Psalm 103

Reading for August 12, 2012      Psalm 103

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,

   and all that is within me,

   bless his holy name.”

Psalm 103:1 (NRSV)

Most often I think of God as the one who blesses, or extends favor, affirmation and approval. However, the word bless can also mean: to praise, to glorify, and to call holy. The psalmist blesses God by praising, glorifying and calling God holy because of all that God is, all that God has done and is doing in the life of the psalmist, and all that he believes God will continue to do. (There are some interesting similarities in the construction of God’s attributes between Psalm 103 and Isaiah 40)

The psalmist is embracing the entire history of God’s people as his own history. Because our “real life is hidden with Christ in God,” we are invited to embrace the many expressions of God’s mercy throughout the Bible as our own experience of God (Colossians 3:3).

I have two thoughts to ponder after reading Psalm 103. First, the Christian ideal is that all of the followers of Christ can write their own psalm of praise, with Psalm 103 as their model. The psalmist not only owned all that God had done in history, but also claimed what God was doing in the present and what he trusted God will do in the future. Second, we remember that authentic praise of God is not in our words, but in the way we lead our lives.

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

   and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

   and to walk humbly with your God?”

Micah 6:8 (NRSV)

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

What word or phrase in today’s reading of the Psalms

 attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are available by email. Contact me at Amkrom812@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

This BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Reading for August 13, 2012      Psalm 104