Psalm 103
This is one of those chapters where the title is obvious, because it is stated several times within the biblical text itself. It is the phrase “Bless the LORD, O my soul”. What does the phrase mean and how does it applies to our lives?
The word “LORD” is the most holy name of God. It is also transliterated “Jehovah”. The meaning of that name for God is in effect, “I am what I am”. If “God is what He is”, what does that mean and how does it affect how I worship Him? I think it begins with the idea that God is “knowable”. Not that we can fully understand Him, but we can understand enough that we can appreciate Him and worship Him as an entity we can comprehend.
It is like the expression, “The more you know someone (God in this case), the more you appreciate them”. The more time we actually spend being grateful for what God has done for us, the closer we can get to Him. The interesting reality is that act of praising God gives us a better ability to face life itself. It is amazing how the time we spend praising Him benefits our own life and makes us more joyful.
This Psalm (103) and the next Psalm (104) are both full of reasons why we should praise Him. Many Bible commentators believe these two Psalms actually go “hand in hand” in that they were each meant to be complimentary of each other. However, each Psalm praises God for a different reason: Psalm 103 is about praise for the good things He has done for our lives, while Psalm 104 is about gratitude for the world in which we live.
Psalm 104 parallels the creation story of Genesis Chapter 1, with a big emphasis on why we should be grateful for God’s creation.
This reminds me of an important point about both Psalms: There are no requests made to God in either Psalm. Both Psalms are strictly reasons to praise God for the good He has done in our lives and in our world.
This is one of those chapters where the title is obvious, because it is stated several times within the biblical text itself. It is the phrase “Bless the LORD, O my soul”. What does the phrase mean and how does it applies to our lives?
The word “LORD” is the most holy name of God. It is also transliterated “Jehovah”. The meaning of that name for God is in effect, “I am what I am”. If “God is what He is”, what does that mean and how does it affect how I worship Him? I think it begins with the idea that God is “knowable”. Not that we can fully understand Him, but we can understand enough that we can appreciate Him and worship Him as an entity we can comprehend.
It is like the expression, “The more you know someone (God in this case), the more you appreciate them”. The more time we actually spend being grateful for what God has done for us, the closer we can get to Him. The interesting reality is that act of praising God gives us a better ability to face life itself. It is amazing how the time we spend praising Him benefits our own life and makes us more joyful.
This Psalm (103) and the next Psalm (104) are both full of reasons why we should praise Him. Many Bible commentators believe these two Psalms actually go “hand in hand” in that they were each meant to be complimentary of each other. However, each Psalm praises God for a different reason: Psalm 103 is about praise for the good things He has done for our lives, while Psalm 104 is about gratitude for the world in which we live.
Psalm 104 parallels the creation story of Genesis Chapter 1, with a big emphasis on why we should be grateful for God’s creation.
This reminds me of an important point about both Psalms: There are no requests made to God in either Psalm. Both Psalms are strictly reasons to praise God for the good He has done in our lives and in our world.