Praise the Lord for His Mercy

103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul! With all that is within me, praise his holy name! 103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul! Do not forget all his kind deeds! 103:3 He is the one who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases, 103:4 who delivers your life from the Pit, who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion, 103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. 103:6 The Lord does what is fair, and executes justice for all the oppressed. 103:7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts to Moses, his deeds to the Israelites. 103:8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful; he is patient and demonstrates great loyal love. 103:9 He does not always accuse, and does not stay angry. 103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve. 103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth, so his loyal love towers over his faithful followers. 103:12 As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us. 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. 103:14 For he knows what we are made of; he realizes we are made of clay. 103:15 A person’s life is like grass. Like a flower in the field it flourishes, 103:16 but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears, and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew. 103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, and is faithful to their descendants, 103:18 to those who keep his covenant, who are careful to obey his commands. 103:19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven; his kingdom extends over everything. 103:20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his, you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees and obey his orders! 103:21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his, you servants of his who carry out his desires! 103:22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made, in all the regions of his kingdom! Praise the Lord, O my soul! Psalm 104

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Psalm 103 calls the worshiper to praise the Lord with the whole self because he forgives, heals, rescues, crowns with loyal love, and shows fatherly compassion. It reminds God’s people not to forget his benefits, and it ends by calling all creation to praise his rule over everything.

This psalm begins with a strong call to praise. The speaker tells his own soul to bless the Lord and not forget what he has done. Praise must be whole-hearted and rooted in memory.

The psalm then gives reasons for praise. The Lord forgives sins, heals diseases, redeems life from the Pit, crowns his people with loyal love and compassion, and satisfies life with good things. These words celebrate God’s restoring care. They are not a promise that every believer will always have perfect health or ease.

The psalm also remembers who the Lord is in Israel’s history. He does what is right, brings justice for the oppressed, and made his ways known to Moses and his deeds to Israel. He is compassionate, merciful, patient, and rich in loyal love. He does not stay angry forever, and he does not repay his people according to the full measure of their sins.

God’s mercy is great beyond measure. His loyal love is higher than the skies. He removes guilt far away, like the distance from east to west. He acts like a compassionate father toward his children, because he knows our frailty and remembers that we are made of dust.

Human life is short. It is like grass that grows and then fades. But the Lord’s loyal love continues for those who fear him and keep his covenant, meaning those who live in faithful response to him. The psalm does not teach that people earn God’s mercy by obedience. It shows the proper life of the covenant people under his grace.

The psalm ends by widening the call to praise. The Lord’s throne is in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Angels, servants, and all creation are summoned to praise him. The worshiper who began by speaking to his own soul ends by joining the whole universe in praise.

• Praise should be deliberate and whole-hearted, not careless or forgetful.
• God forgives real sin and removes real guilt.
• The Lord is compassionate, merciful, patient, and rich in loyal love.
• God does not deal with his people only according to what their sins deserve.
• Human life is brief and fragile like grass.
• The Lord’s kingdom rules over everything, so all creation should praise him.

• Praise the Lord with all that is within you.
• Do not forget all his kind deeds.
• Do not read the healing and renewal language as a promise of uninterrupted physical health or prosperity.
• Do not turn covenant language into salvation by human merit.
• Praise the Lord, all his angels and all his works.

Psalm 103 shows the Lord as the covenant God of Israel who revealed his character to Moses. His mercy, justice, forgiveness, and kingship are all part of his saving rule. The psalm points forward in the canon to the fuller display of God’s mercy and universal lordship, while keeping its original focus on the Lord’s own covenant character.

Believers should remember God’s benefits often, because forgetfulness weakens praise. They should worship with the whole person, not only with outward words. They should trust God’s mercy, confess their sin, and live in obedient faith. They should also praise him with humility, knowing that human life is brief but his kingdom lasts forever.

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