Psalm Meditation 971
Third Sunday After Epiphany
January 27, 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 one of my favorite psalms. My dad would wake my brother and me with the first two verses sometimes. Mom would tell us it was time to get up, while dad would use a few lines of Scripture or poetry to let us know why it was we were getting up. I am not sure any of us knew that was what he was doing, however it was memorable, and the first two verses of this psalm are indelibly printed in my memory because of having been waked up to the sound of Dad’s voice reciting them.

The psalm continues with a list of reasons to bless YHWH, which reminds us that our interactions with God are all in response to all the ways God has already been active in our lives. God forgives, heals, redeems, crowns us with steadfast love and mercy, satisfies, and renews us; and that is just the first few verses. The psalm goes on to list ways God watches out for us as well as those outside our circle. This psalm reminds us that God is on the side of the oppressed, downtrodden, and forgotten while loving each of us with a steadfast, unshakeable love.

Tempting as it is to curse those who are not like us, to curse those who disagree with us, to curse those who hold some kind of power over us, the psalmist calls us to bless God. To focus on the good things of God is a more healthy way to use our energy. Our change of focus won’t change the people around us, however it can change the way we perceive them. They are still not like us, they still disagree with us, they still have some power over us, however we, and they, are in the category of those who are loved and cherished by God.

January 21, 2019
LCM