Catholic Commentary on Psalm 103

"Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits." (Psalm 103:2)

The Great Psalm of Mercy

Psalm 103 is one of the supreme expressions of gratitude in all of human literature, a sustained meditation on the steadfast love of God that has no equal in the Old Testament. It opens with a self-exhortation that is itself a spiritual practice: Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. The soul is addressed by the self, commanded to remember what it is prone to forget: forgiveness of sin, healing of disease, redemption from the pit, satisfaction with good things, renewal like the eagle's.

The centre of the psalm is a theological declaration drawn directly from the divine self-revelation at Sinai: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. The word translated love is hesed, covenantal faithfulness, the love that does not abandon even when the beloved has been faithless. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. The Catechism cites this passage as the Old Testament's fullest expression of divine mercy (CCC 211), mercy that finds its ultimate expression in the Cross, where transgressions were removed as far as east from west.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the command to forget not all his benefits is a spiritual discipline. We are prone to remember our suffering and forget God's kindness. Make a list today. What has he forgiven? What has he healed? What pit has he redeemed you from? The list is the antidote to the ingratitude that forgets. And when the list is made, the soul does what the psalm commands: it praises.

Prayer

Praise the LORD, my soul, and all that is within me, praise his holy name. Compassionate and gracious LORD, slow to anger and abounding in love, your mercy is as high as the heavens and as wide as east from west. Let all your works praise you and let my soul not forget a single one of your benefits. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

103
Bless the LORD, O My Soul
Of David.
 
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all His kind deeds—
3 He who forgives all your iniquities
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit
and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,
5 who satisfies you with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
 
6 The LORD executes righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
9 He will not always accuse us,
nor harbor His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
 
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are dust.
 
15 As for man, his days are like grass—
he blooms like a flower of the field;
16 when the wind passes over, it vanishes,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the loving devotion of the LORD
extends to those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to their children’s children—
18 to those who keep His covenant
and remember to obey His precepts.
19 The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
and His kingdom rules over all.
 
20 Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength
who carry out His word,
who hearken to the voice of His command.
21 Bless the LORD, all His hosts,
you servants who do His will.
22 Bless the LORD, all His works
in all places of His dominion.
 
Bless the LORD, O my soul!

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