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This a Psalm of orientation – that is it emphasizes that life is/should be oriented towards God the LORD. A life so lived responds to the blessings received by gratitude – here the gratitude is expressed in the form of a hymn that is full of praise to the LORD.

Typically a hymn of praise begins with a call to worship then gives reasons for so doing before concluding with a further call to worship. This Psalm fits this pattern – let's take a closer look.

The Psalm's structure

David's opening call to worship is addressed to his own soul and he urges himself to engage in wholehearted praise and worship.

In the body of the Psalm David supplies us with a whole variety of reasons why it should be an easy thing to praise God. In studying this Psalm these verses will take up the bulk of our time.

Having argued with himself concerning just how appropriate it is to respond to God in worship David then widens his initial call to include just about all he can think of. But do note that right at the close he returns to his opening call – he must himself be active in heartfelt worship himself!

 A closer look

Why do you think he begins this way? Well it's all too easy not to do this is our everyday lives! Here David is taking himself in hand and arguing with himself and urging himself to do what he knows is just and right. We know too that to praise God is a good thing but sometimes we can coldly and logically recognize this without actually putting what we know into practice. So perhaps we will need to acquire David's habit of talking to himself!

Now it's time to consider the reasons that David evokes for praising God – they all the blessings of the Covenant that God the LORD graciously bestows upon His Covenant people. We'll look at four to start with:

1.       Forgiveness v.3 cf. Ex.34:6-9. After the Golden Calf episode and the giving of new tablets of the Law. Very frequently forgiveness is the resulting blessing following the offering of sacrifice.

2.       Healing v.3 cf.Ex.15:26 "“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”

Blessing promised to the covenant people made conditional to their continued obedience.

See also             Ps.30:2 "O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me."

Ps.41:4 "As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!”

Ps.107:20 "He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

3.       Redemption v.4 cf. Ex.6:6 "Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment."

Liberation from the slavery and bondage experienced in Egypt is frequently described by the use of redemptive language.

See also             Ex.15:13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode."

4.       Satisfaction v.5 cf. the language used to describe the Promised Land – a "land flowing with milk and honey" eg. Deut.6:3 "Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey."

See also             Ex.16:18 "But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.

These various blessings are related by the Psalmist to the steadfast love and mercy of the LORD:

103:8 ,11           "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love… But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,"

David uses a number of different pictures in vv.11-16 to help us appreciate better the great love and compassion that the LORD has for His people:

Heavens to earth – east from west – compassion of a Father – mindful of our frailties.

Mentioning human frailties encourages David to make a further comparison : man's life is fleeting and soon passed – however the LORD and His love go on for ever and ever being expressed to subsequent generations of His people.

The Psalm concludes as we've already seen with a call to praise that has widened beyond a personal encouragement to a creation-wide exhortation without at the same time losing sight of the personal response.

 Another look

In the NT Jesus taught His followers that every part of the Scriptures spoke of Him and bore witness to Him. He specifically included the Psalms (though it may well be that He was including more than just our book of Psalms and was making reference to the Writings.)

Luke 24:44 "Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”"

With this in mind I want quickly to look back through the Psalm to see how it might speak of our Saviour.

v.1 David wants to bless the "holy name of the LORD". The name speaks of the character of the one involved and the name employed is LORD or Yahweh – the Covenant name of God.

In the NT Jesus is exalted by His Father and given a special name – we read of it in Phil.2:9-11

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

The LORD to be praised in this Psalm is a LORD who has a throne in the heavens v.19. In the NT Jesus is associated with His Father being seated at the right hand of His throne eg. Heb.8:1 "Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven," the same truth is taught in several other places in the Letter to the Hebrews as well as other books of the NT.

The Covenant name of God has been used throughout the Psalm and of course the NT presents Jesus Christ as the author of the New covenant! 1Cor.11:25 "In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

The LORD bestowed covenant blessings in the Psalm as does our Lord Jesus in the NT:

1.       Forgiveness of sin – Mk.2:5 & 10 Do you remember the story of the paralytic brought to Jesus by his friends?

2.       Healing – Jesus' ministry was characterized especially early on by healings and exorcisms eg. Mk.1.

3.       Redemption – Jesus saw His coming into the world as for this very purpose – to give His life as a ransom! Mt.20:28. Likewise Paul states that the Christian's redemption is in Christ Jesus (Rom.3:24 cf. 1Cor.1:30)

4.       Satisfaction – it is impossible to read the Gospels without being impressed by Jesus feeding miracles where He fully met the needs of those who had come to listen to His preaching and teaching. Further than this Jesus also invited the hungry and thirsty to come to Him the living bread and for living water. (Jn.6:35 & Jn.4:10, 14).

As we read the Psalms – and any other portion of the OT for that matter – let's not be content until we have found something of Jesus there!

In this Psalm we have all-too-briefly examined just a few things – now let us with the Psalmist respond with wholehearted praise and worship!

To God be the glory.