| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| 1 By David. |
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| Bless, O my soul, Jehovah, And all my inward parts His Holy Name. |
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| 2 Bless, O my soul, Jehovah, And forget not all His benefits, |
O my soul – The appeal is not merely to the lips, but to the entire being. R2551:2
Forget not – One of the least expensive, but most highly appreciated, offerings we can present to God is thanksgiving for mercies past and present. R2551:2
He that is conscious of being forgiven much loveth much; hence the danger of forgetting it and of falling into the idea that every one must suffer the full penalty for his own sins. R137:4*
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| 3 Who is forgiving all thine iniquities, Who is healing all thy diseases, |
Who forgiveth – It is the new mind that recognizes his healing, his forgiveness, his reconciliation to God. R4981:4
They who hide their sins from themselves and think to hide them from the Lord greatly err, and will make no progress. R5234:4
Not generalizing, but particularizing. Properly, the first item of praise is redeeming love through Christ's sacrifice. R1402:3
The Church's sins are only "covered" now, but wait to be "blotted out ." R2028:3
The work of Christ for the Church, of blotting out sins and healing all diseases, will not be complete until the Millennial morning. R2028:3
Who heareth – God is prepared to heal us spiritually when we come into the proper attitude of heart and go to the heavenly throne of grace. F145
By heeding your fervent prayers for restoration of favor after you have amended the wrong as far as possible. F144, F649
With spiritual healings. R5234:4
Those who receive physical healing by "gifts" or "prayers" have never yet been completely healed. At most they receive a temporary blessing. R2028:3
Those resurrected will be without any of their present mental, moral, or physical diseases or weaknesses. R1402:6
All thy diseases – Applicable physically to the Israelites under the Law covenant and spiritually to the Church, the New Creation. R4979:6, R4981:4
New Creatures have such experiences. F649
Soul disease, due to the Lord's hiding his face because of our neglect of consecration vows. F144, F145
Certainly not physical diseases; the Lord's bloody sweat, the bursting of his heart, and Paul's thorn in the flesh prove the contrary. F649; R5234:4
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| 4 Who is redeeming from destruction thy life, Who is crowning thee kindness and mercies, |
Who redeemeth – Gaal, sets free by payment. E438
The original sentence to destruction is now offset by the ransom. HG333:5
Thy life – Soul, being, not the body. OV166:2, R5017:2
It is the soul that is doomed to destruction not the body. The body changes every seven years anyway. HG204:5
From destruction – "Thou turnest man to destruction." (Psa. 90:3) E353
It would have been destruction--death as that of the brute beast--except for the fact that Christ paid our penalty. HG195:2; R803:3
Not from torment. HG197:1
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| 5 Who is satisfying with good thy desire, Renew itself as an eagle doth thy youth. |
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| 6 Jehovah is doing righteousness and judgments For all the oppressed. |
That are oppressed – The weak and oppressed of the world. R1402:6
He makes their cause his cause. R1402:6
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| 7 He maketh known His ways to Moses, To the sons of Israel His acts. |
His ways unto Moses – His care for the interest of the weak in the laws which he promulgated through Moses. R1402:6
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| 8 Merciful and gracious [is] Jehovah, Slow to anger, and abundant in mercy.
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LORD is merciful – Especially towards spiritual Israel. R5818:1
Toward the world, in its release from the bondage of sin and death to full liberty of sons of God. R5818:4
Plenteous In mercy – Making provision for the passing over, covering, and ultimate blotting out of our weaknesses. R3425:5
Except for his mercy and love, God would have been fully justified in canceling our covenant long ago. R4056:1
If we would appreciate his mercy through Christ, we should similarly exercise mercy toward others. R4056:4
His grace, while limited first to one earthly nation, then later to an elect company from all nations, is finally to be extended to every human being the world around. R5818:4
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| 9 Not for ever doth He strive, Nor to the age doth He watch. |
Not always chide – Contend with the wayward. R1402:6
Reprove. R1272:3
Neither will he keep – Hold back, retain; a time of retribution shall come. R3947:2, R1402:6
"The Lord is not slack, as men count slackness." (2 Pet 3:9) R1272:3, R1781:1
His anger – Righteous indignation against wilful sin and sinners. R1772:2
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| 10 Not according to our sins hath He done to us, Nor according to our iniquities Hath He conferred benefits upon us. |
After our sins – According to the just desert of our sins. R1402:6
To our iniquities – As they deserved under his righteous law. R1402:6
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| 11 For, as the height of the heavens [is] above the earth, His kindness hath been mighty over those fearing Him. |
Great is his mercy – We cannot come too often, then, to the throne of heavenly grace. R1865:3
Them that fear him – And love him. R1403:1
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| 12 As the distance of east from west He hath put far from us our transgressions. |
Our transgressions – The transgressions of those who love and fear God. R1403:1, R5427:2
Full and complete forgiveness to those who are truly repentant and desire to draw near to God through Christ. Q832:4
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| 13 As a father hath mercy on sons, Jehovah hath mercy on those fearing Him. |
Like as a father – "I will receive you and be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Cor. 6:17, 18) R5739:5
Illustrated by anecdote. . . "If God cares for you as I do..." R. 3808:1
His children – The first step is to come into harmony with God and become his child. SM682:T
Those who come in childlike faith and obedience to God he calls his "little ones." R657:1*
LORD pitieth – Gives sympathy to. R1585:4
He invites us to confide in him as children and speak to him freely of all that concerns us. R3161:4
Them that fear him – Reverence him. R2083:5
Perfect love casts out slavish, but not reverential, fear. R2289:4-6, R2986:6
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| 14 For He hath known our frame, Remembering that we [are] dust. |
Knoweth our frame – He knows that we are fallen--imperfect mentally, morally, physically. R5101:3, R5585:6
He has compassion on us. The fact that we are weak and lame does not separate us from his love and power, for he has covered us with the imputed righteousness of Christ. R4818:1, R5803:2; Q655:T
In our trials, the Lord permits us to be taken out of the fire for a little while so that they will not be too severe. R5778:6
It is not his purpose that we shall always be in conflict with ourselves--perfect will against imperfect body; but he has provided for perfect resurrection bodies in accord with our new minds. R4897:6
Graciously giving us time to run the race and develop character. F372
Therefore arranging that we have little seasons of refreshment between times of trial. R5779:1
That we are dust – That we cannot do what we would like to do. R5437:4
God invites our confidence in the smallest affairs of life. R3161:4
And so has compassion on the sons of his love, and is very pitiful and of tender mercy. R4818:1
Our testing is not to see whether we are perfect according to the flesh. R5115:1
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| 15 Mortal man! as grass [are] his days, As a flower of the field so he flourisheth; |
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| 16 For a wind hath passed over it, and it is not, And its place doth not discern it any more. |
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| 17 And the kindness of Jehovah [Is] from age even unto age on those fearing Him, And His righteousness to sons' sons, |
Them that fear him – Lack of reverence for God was the cause of the fall of Eve, Adam, Satan; the cause of calamities upon Lot, Ishmael and Esau. It was reverence for the Lord that brought blessings to Noah, Abraham and Isaac. R2872:3
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| 18 To those keeping His covenant, And to those remembering His precepts to do them. |
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| 19 Jehovah in the heavens Hath established His throne, And His kingdom over all hath ruled. |
His throne – Power, dominion, control. R1815:2
His kingdom ruleth – The Kingdom for which we pray. R1403:4
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| 20 Bless Jehovah, ye His messengers, Mighty in power doing His word, To hearken to the voice of His Word. |
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| 21 Bless Jehovah, all ye His hosts, His ministers doing His pleasure. |
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| 22 Bless Jehovah, all ye His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless, O my soul, Jehovah! |
In all places – After the end of the Millennium. R1403:4
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