_An exhortation to bless God for his mercy, and for the constancy
thereof._
A Psalm of David.
Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, _bless_ his holy
name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving
kindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good _things; so that_ thy youth is
renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all _that are_
oppressed.
He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of
Israel.
The LORD _is_ merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in
mercy.
He will not alway chide; neither will he keep _his anger_ for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to
our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, _so_ great is his mercy
toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, _so_ far hath he removed our
transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth _his_ children, _so_ the LORD pitieth them
that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we _are_ dust.
_As for_ man, his days _are_ as grass; as a flower of the field, so he
flourisheth:
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof
shall know it no more.
But the mercy of the LORD _is_ from everlasting to everlasting upon
them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his
commandments to do them.
The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom
ruleth over all.
Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his
commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Bless ye the LORD, all _ye_ his hosts; _ye_ ministers of his that do
his pleasure.
Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion: bless
the LORD, O my soul.
This is a glorious Psalm, and full of the most ardent feelings and
exercises of faith, and of a believing heart, a heart acknowledging
the infinite mercies of God, both temporal and spiritual. “Bless the
Lord (saith the Psalmist), O my soul,” &c. The Psalmist embraces, in
the first three verses, six kinds of divine mercies and benefits, for
which he exhorts all the godly to give praise unto God with their
whole heart, and to celebrate his great and holy name.
The first kind of mercy enumerated is the remission of all our sins in
Christ, and for Christ’s sake, our only Mediator and High-priest: who
by himself sustained the just and infinite wrath of God, which burned
against our sins: who offered himself a sacrifice to God for them; by
which offering he reconciled unto us the Eternal Father, and now
pleads for us with an unceasing and prevailing intercession.
The second kind of mercy is the healing of those manifold, and by no
means light infirmities, which shall remain in the flesh of the
saints, as long as they live in this world: all which remnant of sins
God, for Christ’s sake, imputeth not unto them that believe: nor does
he only cover those sins by not imputing them, but he moreover purges
them away, by the gift of his Holy Spirit.
The third kind of mercy is a continual and daily protection and
defence against all the dangers of death, into numbers of which we
continually fall; and into more and greater of which we should fall by
fire, by water, by sword, by pestilence, and other means of
destruction, and be destroyed by them on account of the deserts of our
sins, if God did not in his mercy prevent and save and preserve our
lives.
The fourth kind of mercy is a manifold dispensation of the grace of
God, wherewith he covers and defends us with a shield, and crowns us,
giving us the Holy Spirit, and strengthening our minds with the true
doctrine against all doubts, and with true consolation in all perils
and evils; and bestowing on the godly many and various gifts.
The fifth kind of mercy is that boldness wherewith by the aid and
urgency of the Holy Spirit, we fearlessly preach before the world
these great mercies of God toward us: whereby many others also may
learn to acknowledge and lay hold of the goodness of God in Christ,
and, embracing it themselves in the true faith, may, with us, magnify
and call upon God.
The sixth kind of mercy is the restoration of our depraved nature by
Christ into the image of God; into which image we being renewed by the
Holy Ghost, begin with full purpose of heart to obey God; and so
continue, until, being made perfect in the life to come, we may be
able to render a full obedience with our whole unimpeded powers.
The Psalmist, therefore, first renders thanks to God for his spiritual
benefits; and then he from his heart thanks God for bestowing
blessings of every kind,—peace, good magistrates, good laws, good
wives, good children, the fruits of the earth, and all needful
provision. The Psalmist sets forth God as a most kind Father towards
us (who are nothing but a loathsome sore, full of sin) and as not
dealing with us according to our sins, but treating and protecting us,
according to his infinite grace and mercy, as dear children: yet so
that he will have us to keep his covenant and his counsel: that is, to
believe in him, to fear him, and to have him for our God. For if we
trust in our own works or righteousnesses, we thereby immediately
break his covenant, and walk not in his counsel, and follow strange
gods, and thus sin against the First Commandment.
Now this fulfilling of the law, and keeping the covenant of God, is in
and through Christ alone, who was then promised to the fathers, but
now in these last days has been given unto us; and manifested; whose
kingdom shall rule over all.
At the end of the Psalm, when the Psalmist calls upon the angels and
the hosts of God, the powers and the dominions, to praise and magnify
him, he means Christ and the church and the apostles who cause his
word to be heard. For all our salvation is in Christ, and there is no
grace out of Christ; who is preached by the angels; that is, by the
apostles.