Psalms 103

FBMeyer

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Psalms 103:1-12

the Lord’ s Abundant Mercies Psalms 103:1-12 David’ s name heads this peerless psalm, which expresses, as none other, the soul of the universal Church and of the individual Christian. Notice the present tenses throughout these verses. God’ s tender dealings run parallel with our lives. He is never weary nor exhausted. When once He begins, He keeps on. Let us enumerate the blessings that He gives in such unbroken abundance, and as the fingers tell the successive beads, praise Him: forgiveness; healing, Exodus 15:26; redemption from perils and accidents, seen and unseen; the crowns that He places on our unworthy heads; entire satisfaction, Psalms 36:8; Isaiah 58:11; perennial youth. It was a proverb among Orientals that the eagle literally grows younger. This is the psalmist’ s reference in Psalms 103:5. For us it means that the life which is fed from the eternal springs is eagle-like in royal strength and sunward flight. Ways or plans are revealed to the inner circle; the ordinary congregation knows only acts. The Father does chide, but only till we put sin away. Conceive the infinite spaces of East and West-such is the distance of forgiven sin from us. It is impossible that the blame or curse of it should ever return upon the redeemed soul.

The Psalm of gratitude David’s name heads this peerless Psalm of praise, which expresses as none other, the soul of the Church and of the Christian. It has been compared to a still, clear brook of praise.

Psalms 103:1. All that is within me, bless his holy name! Let no faculty of the soul be still in God’s praise.

Psalms 103:2. Forget not all his benefits Alas! That we forget so often and so many of God’s benefits! Memory, awake! And touch thy chords, bring back the blessed past!

Psalms 103:3-5. Who forgiveth! … Who redeemeth! … Who satisfieth! Notice the “present tenses” in this and the following verses. God’s tender dealings run parallel with our lives. He is never weary or exhausted. Enumerate the blessings which He gives, and as the fingers tell the successive beads, praise Him: forgiveness; healing (Exodus 15:26); redemption; crowning; satisfaction (Psalms 36:8; Isaiah 58:11); perennial youth. We need not think that the Bible authorizes the belief that the eagle literally renews its youth, but only that the youth, when renewed, is eagle-like in its royal strength (Isaiah 40:31).

Psalms 103:7. He made known his ways unto Moses! Ways or plans, are only made known to the inner circle of the saints. The ordinary congregation learn only his doings (John 15:15).

Psalms 103:8. The Lord is merciful and gracious A conception of God, which seems strange in its setting of that old Jewish economy, ’ but has been confirmed by all subsequent ages.

Psalms 103:9. He will not always chide He does chide and we might question his love if He did not. His chiding is occasioned by our sins. So soon as they are confessed and put away, there is no trace of it left.

Psalms 103:10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins Surely each one can set his seal to this.

Psalms 103:11-12. As the heaven is high above the earth! … As far as is east from west! These are the largest measurements which imagination can conceive. But they are all too small for the purpose of the Psalmist, in his desire to describe the impossibility of forgiven sin coming back on the soul.

Psalms 103:13-14. Like as a father pitieth so the Lord pitieth We do not half realize our Father’s pity. We chastise ourselves bitterly if we do not understand or reach our ideals. We are ever fearful that He will not give us credit for the motives which underlie our sad and fitful experience. We try to make ourselves more fit for his love. And all the time He is tenderly regarding us, and knows so well how much of our failure accrues from temperament, disposition and overstrain (1 Kings 19:5).

Psalms 103:15-18. As for man, his days are as grass What a sublime contrast between man’s weakness, at his best–and God’s eternity of mercy! There is a promise also here for the grandchildren of God’s people Remember to do.

Psalms 103:19. His Kingdom ruleth over all Yes, all men and devils are beneath that power. Satan must even get permission before he can tempt (Job 1:11-12; Luke 22:31).

Psalms 103:20. Bless the Lord, ye his angels! The mighty and obedient angels! Angelic obedience might well stimulate us (Matthew 6:10).

Psalms 103:22. Bless the Lord, all his works! One lonely soul on fire with the love of God may set the whole universe ablaze (Acts 2:41; Revelation 5:11).

Psalms 103:13-22

Everlasting Loving-Kindness Psalms 103:13-22 The psalmist comes from the far-reaching sky to the homely image of a father’ s pity. God is a great King, the mighty Creator, but the Spirit witnesses that we are His children and teaches us to say, Abba, Father. The idea of dust is that of frailty. Made of dust and fragile as an earthen vessel, man by his weakness appeals to Jehovah’ s compassion. The thought of frailty and helplessness is still further impressed by the figure of the fading flower, scorched by the hot desert wind. But, by force of contrast, the psalmist passes from man’ s brief span of life to God’ s eternal years.

And God’ s love is as His life. Because God is eternal, His love is eternal. When once He loves, He loves always; He never wearies, never cools, and never lets go. A parent who fears God may leave a legacy of priceless worth to his children’ s children. See Psalms 103:17. From Psalms 103:19 to the end, the psalmist pulls out all the stops in the great organ of existence. Angels and hosts of other intelligent beings who perform the Lord’ s will, all his works animate and inanimate, all saints, all souls, stars and suns, oceans, and mountains-all must join the “ Hallelujah Chorus.”