An exhortation to bless God for his mercy, 1-14, and for the constancy thereof, 15-22.
1 [A Psalm of David.]
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 It is he who forgives all your iniquities,/
who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,/
who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things/
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD executes righteousness/
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moses,/
his acts to the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,/
slow to anger, and abundant in mercy.
9 He will not always chide,/
neither will he keep his anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,/
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth,/
so is his mercy great toward those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,/
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like a father pities his children,/
so the LORD pities those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame./
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass./
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,/
and its place shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting/
upon those who fear him,/
and his righteousness to children's children,
18 To those who keep his covenant,/
and to those who remember his commandments to do them.
19 The LORD has prepared his throne in the heavens,/
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the LORD, you angels of his,/
who excel in strength, who do his commandments,/
listening to the voice of his word.
21 Bless the LORD, all you hosts of his,/
you ministers of his, who do his pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works/
in all places of his dominion./
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Matthew Henry Commentary - Psalms, Chapter 103[➚]
John Calvin's Chapter Summary:
By this psalm every godly man is taught to give thanks to God for the mercies bestowed upon himself in particular, and then for the grace which God has vouchsafed to all his chosen ones in common, by making a covenant of salvation with them in his law, that he might make them partakers of his adoption. But the Psalmist chiefly magnifies the mercy by which God sustains and bears with his people; and that not on account of any merit or worth of theirs, for they only deserve to be visited with severe punishment, but because he compassionates their frailty. The psalm is at length concluded with a general ascription of praise to God.
[v.17] - Quoted in Luke 1:50.