PSALM 103:1-5

As a friend of mine and I prayed today, The Lord reminded me of a verse in this passage of scripture.  So, I decided to reread the whole passage and I was amazed at ALL that it said.




Psalm 103 (KJV)

 ¹Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

 ²Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

 ³Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

 ⁴Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

 ⁵Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

 ⁶The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

 ⁷He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

 ⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

 ⁹He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

 ¹⁰He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

 ¹¹For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

 ¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

 ¹³Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

 ¹⁴For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

 ¹⁵As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.

 ¹⁶For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

 ¹⁷But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;

 ¹⁸To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

 ¹⁹The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

 ²⁰Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

 ²¹Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

 ²²Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

This Psalm that David has written is so beautiful!!!  In the King James it sounds so poetic! 



Right now, I am only going to talk about the first 5 verses. 








However, I also like the way a few of the other versions have worded this passage.  So, I hope you will also enjoy what I am about to share!!! 

Here are verses 1-2 in 2 different versions.  I just love what they say!!!



Psalm 103:1-2 (CEV)

¹With all my heart I praise the LORD, and with all that I am I praise his holy name!

²With all my heart I praise the LORD! I will never forget how kind he has been.

Psalm 103:1-2 (NCV)


¹ All that I am, praise the Lord; everything in me, praise his holy name.

² My whole being, praise the Lord and do not forget all his kindnesses.



I love how the CEV says, I will praise the Lord with ALL OF MY HEART AND WITH ALL THAT I AM, I PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!  And then it says it again in verse 2, "With all my heart I praise the LORD!" 

 

 

And did you notice that the NCV also says, "with ALL THAT I AM, PRAISE THE LORD." 







Then it says, "EVERYTHING IN ME, PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME.  MY WHOLE BEING, PRAISE THE LORD."

I am careful when share the different versions of THE BIBLE because while I sometimes think that they explain THE WORD very well, at other times, I think that they don’t say enough or don’t explain it accurately.

 

 

For instance, both the CEV and the NCV talk about God’s kindnesses at the end of verse 2.  But in that same verse the KJV and the NKJV talk about His Benefits!!! 

 

 

Psalm 103:2 (NKJV) Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits.

 

The truth is that God’s Benefits are so much more than kindnesses.  For instance, one of God’s benefits is favor.  And FAVOR is NOT AT ALL THE SAME AS KINDNESS!!!  Another of God’s benefits is mercy.  And MERCY is NOT THE SAME AS KINDNESS!!!   








The children of God have such an extensive benefit package that there is NO WAY that it could be described as just kindnesses!!!  I don’t know who translated these versions from the King James, but I am sure that the original manuscript would agree with the word benefits and would describe so much more than kindnesses!!

Ps. 103:3 (NCV) He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.




In this Psalm, God speaks through David to remind us that NOT ONLY did we gain ALL these wonder benefits from accepting Jesus as our Savior, but because if JESUS’ SACRIFICE, we are forgiven and healed!!! 

I am so thankful that Jesus was willing to die on the cross to take away my sins and deliver me from ALL sickness and disease.




Psalm 103:4 (NKJV) Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

I would have been destroyed had it NOT been for God in HIS MERCY!!!  And yet HE LOVED ME enough to spare my life and redeem me from the destruction that the devil had planned.  GOD was merciful and kind to me.  He showed me compassion when I did NOT deserve it!!!



Psalm 103:5 (NCV) He satisfies me with good things and makes me young again, like the eagle.

Psalm 103:5 (CEV) Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle.




I am a living witness that God provides for HIS CHILDREN and that HE satisfies HIS CHILDREN with good things!!! 

The Lord showed me Psalm 103:5 the other day and I was amazed!!!  I had been hearing people testify about how God was making them younger and I had asked The LORD about it. 

Psalm 103:5 (KJV) Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

When I read this I remember thinking, WOW!!!  There it is!!!  WE ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY DO NOT HAVE TO GET OLD!!!! 




AND IT ACTUALLY SAYS SO IN GOD’S WORD!!

Psalm 103:5 (NCV) He satisfies me with good things and makes me young again, like the eagle.