Psalms103
New International Version
1 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.
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Psalms 103Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Psalms 103. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: An exhortation to bless God for his mercy. (1–5). And to the church and to all men. (6–14). For the constancy of his mercy. (15–18). For the government of the world. (19–22).
vv1-5
By the pardon of sin, that is taken away which kept good things from us, and we are restored to the favor of God, who bestows good things on us. Think of the provocation; it was sin, and yet pardoned: how many the provocations, yet all pardoned! God is still forgiving, as we are still sinning and repenting. The body finds the melancholy consequences of Adam's offence, it is subject to many infirmities, and the soul also. Christ alone forgives all our sins; it is he alone who heals all our infirmities. And the person who finds his sin cured, has a well-grounded assurance that it is forgiven. When God, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, recovers his people from their decays, and fills them with new life and joy, which is to them an earnest of eternal life and joy, they may then be said to return to the days of their youth, Job 33:25.
vv6-14
Truly God is good to all: he is in a special manner good to Israel. He has revealed himself and his grace to them. By his ways we may understand his precepts, the ways he requires us to walk in; and his promises and purposes. He always has been full of compassion. How unlike are those to God, who take every occasion to chide, and never know when to cease! What would become of us, if God should deal so with us? The Scripture says a great deal of the mercy of God, and we all have experienced it. The father pities his children that are weak in knowledge, and teaches them; pities them when they are froward, and bears with them; pities them when they are sick, and comforts them; pities them when they are fallen, and helps them to rise; pities them when they have offended, and, upon their submission, forgives them; pities them when wronged, and rights them: thus the Lord pities those that fear him. See why he pities. He considers the frailty of our bodies, and the folly of our souls, how little we can do, how little we can bear; in all which his compassion appears.
vv15-18
How short is man's life, and uncertain! The flower of the garden is commonly more choice, and will last the longer, for being sheltered by the garden-wall, and the gardener's care; but the flower of the field, to which life is here compared, is not only withering in itself, but exposed to the cold blasts, and liable to be cropt and trod on by the beasts of the field. Such is man. God considers this, and pities him; let him consider it himself. God's mercy is better than life, for it will outlive it. His righteousness, the truth of his promise, shall be unto children's children, who tread in the footsteps of their forefathers' piety. Then shall mercy be preserved to them.
Key Words
דָּוִד: David, the youngest son of Jesse
בָרַךְ: to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason)
נֶפֶשׁ: properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
קֶרֶב: properly, the nearest part, i.e. the center, whether literal, figurative or adverbial (especially with preposition)
קֹדֶשׁ: a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity
שֵׁם: an appellation, as amark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character
שָׁכַח: to mislay, i.e. to be oblivious of, from want of memory or attention
אַל: not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothing
גְּמוּל: treatment, i.e. an act (of good or ill); by implication, service or requital
Cross References
Psalms 103Directly cited for God's self-revelation: 'merciful and gracious, slow to anger, plenteous in mercy.'
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explicit confession that God has punished us far less than our iniquities deserved.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Prophetic promise of total forgiveness, removing transgressions so they are remembered no more.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Vivid parallel comparing mortal man's fleeting life to grass and a flower of the field.
Supported by JFB
Thematic connection of God renewing the strength and youth of His people like eagles.
Supported by JFB
Moses requests God to show him His way, fulfilled in the revelation of His character.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Verbal link to man's physical creation out of dust ('remembers that we are dust').
Supported by JFB
Echoes loving and blessing God with 'all that is within me'—the entire soul.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts human grudging (keeping anger) with God's ultimate refusal to keep anger forever.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Mary's Magnificat echoes that God's mercy is on those who fear Him throughout generations.
Affirms God's sovereign rule from His established heavenly throne over all creation.
Supported by JFB
Identical opening liturgical call to self-exhortation: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul.'
Compares human transience and mortality to grass that grows and soon withers.
Identifies angels as ministering spirits who execute God's word and command.
Parallel call for all of God's works in all places to praise Him.