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103. Psalm 103

1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
   all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
   and 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.

    6 The LORD works 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 love.

9 He will not always accuse,
   nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
   or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is his love 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 how we are formed,
   he remembers that we are dust.

15 The life of mortals is like grass,
   they flourish like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
   and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting
   the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
   and his righteousness with their children’s children—

18 with 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 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
   you mighty ones who do his bidding,
   who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
   you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works
   everywhere in his dominion.

   Praise the LORD, my soul.


3. Who forgiveth all thy iniquities He now enumerates the different kinds of the divine benefits, in considering which he has told us that we are too forgetful and slothful. It is not without cause that he begins with God’s pardoning mercy, for reconciliation with him is the fountain from which all other blessings flow. God’s goodness extends even to the ungodly; but they are, notwithstanding, so far from having the enjoyment of it, that they do not even taste it. The first then of all the blessings of which we have the true and substantial enjoyment, is that which consists in God’s freely pardoning and blotting out our sins, and receiving us into his favor. Yea, rather the forgiveness of sins, since it is accompanied with our restoration to the favor of God, also sanctifies whatever good things he bestows upon us, that they may contribute to our welfare. The second clause is; either a repetition of the same sentiment, or else it opens up a wider view of it; for the consequence of free forgiveness is, that God governs us by his Spirit, mortifies the lusts of our flesh, cleanses us from our corruptions, and restores us to the healthy condition of a godly and an upright life. These who understand the words, who healeth all thy diseases, as referring to the diseases of the body, and as implying that God, when he has forgiven our sins, also delivers us from bodily maladies, seem to put upon them a meaning too restricted. I have no doubt that the medicine spoken of has a respect to the blotting out of guilt; and, secondly, to the curing us of the corruptions inherent in our nature, which is effected by the Spirit of regeneration; and if any one will add as a third particular included, that God being once pacified towards us, also remits the punishment which we deserve, I will not object. Let us learn from this passage that, until the heavenly Physician succor us, we nourish within us, not only many diseases, but even many deaths.


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