CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Psalm 103 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/psalms/103.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/psalms/103.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/psalms/103-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Ellicott</a> > <a href="../psalms/">Psalm</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../psalms/102.htm" title="Psalm 102">◄</a> Psalm 103 <a href="../psalms/104.htm" title="Psalm 104">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</div><div class="chap"><span class= "bld"> CIII.</span><p>This psalm has been compared to a stream which, as it flows, gradually acquires strength and volume till its waves of praise swell like those of the sea. The poet begins by invoking his own soul to show its gratitude for the Divine favour, and, by a highly artistic touch, makes the psalm, after rising to sublime heights, end with the same appeal to personal experience. But national mercies till much the larger space in his thought, and he speaks throughout as much in the person of the community as his own. Beyond one probable Aramaism in <a href="/psalms/103-3.htm" title="Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases;">Psalm 103:3</a>, and a possible dependence in one passage on the Book of Job (comp. <a href="/psalms/103-16.htm" title="For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.">Psalm 103:16</a> with <a href="/job/17-10.htm" title="But as for you all, do you return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.">Job 17:10</a>), there is nothing to indicate the time of the psalm’s composition. The rhythm is varied, and the form irregular.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-1.htm">Psalm 103:1</a></div><div class="verse"><i>A Psalm</i> of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, <i>bless</i> his holy name.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-2.htm">Psalm 103:2</a></div><div class="verse">Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:</div>(2) <span class= "bld">Benefits.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">actions, </span>whether good or bad (<a href="/judges/9-16.htm" title="Now therefore, if you have done truly and sincerely, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands;">Judges 9:16</a>; <a href="/proverbs/12-14.htm" title="A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man's hands shall be rendered to him.">Proverbs 12:14</a>). But what a significance in the restricted meaning “benefits.” God’s <span class= "ital">acts </span>are all <span class= "ital">benefits.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-3.htm">Psalm 103:3</a></div><div class="verse">Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;</div>(3) <span class= "bld">Forgiveth.</span>—The first “benefit” to one who aims at the higher life is the knowledge of the Divine readiness to forgive and renew, and this, as Augustine remarks, implies a quick moral sense: “God’s benefits will not be before our eyes unless our sins are also before our eyes.”<p><span class= "bld">Diseases.</span>—Here chiefly in a moral sense, as the parallelism “iniquity” shows, even if the next verse, taken literally, implies an allusion to physical suffering as well.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-4.htm">Psalm 103:4</a></div><div class="verse">Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;</div>(4) <span class= "bld">Destruction.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">pit, </span>or <span class= "ital">grave, </span>as in <a href="/psalms/16-10.htm" title="For you will not leave my soul in hell; neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption.">Psalm 16:10</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Crowneth.</span>—A metaphor drawn from the common custom of wearing wreaths and garlands on festive occasions (<a href="//apocrypha.org/ecclesiasticus/32-2.htm" title="And when thou hast done all thy office, take thy place, that thou mayest be merry with them, and receive a crown for thy well ordering of the feast.">Ecclesiasticus 32:2</a>). Comp. <a href="/psalms/8-5.htm" title="For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor.">Psalm 8:5</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-5.htm">Psalm 103:5</a></div><div class="verse">Who satisfieth thy mouth with good <i>things; so that</i> thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.</div>(5) <span class= "bld">Mouth.</span>—On the Hebrew word thus rendered, see <a href="/psalms/32-9.htm" title="Be you not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near to you.">Psalm 32:9</a>. The word there adopted (“trappings,” or “ornaments”) would Commend itself here, from the evident allusion in the next clause to the moulting of the bird, and its appearance in new plumage, if the expression “to satisfy ornament with good” were in any way intelligible. The LXX. and Vulg. have “desire; the Syriac “body;” but the Chaldee, “age,” which is supported (Gesenius) by the derivation, gives the best sense:—<p>Who satisfleth thine age with good, so that<p>Thy youth renews itself like the eagle.<p><span class= "bld">The eagle’s.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">nesher; </span>properly, the <span class= "ital">griffon, </span>or <span class= "ital">great vulture. </span>See <a href="/exodus/19-4.htm" title="You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself.">Exodus 19:4</a>; and Note to <a href="/obadiah/1-4.htm" title="Though you exalt yourself as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, there will I bring you down, said the LORD.">Obadiah 1:4</a>.<p>The rendering of the Prayer Book, “like the eagle’s,” follows the LXX. The idea that the eagle renewed its youth formed the basis of a Rabbinical story, and no doubt appears also in the myth of the Phœnix. But the psalmist merely refers to the fresh and vigorous appearance of the bird with its new plumage.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-6.htm">Psalm 103:6</a></div><div class="verse">The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">Oppressed.</span>—From individual the poet passes to national mercies, and goes back to the memorable manifestations of Divine favour vouchsafed to Moses.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-7.htm">Psalm 103:7</a></div><div class="verse">He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">Moses.</span>—A direct reference to <a href="/exodus/33-13.htm" title="Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight: and consider that this nation is your people.">Exodus 33:13</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-8.htm">Psalm 103:8</a></div><div class="verse">The LORD <i>is</i> merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.</div>(8) <span class= "bld">Merciful and Gracious.</span>—The original confession (<a href="/exodus/34-6.htm" title="And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,">Exodus 34:6</a>) had become a formula of the national faith. In addition to the marginal references, see <a href="/joel/2-13.htm" title="And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents him of the evil.">Joel 2:13</a>, <a href="/psalms/145-8.htm" title="The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.">Psalm 145:8</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-9.htm">Psalm 103:9</a></div><div class="verse">He will not always chide: neither will he keep <i>his anger</i> for ever.</div>(9, 10) This reflection naturally follows after the last quotation from Exodus.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-11.htm">Psalm 103:11</a></div><div class="verse">For as the heaven is high above the earth, <i>so</i> great is his mercy toward them that fear him.</div>(11) <span class= "bld">So great is his mercy toward.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">Strong is his mercy upon </span>(or, <span class= "ital">over</span>)<span class= "ital">. </span>(Comp. <a href="/psalms/117-2.htm" title="For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endures for ever. Praise you the LORD.">Psalm 117:2</a>.) The comparison in the first clause, and the use of this expression in <a href="/genesis/49-26.htm" title="The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brothers.">Genesis 49:26</a> and <a href="/2_samuel/11-23.htm" title="And the messenger said to David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field, and we were on them even to the entering of the gate.">2Samuel 11:23</a>, suggests as the right rendering here<p>For as the heaven is higher than the earth,<p>So far (above what was expected) for them fearing him prevails his mercy.<p>(For the same comparison, see <a href="/context/isaiah/55-7.htm" title="Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.">Isaiah 55:7-9</a>; and comp. <a href="/isaiah/38-17.htm" title="Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but you have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for you have cast all my sins behind your back.">Isaiah 38:17</a>; <a href="/micah/7-19.htm" title="He will turn again, he will have compassion on us; he will subdue our iniquities; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.">Micah 7:19</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-13.htm">Psalm 103:13</a></div><div class="verse">Like as a father pitieth <i>his</i> children, <i>so</i> the LORD pitieth them that fear him.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">Father.</span>—This anticipation of Christ’s revelation of the paternal heart of God, is found also in the prophets.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-14.htm">Psalm 103:14</a></div><div class="verse">For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we <i>are</i> dust.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">Frame.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">fashioning; </span>referring to <a href="/genesis/2-7.htm" title="And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.">Genesis 2:7</a>, or possibly to the image so common in the prophecy of the potter’s vessel.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-16.htm">Psalm 103:16</a></div><div class="verse">For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">The wind</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e., </span>the hot, scorching blast, as in <a href="/isaiah/40-7.htm" title="The grass wither, the flower fades: because the spirit of the LORD blows on it: surely the people is grass.">Isaiah 40:7</a>. Even in our humid climate, it may be said of a flower—<p>“If one sharp wind sweep o’er the field,<p>It withers in an hour.”<p>But the pestilential winds of the East are described as bringing a heat like that of an oven, which immediately blasts every green thing.<p><span class= "bld">Know it no more.</span>—Comp. <a href="/job/7-10.htm" title="He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.">Job 7:10</a>. Man vanishes away without leaving a trace behind. The pathos of the verse has been well caught in the well-known lines of Gray:—<p>“One morn I missed him on the accustomed hill,<p>Along the heath, and near his favourite tree:<p>Another came, nor yet beside the rill,<p>Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-19.htm">Psalm 103:19</a></div><div class="verse">The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.</div>(19) <span class= "bld">Prepared.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">established.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-20.htm">Psalm 103:20</a></div><div class="verse">Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.</div>(20) Just as in the highest revelation made by Jesus Christ the angels in heaven rejoice over the repentant sinner, so in the psalmist’s view the mercy of Jehovah to his faithful people is cause for high acclaim among the hosts around the throne.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-21.htm">Psalm 103:21</a></div><div class="verse">Bless ye the LORD, all <i>ye</i> his hosts; <i>ye</i> ministers of his, that do his pleasure.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">Hosts.</span>—There are apparently in the psalmist’s thought three grades of beings in the hierarchy of praise:—<p>1.High angels around the throne.<p>2. Angelic powers, such as <span class= "ital">winds, lightnings,</span> &c, specially commissioned to do God’s behests, as in <a href="/psalms/104-4.htm" title="Who makes his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:">Psalm 104:4</a>.<p>3.Creation generally. (Comp. Psalms 148)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/103-22.htm">Psalm 103:22</a></div><div class="verse">Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.</div>(22) <span class= "bld">All his works.</span>—Not only the heavens and their hosts, but<p>“Earth with her thousand voices praises God.”<p>Nor can the psalmist himself remain silent, but must repeat the self-dedication with winch he began his song.<p><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. Used by Permission. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../psalms/102.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Psalm 102"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Psalm 102" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../psalms/104.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Psalm 104"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Psalm 104" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/psalms/103-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="/commentaries/ellicott/sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><br /><br /><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchap.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></body></html>