David’s words in this Psalm are rich with expressions of God’s mercy and compassion. And even in translation, we can still hear some of the poetry.
As far as the east is from the west.
He remembers that we are but dust.
The wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
Rich. Worth remembering, even memorizing.
The other thing I notice here is that David is talking to himself. He’s not addressing God, or Israel, or mankind. Like Psalm 42 (Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God. Ps. 42:5), he’s talking to his own soul. And what he tells himself to do is worship. That’s the point of the litany of God’s goodness, to get his soul in gear to worship. Only at the very end does he address others, first angels, then all creation, telling them to worship. But he concludes with this, and you too my soul, praise the Lord.
All this drives home the point that worship is a choice. Like love, it involves emotions as rich and deep as the words of Psalm 103, but in the end it is something – Someone – we choose.
- Paul Abbott
I had forgotten how much I adore this Psalm, especially verses 11 and 12!
ReplyDeletePraise the LORD, my soul,
ReplyDeleteand FORGET NOT all his benefits—
3 who FORGIVES all your sins
and HEALS all your diseases,
4 who REDEEMS your life from the pit
and CROWNS you with LOVE and COMPASSION,
5 who SATISFIES your desires with good things
so that your youth is RENEWED like the eagle’s." Indeed my soul praises the LORD, who has satisfied my desire for a place like CEDARBROOK where we celebrate Christ's Resurrection with the MOST AWESOME drums!!
The drums were particularly good this week. Kudos to the worship team.
ReplyDelete