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The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and plenteous in mercy.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins;
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children,
so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame;
he remembereth that we are dust.
vs.8,10-14
Psalm 103: "This hymn is one of the greatest praise psalms in the entire collection. A Psalm of David. --Doubtless by David; it is in his own style when at its best, and we should attribute it to his later years when he had a higher sense of the preciousness of pardon, because a keener sense of sin, than in his younger days. His clear sense of the frailty of life indicates his weaker years.
There is too much in the Psalm,
for a thousand pens to write,
it is one of those all-comprehending Scriptures
which is a Bible in itself,
and it might alone almost suffice for the hymn-book of the church.
I. A Call for Human Praise (103:1-19).
A. Personally (103:1-5);
B. Corporately (103:6-19).
II. A Call for Creation’s Praise (103:20-22b).
A. Angels (103:20-21);
B. Works of Creation (103:22a-b).
III. A Refrain of Personal Praise (103:22c).
..bless the LORD, O my soul. vs.22
By the pardon of sin we are restored to the favor of God.
Observe,
I. How he stirs up himself to the duty of praise, it is to his name, his holy name, that we are to consecrate our praise, giving thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
II. It is the soul that is to be employed in blessing God, and all that is within us. The work requires the inward man, the whole man.
III. In order to our return of praises to God, there must be a grateful remembrance of the mercies we have received from him: Forget not all his benefits. If we do not give thanks for them, we do forget them.
Observe,
I. Whom He pities—those that fear him.
II. How He pities—as a father pities his children.
III. Why He pities—for he knows our frame....he remembers that he is dust, not only by constitution, but by sentence. Dust thou art. He considers the frailty of our bodies and the folly of our souls, how little we can do, and expects accordingly from us, how little we can bear, and lays accordingly upon us, in all which appears the tenderness of his compassion.
Observe,
I. How he stirs up himself to the duty of praise, it is to his name, his holy name, that we are to consecrate our praise, giving thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
II. It is the soul that is to be employed in blessing God, and all that is within us. The work requires the inward man, the whole man.
III. In order to our return of praises to God, there must be a grateful remembrance of the mercies we have received from him: Forget not all his benefits. If we do not give thanks for them, we do forget them.
Observe,
I. Whom He pities—those that fear him.
II. How He pities—as a father pities his children.
III. Why He pities—for he knows our frame....he remembers that he is dust, not only by constitution, but by sentence. Dust thou art. He considers the frailty of our bodies and the folly of our souls, how little we can do, and expects accordingly from us, how little we can bear, and lays accordingly upon us, in all which appears the tenderness of his compassion.
Verse 1. Bless the Lord O my soul. Soul music is the very soul of music. The Psalmist strikes the best keynote when he begins with stirring up his inmost self to magnify the Lord.
Verse 2. Bless the LORD, O my soul. He is in real earnest, and again calls upon himself to arise. Had he been very sleepy before? Certainly, he uses no vain repetitions, for the Holy Spirit guides his pen;
Verse 3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. Till iniquity is forgiven, healing, redemption, and satisfaction are unknown blessings.
Verse 4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction. By purchase and by power the Lord redeems us from the spiritual death into which we had fallen, and from the eternal death which would have been its consequence.
Verse 5. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, Many a worldling is satiated, but not one is satisfied. God satisfies the very soul of man, his noblest part, his ornament and glory;
Verse 6. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are of oppressed. Our own personal obligations must not absorb our song; we must also magnify the Lord for his goodness to others.
Verse 7. He made known his ways unto Moses. Moses was made to see the manner in which the Lord deals with men; he saw this at each of the three periods of his life,
*in the court,
*in retirement,
*and at the head of the tribes of Israel.
If Moses needed the Lord to make him know, how much more do we who are so much inferior to the great law-giver?
Verse 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious. Those with whom he deals are sinners. Slow to anger. He can be angry, and can deal out righteous indignation upon the guilty, but it is his strange work; he lingers long, with loving pauses, tarrying by the way to give space for repentance and opportunity for accepting his mercy.
Verse 9. He will not always chide. He will sometimes, for he cannot endure that his people should harbor sin in their hearts, but not for ever will he chasten them;
Verse 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Else had Israel perished outright.
Verse 11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As the lofty heavens canopy the earth, water it with dews and rains, enlighten it with sun, moon, and stars, and look down upon it with unceasing watchfulness, even so the Lord's mercy from above covers all his chosen, enriches them, embraces them, and stands for ever as their dwellingplace.
Verse 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. O glorious verse, no word even upon the inspired page can excel it! As the east and the west can never meet in one point, but be for ever at the same distance from each other, so our sins and their decreed punishment are removed to an eternal distance by his mercy.
Verse 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. To those who truly reverence his holy name,... These he pities.
Verse 14. For he knoweth our frame. He knows how we are made, for he made us.
Verse 15. As for man, his days are as grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. He has a beauty, but, alas, how short-lived! No sooner come than gone, a flash of loveliness and no more!
Verse 16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone. Only a little wind is needed, not even a scythe is demanded, a breath can do it, for the flower is so frail.
Verse 17. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him. Blessed but! How vast the contrast between the fading flower and the everlasting God! How wonderful that his mercy should link our frailty with his eternity, and make us everlasting too!
Verse 18. Children of the righteous are not, however, promised the Lord's mercy without stipulation, and this verse completes the statement of the last by adding: To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
Verse 19. The LORD has prepared his throne in the heavens. Here is a grand burst of song produced by a view of the boundless power.
Verse 20. Bess the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength. Dwelling nearer to that prepared throne than we as yet have leave to climb, they see in nearer vision the glory which we would adore.
Verse 21. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; The Psalmist would have every servant in the Lord's palace unite with him, and all at once sing out the praises of the Lord.
Verse 22. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion. Hasten, ye winged hours! Bless the Lord, O my soul. He closes on his key-note.
A child has not the strength of a man, and no father will ridicule his infant child because of its weakness. Its very helplessness appeals to his sympathy. So God says, Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."
BooksOfBible/CharlesSpurgeon/MatthewHenry/AdamClarke/E.G.W.
Verse 9. He will not always chide. He will sometimes, for he cannot endure that his people should harbor sin in their hearts, but not for ever will he chasten them;
Verse 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Else had Israel perished outright.
Verse 11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As the lofty heavens canopy the earth, water it with dews and rains, enlighten it with sun, moon, and stars, and look down upon it with unceasing watchfulness, even so the Lord's mercy from above covers all his chosen, enriches them, embraces them, and stands for ever as their dwellingplace.
Verse 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. O glorious verse, no word even upon the inspired page can excel it! As the east and the west can never meet in one point, but be for ever at the same distance from each other, so our sins and their decreed punishment are removed to an eternal distance by his mercy.
Verse 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. To those who truly reverence his holy name,... These he pities.
Verse 14. For he knoweth our frame. He knows how we are made, for he made us.
Verse 15. As for man, his days are as grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. He has a beauty, but, alas, how short-lived! No sooner come than gone, a flash of loveliness and no more!
Verse 16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone. Only a little wind is needed, not even a scythe is demanded, a breath can do it, for the flower is so frail.
Verse 17. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him. Blessed but! How vast the contrast between the fading flower and the everlasting God! How wonderful that his mercy should link our frailty with his eternity, and make us everlasting too!
Verse 18. Children of the righteous are not, however, promised the Lord's mercy without stipulation, and this verse completes the statement of the last by adding: To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
Verse 19. The LORD has prepared his throne in the heavens. Here is a grand burst of song produced by a view of the boundless power.
Verse 20. Bess the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength. Dwelling nearer to that prepared throne than we as yet have leave to climb, they see in nearer vision the glory which we would adore.
Verse 21. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; The Psalmist would have every servant in the Lord's palace unite with him, and all at once sing out the praises of the Lord.
Verse 22. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion. Hasten, ye winged hours! Bless the Lord, O my soul. He closes on his key-note.
A child has not the strength of a man, and no father will ridicule his infant child because of its weakness. Its very helplessness appeals to his sympathy. So God says, Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."
BooksOfBible/CharlesSpurgeon/MatthewHenry/AdamClarke/E.G.W.
