NOTES for Psa 103
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. |
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: |
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; |
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; |
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. |
6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. |
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. |
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. |
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. |
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. |
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. |
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. |
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. |
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. |
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. |
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. |
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; |
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. |
19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. |
20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. |
21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. |
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul. |
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The Lord’s mercy surpasses everything we could imagine, and for us this is not merely very difficult but impossible when we follow human notions of justice. But His ways are not our ways, and although mercy and truth all too often diverge on earth, in the Lord they abide in unity. A unity of qualities that, according to ordinary logic, contradict one another is usually called antinomic, but one does not wish to call the Lord’s unity of mercy and justice by that name. It is precisely because He sees what we are and what can be expected of us that He is patient with us, without, however, lowering His demands upon us.
Therefore, the reminder of His righteousness, which abides upon those who keep His covenant, is not superfluous. By following Him, we receive the possibility of rising at least to some degree above everyday logic and sharing in the righteousness that proceeds from Him and unites mercy with justice.
Readings for 28 March 2019
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