Psalm 103:1-12 - Seeing What God is Like
1)Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—3) who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4) who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5) who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6) The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. 7) He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8) The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9) He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10) He does not deal with us according to our sins nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11) For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12) as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.
Background: The book of Psalms is the prayer book and hymnal of the Bible. In it the authors share every raw human emotion possible. The words can take us from feelings of fierce vengeance, to euphoric praise, to stately thanksgiving, to abject despair, to quaking fear and lament, to calm delight, to steadfast hope and trust, sometimes in the space of a comma. We are reminded in the psalms that all of human life is lived in the presence of and in awareness of God. The psalmists assume and assure us that all of human life is attended to by God and that all of human life is the appropriate subject of prayer. God does not want from us, in the intimacy of prayer, just the parts of life that feel good, or look good, or feel faithful or look faithful. Every breath is a breath of the Spirit, and no circumstance is too petty to bring before God. No feeling, even about God, no doubt, no anger, no disappointment with God, is off limits when life is lived in God’s presence. What a comfort it is to know that we do not have to censor our prayers, as if we could if we wanted to.
The book of Psalms is a compilation of several collections of psalms; many used liturgically in worship. Perhaps some were written for private devotion and, because they express themes that are universal, later became a part of the worship language of God’s people. Traditionally it was thought that all of the psalms were written by King David. Many probably were, but we now know that others had hands in these beautiful poem/prayer/songs. Whoever the writer/composer may have been, in these texts we are given permission to be real, before God and with each other. The psalms as poetry and song, have many layers of meaning which unfold within us in our daily experience.
Psalm 103: This beautiful hymnic psalm is one of the most familiar and beloved in our family hymnbook of the Psalms. Not all scholars agree on how to type this psalm. Nor do they all agree on its original setting. Some think it is a personal psalm celebrating the writer’s recovery from a severe illness. Others argue that is was written as part of the liturgy of a great thanksgiving service. In either case, it is clear that the psalmist sees God’s hand in his own healing or that of his community. As you read this psalm you will notice a number of the themes that we have considered throughout our Summer with the Psalms. Look for praise, justice, steadfast love and forgiveness.
Word Study
Vs. 1 – Bless – (barak) – This word originally meant to bend the knee or to bow as one would to a sovereign. It eventually came to mean, ‘to bless, to praise, to ask for a blessing, and to pay homage.’
Soul – (nephesh) This important Hebrew word refers to the whole of a person, body, mind, spirit, and personality. It is everything that makes us human and unique
Within – (qereb) This word refers to the center or core of something. It sometimes refers to the bowels which the ancestors thought were the seat of human emotions.
Vs. 2 – benefits – This is very interesting! In almost all other uses of this word in scripture, it has a negative connotation. It means recompense in the sense of one getting what one deserves as a consequence of one’s choices. Here, however, we see that God’s recompense, that is what we get due to our sinful choices, is forgiveness!
Vs. 3 – Forgives – This word means to pardon or to spare.
Iniquity – This is a strong word in Hebrew. It means depraved actions and the consequences of them.
Vs. 4 – Redeems – This word means to ransom, release, deliver. It first meant to purchase the freedom of someone or to pay a debt that someone owes.
Life – (chay)- This word refers to life in every aspect, including but not limited to biological life.
Pit – This word means a trap, a snare, a cistern. It is often used in the OT as a metaphor for the time of bondage in Egypt.
Steadfast love and mercy – This phrase translates the Hebrew word racham which means compassion, mercy, parental love, tenderness, sensitive love and sympathy.
Vs. 5 – good – (towb)This lovely word means, pleasant, beautiful, excellent, lovely, delightful, kind, correct, convenient, righteous, and virtuous. Try reading this verse with each of those possible translations to get a sense of the broad power of this promise.
Vs. 6 – works – This verse is like a crescendo in our Psalm, giving us a look at what God has done and will always do. Works, here, refers to labor, toil, the activity of creating something.
Vindication and justice – This phrase translates two important Hebrew words, tsdaqah and mishpat. The former refers to justice, righteousness, equity, faithfulness. The latter is a term from the courts. It refers to a verdict or final decree. Think about this as a whole. This verse tells us that God tirelessly toils and constantly works to create justice, to declare a final decree in favor of justice for the oppressed! Whew.
Oppressed – Where this word is used in other parts of the scripture, the removal of oppression equals righteousness. See Isaiah 54:14 as one example.
Vs. 7 – He made known – (Yada) This word means to perceive, to understand, to discern the core of something. It is the word used also, but obviously not exclusively, for sexual relations. There is a powerful quality of being known thoroughly in this phrase.
Ways – (derek) What does God intimately make known to us? God’s derek. This word refers to God’s path, or walk of life.
Vs. 8 – merciful and gracious – This phrase translates the Hebrew word channuwn. This one word reminds us that in God, mercy and grace are inseparable.
Slow – This is the word for something that is very, very long, like a fuse.
Vs. 9 – always accuse – This interesting construction indicates a firmness, or a goal on the part of the subject. It also connotes completeness. The word ‘accuse’ means to strive with or contend with. Another way of saying might be that God has set a firm intention that God will not be at war with us. That intention is complete in God.
Vs. 10 – deal with – This word also means to work, labor, toil, create.
Sins – This word comes from archery, and it means to miss the mark.
Vs. 11 – heavens – (shamayim) This word has two general meanings in Hebrew. 1. It refers to the arc of the sky that we can see like a dome. It is where birds fly. 2. It refers to the realm outside our sight where God lives.
Earth – This word refers to the physical planet.
Fear – This word means to be afraid or anxious. It also means to be awed or reverent. To experience this kind of awe and reverence calls out changed behavior. It is that awe and reverence which lead to change that tempers fear and anxiety.
Questions for Personal Reflection
- Take a moment to think about the characteristics that you associate with God. Does this psalm help you expand or refine your image of God?
- How do you bless God? What ‘song’ does your soul sing?
- Our psalm indicates that a part of what God does is to work ceaselessly to overturn oppression in every instance. How does that make you feel? Where do you see that work today?
- The psalm focuses a lot on forgiveness, grace, and mercy. How have you experienced those things in your life?