it. Let me at Satan, you know." 2 O my soul, come, praise the Etern 9:26], NKJV, Chronological Study Bible: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, Chronological Study Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People. 9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. 3. WebPsalm 2 is the second psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Why do the heathen rage".In Latin, it is known as "Quare fremuerunt gentes".Psalm 2 does not identify its author with a superscription, but Acts 4:2426 in the New Testament attributes it to David. What is the crown of glory but God's favour? I knew you were dust all the time." Verse 1. WebHe touches the hills, and they smoke. And you'll find that the same God is revealed in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, who is a God of love, a God of mercy, a God of patience, but also a righteous, holy God who is absolutely just. He cares for the oppressed and shows mercy on sinners (6-8). 11 As high as the sky is above the earth, 3. It is a companion to He selects a few of the choicest pearls from the casket of divine love, threads them on the string of memory, and hangs them about the neck of gratitude. First, They live a life of faith; for they keep God's covenant; having taken hold of it, they keep hold of it, fast hold, and will not let it go. Though he signify his displeasure against us for our sins by the rebukes of Providence, and the reproaches of our own consciences, and thus cause grief, yet he will have compassion, and will not always keep us in pain and terror, no, not for our sins, but, after the spirit of bondage, will give the spirit of adoption. And all that is within me, bless his holy name. Interesting that he said as far as the east is from the west, rather than as far the north is from the south. 2. 4 Ways the Parable of the Sower Encourages Spiritual Growth. Because God remembers our frame. 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. And he declares, "Jehovah is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, plenteous in mercy." 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. This is mentioned first because by the pardon of sin that is taken away which kept good things from us, and we are restored to the favour of God, which bestows good things on us. Now wait a minute. 3 b Who forgives all your iniquities, . Now it's another vein, "Bless the Lord, O my soul.". Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. The Psalmist strikes the best key-note when he begins with stirring up his inmost self to magnify the Lord. Why do I feel despondent? I haven't been down to Newport for a long time. God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Forgiveness is first in the order of our spiritual experience, and in some respects first in value. WebFootnotes. 12:13; Is. God's all cannot be praised with less than our all. Here is, I. II. A Psalm of David.. 1 Bless a the Lord, O my soul; . God understands human weakness and he is kind to those who fear him (13-14).Life is short and uncertain, but people can enjoy the everlasting blessings of Gods steadfast love if they are faithfully obedient (15-18). 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, then they may be said to return to the days of their youth, Job 33 25. 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