Psalm Meditation 996
Proper 11
July 21, 2019

Psalm 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 do not forget all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word.
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
(NRSV)

This is my favorite psalm: for what it says, and for the memories it holds for me. The psalmist reminds us to bless God, to acknowledge God’s holiness, for a variety of divine deeds that touch us directly and indirectly. All the blessings focus on the steadfast love of God; all the ways that love manifests itself in our lives, as well as the eternal character of the love God has for us. The psalmist ends by expanding the invitation to bless the Lord to all who have been touched by the steadfast love of God.

As far as the memories; my father would wake us up with the first two verses of the psalm on a regular basis, as I remember. His was a comforting, pleasant voice, so any words would have worked to awaken us. That it was this psalm melded both word and voice into a word of comfort. Then in high school, I was in a group that sang the music from Godspell. One of the songs is based on this psalm. It started out just for fun, and led to some life changing friendships and experiences. In college, I was in a production of the play. We travelled to churches in the state and beyond. All three groups, and the people in them, continue to hold a special place in my heart and memory.

Each of us has a favorite Scripture passage that means something beyond the words themselves. It will hold memories of the events and people who contributed to making the passage a favorite. For some of us it will be on the surface of our lives and memories. For others it will be covered with a layer or two of dust and detritus. Either way, I invite you to take it out, hold it in your hands and use it as an opportunity to: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—


July 15, 2019
LCM