Psalms of Praise (Psalm 103)

Psalms of Praise (Psalm 103)

• Summary: The Hebrew name for the Book of Psalms is Sepher Tehillim, Book of Praises. The psalms of Book 4 (90-106) are largely songs of praise, offering a resounding answer to the questions of faith that the psalmist raises in Book 3. As a song of praise, Psalm 103 stands out as one of the greatest lyric proclamations of the boundless love and compassion of God ever recorded in human language.

• Notes:

  • BACKGROUND:

    • The psalm is framed by seven calls to praise (1-2, 20-22), first to the psalmist himself (1-2) and finally to the angels and all of creation (20-22). The number seven suggests completeness as does the composition of the lyric in 22 verses, the same number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

  • PRAISE THE LORD (1-2)

    • Three times the psalmist summons his soul to praise YHWH.
    • This self-talk reminds us to call ourselves to worship regularly, repetitively

  • REMEMBER HIS BENEFITS (3-5)

    • Bring these to the front of your mind
    • YHWH takes away our sin, disease and death (the three enemies of mankind)
    • Crowns us with love and mercy, satisfies our desires with good things, and renews our strength

  • RECALL HIS CHARACTER (6-19)

    • Just: works justice for all the oppressed, a theme throughout the Psalms (Psalm 68:5)
    • Knowable: His ways and his deeds are known through the written word, the Bible. Natural law is also written on the human heart (Romans 2:15)
    • Patient: with our sin (missing the mark), iniquity (internal disorder), transgression (law-breaking)
    • Faithful love: the measure of His hesed is limitless as is the distance between us and our sin
    • Compassionate: A father’s love for his child, empathy with our mortality (dust, grass, and flowers)
    • Eternal: His love is forever with those who fear him and live in relationship with him
    • Sovereign: Rules over all, from the oppressed (6) to the most glorious of angelic beings (19-21)

  • PRAISE THE LORD (20-22)

    • Mighty Ones (angels in heaven), His host (angels on earth), all his works, my soul

  • Is all of this too good to be true? Wishful thinking? Not if God actually came to earth and demonstrated it.

    • Those closest to Jesus were convinced he was YHWH in the flesh (John 1:14-18; 1 John 1:1-4)
    • Jesus destroyed the two great enemies of humanity: sin and death (I John 2:2; Hebrews 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

Discussion:

1. Why summon yourself to worship before you do anything else?
2. Given that many faithful people die of diseases, has God really “healed all your diseases”?
3. Take an inventory of God’s benefits in your life. Express gratitude to Him for them now.
4. Recall each of the characteristics of God in this psalm one at a time. As you reflect on them, share how you have experienced each of them in your life.
5. Which word picture in this psalm means the most to you right now?
6. What would you say to someone who claims that the God described in this psalm doesn’t exist and is merely a figment of our imagination?