Story Published:
Aug 14, 2011 at 8:25 AM CDT
Story Updated:
Aug 14, 2011 at 8:25 AM CDT
In the biblical Psalm 103, David famously gives praise in the "Bless the Lord, Oh my Soul...and all that is within me, bless His holy name" phrases. I hear the music when I see those words, but have never really examined them closely.
1Praise (Bless) the Lord, O my soul;
and all that it within me, bless his holy name.
2Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4who redeems your life from the pits
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
8The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
11For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love
15As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
Looking at the first verse, "Bless the Lord, O my soul" we find that the word "bless," as applied to God, means to praise with strong affection as well as a sense of gratitude.
The word "soul" references all of my mental and moral powers, as capable of understanding and appreciating his goodness. The soul of man was seemingly "made" to praise and bless God; to enjoy his friendship; to delight in his favor; to contemplate his perfections. It can never be employed in a more appropriate or a more elevated act than when engaged in praise.
The phrase "And all that is within me" seems to reference all my powers and faculties; all that can be employed in his praise: the heart, the will, the affections, the emotions. The idea is that God is worthy of all the praise and adoration which the entire person can render.
The first phrase is repeated... what does this mean? If we assume that every word here is important, then perhaps this means that David was now doubly sensible of the importance. These first two verses seem like a tuning of the harp, a screwing up of the loosened strings that not a note may fail in the sacred harmony.
"And forget not all his benefits." Memory is very sketchy sometimes, isn't it? We treasure up the trash of the past while priceless treasures and gifts lie about us in neglect.... Memory is sometimes tenacious about grievances while holding benefits with an open palm.
The nice thing about David's Hebrew word used for soul is that he is referencing the whole of the body (not just the heart or mind...) but all of the organs.... the liver, spleen, etc. .... It's interesting to think about every physical part of us as poised for praise.
Interestingly, the healing David references (around disease) is, however, not limited to the body but uses a hebrew word that references the spirit, inner man.
The hebrew word בּטּוב in Psalm 103:5 denotes the means of satisfaction, which is at the same time that which satisfies. These significations, "old age" or "youth" is compared with the molting of the eagle... renovation by grace... the eagle lives long... but changes her feathers for fresh ones so just as God recovers us from our decay and fills us with new life and joy... an earnestness that returns us to our youth.
So the act of praise with the whole body, mind and spirit is, according to David, an act that takes us to the fountain of youth and gives us new feathers to fly and see and experience new things.
