Bless The Lord, Oh My Soul!
What a joyous Psalm! Psalm 103 is simply titled “A
Psalm of David.” We don’t know the circumstances in which it was written, but
since David was a man who knew the grace and forgiveness of God many times, it
could have been written at many different times of his life. Most likely it was
written in his later years, when he had a keener sense of the care and mercy of
God. It is one of the most perfect songs of pure praise found anywhere in the
Bible. In this Psalm, David blesses the LORD for all of his many blessings and
benefits.
In the opening stanza, David blesses the Lord
from the depths of his heart and soul. He uses the word “bless” in the sense
that it blesses and honors God when His creatures praise Him and thank Him for
who He is and what He has done. In the middle section, David lists many of the unbelievable
benefits he has derived from his relationship with the Lord. He describes God
as the One who: forgives your sins, heals your diseases, redeems your life,
crowns you with lovingkindness, satisfies your deepest needs, and carries out
righteousness and justice. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger,
and abounding in mercy. What a list! God’s kind and loving acts toward His
people are incomprehensible and undeserved. Yet He acts anyway! So, what else
is there to do but bless Him and praise Him?
As he nears the conclusion of this joyous Psalm, David
compares our Heavenly Father to a loving earthly parent. The way that a good father cares for and even “pities” his children in their frailty and weakness, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. The word translated “compassion” or “pities” in this
verse comes from a Hebrew root word which means, “to love deeply, have mercy,
be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion.” A good father
does not demand more of his children than they can perform, but with care takes
into account their weaknesses. He comforts them and measures his expectations
according to his wisdom and compassion. In the same way, our Heavenly
Father recognizes our human frailty and has compassion on our childish
ignorance, weakness, foolishness, and naughtiness. He pities us when we stumble
and fall and when we feel pain or fear.
The Lord “knows our frame.” He knows the
substance and structure of our humanness. After all, He created us from the
dust of the earth. The pity and compassion of
God toward those who fear Him are rooted in this knowledge and understanding of
our human makeup. Your Heavenly Father knows you better than you know yourself.
You may be intolerant of, or disappointed in, your own mistakes and failures, but He
is not! He is not an intolerant and demanding Person. He is compassionate and
kind. The moral of the story is: don’t be so hard on yourself! Recognize, as the Lord does, that your human
nature is flawed and imperfect. When mistakes or failures happen (and they
will), turn to your Father in Heaven and receive His compassionate and kind
forgiveness. For as far as the east is from the west, so far will He remove
your transgressions from you.
David ended the psalm as he began it,
with a call to his own soul to bless God, giving Him the honor and praise due to
Him. Bless the LORD, O my soul!
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