HarperCollins Study Bible
Page 225
20to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die;
21so that the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
22when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
23He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
24“O my God,” I say, “do not take me away
at the midpoint of my life,
you whose years endure
throughout all generations.”
25Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26They will perish, but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
27but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28The children of your servants shall live secure;
their offspring shall be established in your presence.
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102.1–28 A prayer for help by one whose situation is well described in the superscription. One of the penitential psalms (see note on 6.1–10).
102.1–2 A plea for help.
102.2 Hide your face. See notes on 10.1; 27.9.
102.3–11 A lament over personal suffering including physical and emotional distress (vv. 3–7, 9, 11), the taunts of enemies (v. 8), and the affliction of God’s wrath (v. 10).
102.8 Taunt. See note on 79.10.
102.12–22 Hymnic in form, these verses express the confidence of the psalmist, who is anticipating and declaring that God will restore Zion. The individual suffering of the psalmist is joined with the larger suffering of an exiled people.
102.23–24 Return to lament over God’s affliction of the sufferer.
102.25–28 The confidence of the psalmist is once again expressed in praise, here of the God who, in the midst of transiency, change, and insecurity, endures forever and does not change.
102.25–27 Quoted in Heb 1.10–12.
PSALM 103
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
Of David.
1Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
2Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5who satisfies you with good as long as you livea
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6The LORD works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13As a father has compassion for his children,
so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.
14For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
15As for mortals, their days are like grass;
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
18to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
obedient to his spoken word.
21Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers that do his will.
22Bless the LORD, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
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a Meaning of Heb uncertain
103.1–22 A hymn of praise that may have functioned as a song of thanksgiving for one who had been helped by God.
103.1–2 The psalmist’s self-exhortation to give thanks to God. Bless is one of the characteristic terms for expressing gratitude to God. See, e.g., 28.6–7; 31.21; 66.20.
103.3–5 Hymnic description of the benefits (v. 2) from God. They are generalized and universalized for the whole congregation but may reflect the particular benefits the psalmist has experienced in answer to prayer.
103.4 Pit. See note on 16.10, but cf. note on 9.15.
103.5b Cf. Isa 40.31.
103.6–18 Praise of God’s grace and mercy showered upon the people throughout their history.
103.8 Quotation of the ancient confession of Ex 34.6. Cf. Num 14.18; Neh 9.17, 31; Jon 4.2.
103.11 Fear him (also vv. 13, 17). See note on 34.7.
103.15–17 Cf. 90.5–6; Isa 40.7–8.
103.19–22 The psalmist’s concluding call to all creation to give praise and thanks to the gracious ruler of all.
103.20–21 Angels, mighty ones, hosts, ministers, the heavenly hosts, the members of the divine assembly who make up the heavenly court of the Lord (see note on 82.1–8).
PSALM 104
God the Creator and Provider
1Bless the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3you set the beams of youra chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds yourb chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
4you make the winds yourc messengers,
fire and flame yourd ministers.
5You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.
6You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for them.
9You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
10You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
11giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
12By the streamse the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
13From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to use,f
to bring forth food from the earth,
15and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart.
16The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in
the fir trees.
18The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
19You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.
21The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
23People go out to their work
and to their labor until the evening.
24O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30When you send forth your spirit,g they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
31May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works—
32who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
35Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD!
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a Heb his
b Heb his
c Heb his
d Heb his
e Heb By them
f Or to cultivate
g Or your breath
104.1–35 A hymn in praise of God the creator (cf. Pss 8; 19; 33). The psalm has similarities with both the Egyptian Hymn to Aten (“Hymn to the Sun Disk”) and Gen 1.
104.1–4 God the creator of the heavens.
104.1 Cf. v. 35; 103.1, 22b.
104.3–4 See note on 68.4.
104.4 Quoted in Heb 1.7.
104.5–9 God the creator of the earth. God gives stability to the earth and orders the unruly, chaotic waters.
104.6 The primeval waters covered the earth.
104.7 Echoes of God’s victory over the watery chaos are heard here; see notes on 74.12–17; 93.3–4.
104.8 Rose up to the mountains, i.e., became mountain streams.
104.10–18 By means of the controlled waters, God refreshes and sustains the earth and its creatures.
104.12 Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed evokes this reference to where the birds find habitation. Cf. Mt 13.32; Mk 4.32; Lk 13.19.
104.15 Oil, used to protect and heal, was also a sign of gladness (45.7).
104.16 Cedars of Lebanon. See note on 92.12.
104.17–18 The watered and flourishing trees and mountains are a home for the wild animals.
104.19–23 God, the provider of times and seasons, orders the lives of all creatures.
104.24 A summary affirmation and praise.
104.25–26 The sea as a place of other creatures and human transportation.
104.26 Leviathan, elsewhere one of the monsters of chaos defeated by God (see note on 74.13–15), is here simply one of God’s playful creatures.
104.27–30 The dependence upon God of everything created.
104.31–35 Concluding exultation and praise. The joy of God in the creation (v. 31) is echoed in the joy of the creatures in God (v. 34).
104.34 See 19.14; 119.108.
104.35 In God’s marvelous creation there is no place for the perversion of it by the presence of sin and wickedness. The psalm sustains to its end the vision of God’s good creation.
PSALM 105
God’s Faithfulness to Israel
1O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
3Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the
LORD rejoice.
4Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
5Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
6O offspring of his servant Abraham,a
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
12When they were few in number,
of little account, and strangers in it,
13wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.”
16When he summoned famine against the land,
and broke every staff of bread,
17he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18His feet were hurt with fetters,
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the LORD kept testing him.
20The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21He made him lord of his house,
and ruler of all his possessions,
22to instructb his officials at his pleasure,
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
24And the LORD made his people very fruitful,
and made them stronger than their foes,
25whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
26He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27They performed his signs among them,
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they rebelledc against his words.
29He turned their waters into blood,
and caused their fish to die.
30Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32He gave them hail for rain,
and lightning that flashed through their land.
33He struck their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34He spoke, and the locusts came,
and young locusts without number;
35they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36He struck down all t
he firstborn in their land,
the first issue of all their strength.
37Then he brought Israeld out with silver and gold,
and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
38Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40They asked, and he brought quails,
and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
41He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
43So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
45that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD!
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a Another reading is Israel (compare 1 Chr 16.13)
b Gk Syr Jerome: Heb to bind
c Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb they did not rebel
d Heb them
105.1–45 A hymn of praise for God’s wonderful deeds in the history of the people Israel (cf. Ps 78). It has its negative counterpart in the history of sin and judgment in Ps 106. Part of this psalm (vv. 1–15) appears in the context of the community’s worship in 1 Chr 16.8–22.
105.1–6 Call to the people to give thanks to God for the wonderful works on their behalf. Declaration of what God has done is a standard part of thanksgiving in the psalms (cf. 18.16–19; 22.22–24; 30.1–3).
105.7–11 Praise for God’s faithfulness to the eternal covenant with Israel.
105.9 See Gen 15.18–21; 26.3–5.
105.10 See Gen 28.13–15; 35.11–12.
105.11 Inheritance, a hereditary allotment to be handed down through the generations.
105.12–45 A recounting of God’s faithfulness from the time of the fathers and mothers (vv. 12–15; cf. Gen 12–36) through the story of Joseph’s slavery in Egypt (vv. 16–19; cf. Gen 37; 39.1–40.36) and his leadership in time of famine (vv. 20–22; cf. Gen 40.37–50.26), the multiplication of the Hebrews in Egypt (vv. 23–25; cf. Ex 1.1–22), the calling of Moses and Aaron to lead the people out of slavery (vv. 26–27; cf. Ex 2.1–6.30), the plagues in Egypt (vv. 28–36; cf. Ex 7.8–12.32), the exodus (vv. 37–38; cf. Ex 12.33–15.21), care during the wandering in the wilderness (vv. 39–42; cf. Ex 15.22–Num 36.13), and the entry into Canaan (vv. 43–45; cf. Josh 1.1–24.33).