PSALM 103: 1-5
A CALL TO BLESS THE LORD GOD
The Psalmist had walked with God through many difficulties & many years and had come to know Him as merciful and gracious. He had received many wondrous blessing and benefits from God, but had not remembered them frequently enough, and he is not alone. The psalmist determines to do better. Thus the psalm opens with the command to bless (or praise) Yahweh, and then lists some of the good things that Yahweh does for His people. When the Lord ‘blesses’ us, He see our needs and responds to them; when we ‘bless’ the Lord, we review His excellencies and respond to them. Praise is certainly warranted in view of who the Lord is and His many benefits to us His people.
I. RELEASING PRAISE, 1-2.
II. REMEMBERED BLESSING, 3-5.
In verse 1 the psalmist speaks to his soul in order to stir his innermost being to magnify the Lord. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
The psalmist repeats the command to bless the Lord six times (vv. 1, 2, 20, 21, 22) in this Psalm. [The Hebrew word used here, barak.] Bless expresses appreciation, gratitude, respect, relationship, and good will toward the one being blessed. To bless the Lord is to delight His heart by showing love and gratitude for all He is and does [Wiersbe, Warren. Bible Exposition Commentary Vol. 2. David Cook Publishing. Colorado Springs 2004]. Praise comes from a grateful heart that wants to please and honor God.
Most believers understand that we should bless the Lord, but infrequently do so, or bless Him inadequately. The psalmist wants to change his failure which simply gives lip service to God. David thus commands his soul to bless the Lord.
So David talks to his own soul—his mind, will and emotions. He calls upon every faculty (5:9; 49:11) of his being to bless the Lord. “With all his being” or soul, indicates putting his whole heart (Mk. 12:28-31) in his praise of God’s character.
The blessing of His holy name refers primarily to the glorious character and nature of Yahweh (33:21). He blesses the Lord Himself before he recounts his blessings. For all God does stems from who He is (name) and what He is (holy).
The call to bless God is repeated in verse 2 with the added thought of being thankful for blessings received. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits [‘dealings,’ ‘sufficiencies’or ‘blessings’].”
David gives all that he within himself to God and to God’s praise because he has remembered all that God has done for him. Memory is always one of our best aids in worship. Praise is certainly warranted in view of the Lord’s many benefits to us His people.
Although forgetfulness sometimes increases with age, forgetfulness of God’s blessings is common to all. David though is determined not to fail His Lord by forgetting His blessings to him.
Whenever we find ourselves full of anxiety about the future, it’s very likely because we don’t remember how faithful God has been in the past. When we forget what the Lord has done—the benefits He’s made so abundantly available to us, the faithfulness and kindness He so consistently shows to us—our faith begins to falter. If you’re like me and don’t always remember how the Lord has answered your prayers, I encourage you to write down the things you’re wrestling with or going through. As I reread my old prayer journals I can see how God solved seemingly impossible situations in wondrous ways. [Courson, J. (2006). Jon Courson’s application commentary: Volume two: Psalms-Malachi (p. 126). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.]
So the psalmist is prepared to count his many blessings and name them one by one. It would do us well to do so also.
When was the last time you openly and unashamedly praised God for His benefits toward you? Someone has said, “If Christians praised God more, the world would doubt Him less.” Not only is it appropriate to express your gratitude for all God’s benefits, but your example may encourage others to move from doubt to faith as you praise Him. An attitude of gratitude can make your life a beatitude.
II. REMEMBERED BLESSING, 3-5.
The Psalm now recounts or elaborates some (6) of the Lord’s many mercies in verses 3–5. The most gracious first benefit remembered in the first half of verse 3 is that God “forgives all your iniquities” (v. 3a). “Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;
Aren’t you thankful that the Lord doesn’t forgive most of our iniquities, but that He forgives them all? Forgiveness is the foundation for fellowship (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14, 2:13). Thus the prophetic call is always to repent, and the gospel promises that confession of sin brings cleansing (1 John 1:9) and restores fellowship. May the Lord be magnified and honored for the cost and the fact the that He forgives all our sin.
The second benefit in verse 3 is that God “heals all your diseases.” The link between forgiveness and healing is clear. In fact much of our physical and emotional illness is psychogenic, due to moral failure. The only relief is God’s forgiveness, which will result in healing (so James 5:16). Healing is part of the blessing of salvation (Mt. 9:35). Jesus proclaimed the kingdom, cast out demons, and healed diseases (see Mt. 4:23; Luke 6:17–19). [Williams, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1989). Psalms 73–150 (Vol. 14, pp. 226–227). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.]
A third benefit from God found in the first half of verse 4 is that He “redeems [‘rescues’] your life from destruction [literally, ‘the pit’].”
The Hebrew word used here, go'el, refers to a person who rescues another from bondage. The term is applied to situations ranging from physical harm, to slavery, to debt (Job 19:25). [Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ps 103:4). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.] God has redeemed us both by purchase through the blood of Jesus Christ and by the power of His mighty hand. “Destruction” would be the pit of death (see Ps. 28:1). Ultimately, of course, God redeems us from eternal death. As Jesus promises: “I Am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25–26). Do you believe this?
The fourth benefit from God in the second half of verse 4 is that He “crowns you with loving –kindness [‘covenant-love’] and tender mercies [plural intensive of ‘compassion’].”
The striking expression or symbol of being crowned extends royal benefits to each believer. Crowning suggests (as in 8:5) bestowing blessing like royal glory and authority which come from His divine love and mercy. Paul sees believers as reigning with Christ “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7).
God has enriched his life with loyal love (vv. 8, 11, 17). God’s chesed is central to His character. Lovingkindness is love centered in the will, the love of unchanging commitment. The Hebrew word tender mercies or compassions (vv. 8, 13; 116:5; 119:156) used here, rachamim, describes a deeply felt care or mercy. Tender mercies or compassions is the surging and emotional love of the heart [Motyer, J. A. (1994). The Psalms. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 552). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press].
The fifth benefit in verse 5 is that God “satisfies your years with good things”; that is, physical strength and health are pleasurably restored “so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
God provides satisfaction (with good things; 104:28; 107:9), and renewal. There is no long term satisfaction in this world, but we find satisfaction in Christ who is the Bread of life (Jn. 6:33-40), the Living Water and the Good Shepherd who leads us into green pastures (23:2). No matter how old we become God can satisfies our years with the needs of our lives and the spiritual desires of our hearts.
Like an eagle that remains strong throughout its long life, the psalmist was spiritually vigorous under God’s hand. The eagle is symbolic of strength and speed, perhaps because of its ability to attack quickly from above. Isaiah promises, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Is. 40:31).
No wonder, then, that David commands his soul to bless God. His benefits are full and satisfying, and they climax in the crown of God’s “lovingkindness and tender mercies” (v. 4).
IN CLOSING
David has no shortage of reasons to bless the Lord. The Lord forgave him, healed him, satisfied him, renewed him—just as He has done for us. Regardless of our age, when we find joy and happiness in blessing the name of the Lord and recounting all His benefits to us, the strength of our youth is renewed like the eagle’s. We have the strength to soar over the problems that face us daily because we have a heart satisfied with God. [Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1118). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.]
Most of the time we take our good for granted. The things that add to our comfort and make our life easier are hardly notice-unless for some reason they are curtailed. When ther is an electrical power outage we may suddenly realize what a great benefit electricity is, or when we are temporarily without water, how greatly prize it!
It is natural that we take our daily living for grated, but we should stop now and then and, as the old saying goes, count our blessings. As we do we may discover that we have been taking much for granted-other people, the good that is poured out upon us in so many ways, even God and His loving care of us. As we count our blessings, a great feeling of thankfulness wells us within us.
It is spirit-renewing to look at our life with appreciation and thankfulness, to think about how richly blessed we are. Today let us give thanks for all our blessing. Let us count them out and rejoice in them.
