Psalm Reflection - Week 7

Psalm 103 - Giving Thanks!

Although entering the world of the Bible can be a journey of many dimensions, there are some basic principles that focus us if our ultimate goal is establishing a biblical perspective toward living our life; what we might call a biblical spirituality.

First, be attentive to what the inspired writers are trying to express about God. There is great diversity but let us be content to focus on some specific ideas that are central. For sure we will see that God is consistently described as good, faithful, merciful and compassionate. These are the essential qualities of God who is looked upon as the covenant partner. Hesed and emeth are Hebrew words that carry a weight of meaning. They suggest God's willingness to accept the responsibilities of being a partner in a mutual bond of love (a covenant). God is steadfastly faithful to this!

A second point to watch for is how the crown of God's creation, human-kind, lives and responds to the great goodness of God. The contrast and interaction should tell us something or at least invite us to reflect on the reality of the divine-human relationship. "Made in the image and likeness of God" surely does not mean equality, but it does set up the contrast where we might observe, over and over again, how we fall short of a proper response to the goodness that God faithfully and patiently shows toward us. That we bear the image of God reminds of us of our own dignity and responsibility to turn toward this God. Who God is and who we are forms the basis of our attitude toward God. If this is right and true, we understand what the biblical writer means by the phrase "Fear of the Lord". It is about reverence and respect, humility and dependence. This right relationship becomes the foundation for the way we live our life and relate with our world. Firmly established, this perspective allows for adaptation and growth because it is true.

Psalm 103 appears to build on this firmly established basis of a right relationship with God. The psalmist begins with personal praise and thanks to God. Such praise and thanks and remembrance springs from the soul, from ones very being, the whole of ones being! It is the spontaneous response to the blessings God has given. Note the parallelism in vs 1 and 2. Timing is everything! It would appear in the list of remembered blessings (vs 3,4,5) that recently, the psalmist has undergone some sort of trial, maybe a separation from God or perhaps sickness or near death. But enough time has passed and instead of this psalm being a full-blown lament, the peacefulness and the reliability of the relationship has returned and the time of trial has given way to trust and remembrance of the good things that God has done.

There is reliance on the very nature of God described as covenant partner. We see this in vs 8 and vs 17. I returned to notes taken in a class on the Psalms I took with Carroll Stuhlmueller. He said of this psalm that the question of the existence of evil or suffering and how God holds us accountable for our actions is not the question this psalm takes up. It simply looks at the goodness of God who is bound in faithful and steadfast love to his creatures. I think we could take a look back to the account in Genesis just after the flood when it seems that God is evaluating the effectiveness of the flood. Remember that the flood was God's response to the existence of violence in the world. The flood seems to have not accomplished its purpose of eliminating from the human condition the inclination toward evil. See Gen 8:20-22. Human kind is what it is but God promises fidelity! This thought seems echoed in vs 14…"God knows of what we are made and remembers that we are but dust"

Recalling other biblical references, for sure we detect the strains of Isaiah: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways says the Lord (Isa 55:8 with Psalm 103:11) . The initial chapter of 2nd Isa (ch 40) also seems a beloved text for the psalmist. "Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God remains forever" (Isa 40:8 with Psalm 103: 15-16) Anyone associated with the CBS knows this is our signature text!

If you read these chapters of Isaiah, you may detect something of an underlying spirituality that sustained our psalmist in the thankfulness he is able to render to God with his entire being. How important it is to be cognizant of a deep-seated spiritual core out of which one lives life, makes decisions, accepts transitions and trials and moves forward toward God. Being familiar with the Bible can give this. It is life in abundance - this Word of our God!