Psalm 103:1-5,
Praise the Lord or Thank you, Lord
David’s life was a mixture of good and evil, mixed with noble deeds, high aspirations, great accomplishments, and stained with terrible and grave sins of Adultery and Murder. “An unlimited power leads a person to an ungrateful life and egotistical lifestyles”. However, he was known as a man of righteousness because he never became an unthankful man for what God has done to him.
The Psalmist David introduces in this Psalm to the hearers of his Hymn “how to praise the Lord” in verses one and two. Then he calls them “what to remember”: Firstly the worldly blessings meted out by the Lord in verses three, secondly the spiritual blessings in verses four and five.
1. How to Praise the Lord (Psalm 103:1-2).
The Orthodox Bible uses the word Hashem for God to denote the Adonai to mention the Lordship of Yahweh and, Nefesh for the soul to refer to the spirit of Yahweh or the Living breath of God in Psalmist David (Psalm 103:1-2). O my soul, bless God, From head to toe, don’t forget a single blessing! (The Message Bible: Psalm 103:1-2). Praise the Lord with my whole heart, with my whole life, and with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God! Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me? (The Passion Translation: Psalm 103:1-2).
David says to His soul come, praise the Eternal, all that is in me—body, emotions, mind, and will—every part of who I am—praise His holy name, sing a song from a grateful heart; sing and never forget all the good He has done (The Voice: Psalm 103:1-2). My soul and do not forget all the yielding or the gifts you enjoyed from God. (The Wycliffe: Psalm 103:2). Amplified Classic Edition: Bless the Lord affectionately, gratefully, O my soul; and all that is, deepest within me, bless His holy name and forget not one of his benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2). Easy to read version: My soul, praise the Lord! Every part of me praises his holy name, and never forget how kind he is!
2. Remember the Worldly Blessings (Psalm 103:3)
Forgiveness and Healing: Despite all your many offenses, He forgives and releases you. More than any doctor, He heals your diseases (The Voice: Psalm 103:3). He forgives your sins—all. He heals your diseases—every single (The message Bible: Psalm 103:3). The Passion Translation: You kissed my heart with forgiveness, in spite of all I’ve done. You’ve healed me inside and out from every disease (Psalm 103:3-4).
In the Parable of the Lost Son, the narration is very excellent in Luke 15:20: “He was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). The Father, ‘threw his arms and kissed his Son’. The writer uses the grammar to convey and indicate, “Father repeatedly Kissed his Son” (enduringword.com), “Father fervently kissed his Son” (Bullinger’s Companion Bible Notes), Matthew Henry comments: ‘His father saw him.’ Here are eyes of mercy. ‘And had compassion.’ Here were bowels of mercy. ‘And ran.’ Here are feet of mercy. ‘And fell on his neck.’ Here are arms of mercy. ‘And kissed him.’ Here are lips of mercy.” It was all mercy from first to last. Yes, it’s very natural to kiss a person repeatedly after Seeing that person after a long gap. These are natural actions beyond expressions. Don’t you understand the Love of Father is incomparable?
Our behavior and attitude can never change God’s love and compassion toward us. God is always compassionate. He said to Moses: “I will have compassion on whom I want to have” (Exodus 33:3, Romans 9:15), Nehemiah and David mention the ‘great compassion of God’ (Nehemiah 9:19, Psalm 51:1). He has compassion as a Father has compassion on his Children (Psalm 103:13).
Gospel writers, again and again, a record that ‘whenever Jesus saw the crowd he had compassion or moved with compassion’ (Matthew 9:36, James 5:11). The love of God the Father is poured upon all. The lord is full of compassion and mercy, his reaching love of God is expressed in John 3:16. God so loved the World he gave his only begotten Son. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
3. Remember The Spiritual Blessings (Psalm 103:4-5)
Rescues and Renews: The Orthodox Bible: Who satisfieth thy mouth with tov; so that thy ne’urim is made chadash like the nesher. David says he ‘He crowns you with love and compassion’ (Psalm 103:4). The Orthodox Bible uses the word Go’el (Redeemer) of thy life from shachat (corruption, pit, grave).
The Original name for the scapegoat was Azazel. Azazel means “remove or to separate”. A he-goat who takes up the burden of sins of the people was sent to the wilderness to the inhabitant. The sin, suffering, sickness are transferred to this goat and became Azazel. The biblical understanding of a scapegoat is a goat sent into the wilderness after the Jewish chief priest had symbolically laid the sins of the people upon it (Leviticus. 16).
Every sinner must put his hands upon the Christ of God and by that act intimate his desire that Christ would bear his sins away. Jesus Christ became the arch-scapegoat for all of us. Christ was the scapegoat and the sacrificial goat. Christ was crucified accepting the sins of the whole world as a scapegoat (Leviticus 16:21-22 and 2 Corinthians 5:18-21), And he became the sacrificial goat, he became complementary to one another. The resurrection brings justification, our baptism is death and our coming out of water is resurrection & justification. It must be free from defects, not blind, not fractured nor maimed nor having a running sore or eczema or scabs, not overgrown or stunted member, not testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut (Leviticus 22:20-24).
The best example is the redeemer of Ruth, the Boaz. The Landlord’s eyes fell on the young widow, a lady who lost hope of living. Struggling for survival but God has sent his mercy and redemption to Ruth to that Man Boaz. God has removed our corruption and given us the hope of living through Jesus Christ. He redeems you from hell—saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown (The Message Bible). The Wycliffe: Which again-buyeth thy life from death; which crowneth thee in mercy and merciful doings. The Passion Translation: You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life. You’ve crowned me with love and mercy.
The Passion Translation: You satisfy my every desire with good things. You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again, like a flying eagle in the sky! We are called to fly. A new life with Christ is always an elated, elite life, may not economically but spiritually high standard. The righteous man walks like the Lion of Judah and flies like the power of an Eagle (Isaiah 40:31).
The message Bible: He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal. He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence. The Voice: He reaches deep into the pit to deliver you from death. He crowns you with unfailing love and compassion like a king. When your soul is famished and withering, He fills you with good and beautiful things, satisfying you as long as you live. He makes you strong like an eagle, restoring your youth.
Amplified Classic Edition: Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy. Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]! Easy to read Version: He saves us from the grave, and he gives us love and compassion. He gives us plenty of good things. He makes us young again, like an eagle that grows new feathers.
