Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul - The word “bless,” as applied to God, means to praise, implying always a strong affection for him as well as a sense of gratitude. As used with reference to people, the word implies a “wish” that they may be blessed or happy, accompanied often with a prayer that they may be so. Such is the purport of the “blessing” addressed to a congregation of worshippers. .

The word “soul” here is equivalent to mind or heart: my mental and moral powers, as capable of understanding and appreciating his favors. The soul of man was “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 his praise.

And all that is within me ... - 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 man can render. No one of his faculties or powers should be exempt from the duty and the privilege of praise.

Bless the Lord, O my soul - The repetition here denotes the intensity or earnestness of the psalmist's wish or desire. It is an emphatic calling upon his soul—that is, himself—never to forget the many favors God was continually conferring upon him.

And forget not all his benefits - Any of his favors. This refers not to those favors in the aggregate, but it is a call to remember them in particular. The word rendered “benefits”—גמול g^emûl—means properly an act, work, or doing, whether good or evil (Psalms 137:8); and then, “desert,” or what one deserves “for” one’s act; “recompense.” It is rendered “deserving” in (Judges 9:16); benefit, as here, in (2 Chronicles 32:25); “desert” (Psalms 28:4); “reward” (Psalms 94:2; Isaiah 3:11; Obadiah 1:15); “recompense” (Proverbs 12:14; Isaiah 35:4; Isaiah 59:18; Isaiah 66:6; Jeremiah 51:6; Lamentations 3:64; Joel 3:4, 7). The proper reference here is to the divine “dealings”—to what God had done—as a reason for blessing his name.

His “dealings” with the psalmist had been such as to call for praise and gratitude. What those “dealings” particularly were, he specifies in the following verses. The call here on his soul is not to forget these divine dealings, as laying the foundation for praise. We shall find, when we reach the end of life, that all that God has done, however dark and mysterious it may have appeared at the time, was so connected with our good as to make it a proper subject of praise and thanksgiving.

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities—Pardoning all your sins. That is, it is a characteristic of God to pardon sin, and I have evidence that he has done it in my own case; this is a reason for praise. It is noteworthy that this is the first thing in the psalmist's view—the first of the "benefits" which he had received from God, or the most important among his acts or his dealings, which called for praise.

Properly considered, this is the first thing that calls for praise. That God is a merciful God—that he has declared his willingness to pardon sin, that he has devised and revealed a way by which this can be done, and that he has actually done it in our own case—is the most important matter for which we should praise him. When we understand all the things that most affect our welfare and enter most deeply into our happiness here and hereafter, we will find that this is a blessing compared with which all other favors are relatively insignificant.

Who healeth all thy diseases—Perhaps, in the psalmist's case, this refers to a particular instance in which he had recovered from a dangerous sickness. The word translated "diseases"—תחלואים tachălû'iym—occurs only in the plural form. It is translated "sicknesses" in Deuteronomy 29:22; "diseases," as here, in 2 Chronicles 21:19; "those who are sick" in Jeremiah 14:18; and "grievous deaths" in Jeremiah 16:4. It does not occur elsewhere.

This term is applicable to all forms of sickness; or, in this place, it may refer to particular diseases with which David had been afflicted. We find several allusions in the Psalms to times when their authors were afflicted with sickness; this is also true of the Psalms of David. Compare Psalms 6:2; Psalms 38:7; Psalms 41:8. The thought here is that it is a proper reason for praise to God that he has the power to heal disease.

All instances of restoration to health illustrate this, for whatever the skill of physicians or the wise application of treatments may be, healing power comes from God alone.

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction – That is, who saves it from death when exposed to danger, or when attacked by disease. The word “destruction” or “corruption” here is equivalent to the grave, since it is there that the body returns to corruption. Compare the notes at (Psalms 16:10).

Who crowneth thee – The idea here is not merely that God is the source of these blessings, but that there is something of beauty, of dignity, of honor, as in the conferring of a crown or garland on anyone. Compare the notes at (Psalms 65:11).

With loving-kindness and tender mercies – mercy and compassions. God showed mercy to him – evinced compassion – and these were so abundant that they might be said to be the crown or ornament of his life.

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things - The word translated “thy mouth” here is rendered in the Chaldee “thy age;” in the Arabic, the Septuagint, and the Latin Vulgate, “thy desire;” in the Syriac, “thy body.” DeWette renders it, “thy age.” So also Tholuck.

The Hebrew word - עדי ‛ ădı̂y - is rendered “ornaments” in Exodus 33:4-6; 2 Samuel 1:24; Isaiah 49:18; Jeremiah 2:32; Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 7:20; Ezekiel 16:11, Ezekiel 16:17 (margin); Ezekiel 23:40; and “mouth” in Psalm 32:9, as here. These are the only places in which it occurs.

Gesenius renders it here “age,” and supposes that it stands in contrast with the word “youth” in the other part of the verse. The connection would seem to demand this, though it is difficult to make it out from any usage of the Hebrew word.

Professor Alexander renders it “thy soul” - from the supposition that the Hebrew word “ornament” is used as if in reference to the idea that the “soul” is the chief glory or ornament of man.

This seems, however, to be a very forced explanation. I confess myself unable to determine the meaning.

So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s - Compare Isaiah 40:31. The allusion, to which there is supposed to be a reference here, is explained in the notes at that passage. Whatever may be true in regard to the supposed fact pertaining to the eagle, about its renewing its strength and vigor in old age, the meaning here is simply that the strength of the psalmist in old age became like the strength of the eagle. Sustained by the bounty of God in his old age he became, as it were, young again.