Ps. 103.10 (lack of proportion)

He has not / treated us in proportion to our sins

nor has he dealt with us / as our iniquities deserve. 

There is a single word here that I think unlocks for us something important at the heart of this psalm: ‘proportion’. Here, Yhwh does not act ‘in proportion’ to our sins. He does less than what would otherwise be required. His failure is one of a lessening. This is significant. The psalmist recognizes there to be a certain standard (a certain ‘proportion’) when reacting to sins and iniquities. And he recognizes that Yhwh has violated that standard, in mercy. He has not acted ‘up to the standard.’ However, what we have already seen is that Yhwh also violates the standard in abundance. His acts of loyal-love are ‘lavish’. They are ‘total’ and without remainder. They are festive, they are abundant, they are overflow. The psalmist will soon revert to images of his ‘towering’ loving-kindness and of spatial imagery that is impossibly large. The point, it seems, is profound. Yhwh’s anger is always less than it could be and his blessings is always, profoundly, more than required.

Ps. 103.9 (anger contained)

He does not / perpetually rebuke
nor does he / retain his anger forever. 

These lines represent a type of counterpoint to the preceding lines of Yhwh’s lavish loving-kindness. They also offer us an important insight into Yhwh’s anger. A first thing to see is that Yhwh’s anger is set in direct contrast to his loving-kindness. It is framed entirely in the negative: “he does not …. Nor does he….” The effect of this is to ‘contain’ his anger; to see it entirely within the context of his loving-kindness. In other words, the primary, or most foundational, expression of Yhwh is his loving-kindness, patience and affection. In so far as he is angry, it comes forth from that primary source. This is also evident from the second insight. There are two ‘negatives’ to Yhwh’s anger. The first is what we just saw. The second is that it is limited: it is “not perpetual” and it is “not retained”. This is key and confirms much of our insight into Yhwh’s wrath from other psalms. We have described it elsewhere as ‘penultimate’ to his blessings and joy. It is not, in this way, ‘on par’ with his blessings. It is subservient to it, and serves it. This is why it can ‘dissipate’, it can ‘end’ and it is ‘not perpetual’. This further highlights the contrast with Yhwh’s loving-kindness. Whereas his anger his ‘not perpetual’, his ‘loving-kindness’ is. It remains; it is the ‘foundation’. Importantly, as we will see later, Yhwh is ‘the perpetual one’. The covenant is what brings his people into his realm of perpetuity; it enables heaven and earth to meet, and for earth to partake of heavens perpetuity. In Yhwh, there is ‘forever’. Here, this ‘forever’, this ‘perpetuity’ is understood to be the realm of ‘loving-kindness’. His anger is, in sense, both literally and theologically, ‘consumed’ by his loving-kindness. This ‘transient’ nature of Yhwh’s anger is key too because later in the psalm the psalmist will mention that Yhwh’s is patient precisely because humans are so transient. It seems to me that this psalm is attempting to draw us into the realm of Yhwh’s perpetuity; to see it as expressed, constantly, in his regard for his people and in his sacrificial cult; that it, in a sense, encases the covenantal life between them and Yhwh, and is its core. It both ‘begins and ends’ the covenantal life, with the anger of Yhwh occupying a type of purely transitional stage, and a stage that Yhwh himself actually provides for a means of removal.

Ps. 103.8 (lavish overflow)

Yhwh is affectionate / and dutiful

patient and lavish / in loyal-love. 

This verse begins what I would call the ‘inner-life’ of the covenant. It reveals to them “his ways”. We might even say, it opens up the ‘heart of Yhwh’. Here, Yhwh is “affectionate and dutiful and patient and lavish in loyal-love”. These qualities of Yhwh are not, within the context of the psalm, simply an excited outpouring by the psalmist. They are, rather, thematically important for what has preceded and what follows. First, we need to look back to the first section. There, the psalmist recounts Yhwh’s personal act of deliverance toward him and his subsequent crowning in ‘loyal love and affection’. Importantly, this ‘crowning’ follows Yhwh’s act of forgiving iniquity. In the current section there will likewise be a focus on Yhwh’s act of “dealing with our sins and iniquities”. Moreover, if one imagines this psalm being recited within the Temple, then this “affection and loyal-love” are to be, here, intimately tied to and as an expression of the sacrifice system establishing forgiveness of sins. This being the case, we come to a deeper understanding of the nature of Yhwh’s establishing the sacrificial cult in Israel—it is an expression of Yhwh’s covenantal ‘inner-life’ of loyal-love and affection toward his people. We will come to this verse later, but we must hear the deeply loving gratitude for the sacrificial cult in these words: “As far as east is from west has he removed from us punishment for our rebel ways.” The psalmist’s language is, quite literally, crossing the boundary of language to reach toward an expression of gratitude that he cannot adequately provide. This is manifest in our verse today when he describes Yhwh’s loyal-love as “lavish loyal-love”. Everything here speaks about Yhwh’s regard for his people as abundant, prodigal and lavish. It is, in other words, excessive. It is overflow.

Ps. 103.6-7 (performing and making known)

Yhwh performs / saving deeds
winning justice / for all victims of oppression
he made his ways known / to Moses
to the Israelites / his actions. 

From the personal, the psalmist now expands his horizons out toward “all victims of oppression” and then to Israel. As he makes this transition his language changes. When he spoke about his own personal redemption and blessing by Yhwh, it was couched in personal terms; there was no ‘proclamation’ about it. Here, however, the first line speaks of Yhwh’s “performance”, then of “winning justice” and finally of his “making known his ways”. What we need to see in this, I think, is that as the psalmist looks toward this more public horizon of Yhwh’s actions, he sees them as a public act by Yhwh. They are meant to be seen. They take place ‘in the open’. Unlike the personal redemption and blessing, these acts are acts of proclamation. That signals, in a sense, the ‘discontinuity’ between the personal and the communal. The continuity is equally, if not more, important—what Yhwh did for the psalmist, he performs for “all victims of oppression”. We find again, here, the language of ‘totality’. If Yhwh “all” of the psalmist’s iniquity, and “all” ailments, he saves “all” victims of oppression. Yhwh’s redemption is ‘total’ in both the personal sphere and in broader sphere of all humanity. Those that are oppressed, either by iniquity and ailments or oppression, find in Yhwh their salvation. This points to a second form of continuity. When Yhwh acted personally toward the psalmist he is described as ‘redeeming’ him “from the Pit”. This act of ‘redemption’ signals, in some form, to an exchange; to ‘redeem’ someone is to pay a price and essentially ‘buy’ their release. Here, in the ‘public’ section, Yhwh “wins justice” for all oppressed. In both what we see is Yhwh engaging against forces that are opposed to his victims. In the first, he ‘pays a price’; in the second, he does battle. Interestingly, the party Yhwh engages is not mentioned; on some level, I think this points to the fact that even though Yhwh must engage them, they do not represent a real act of defiance against Yhwh’s mastery. In other words, they remain nameless because they do not represent a real obstacle to Yhwh. 

From ‘all the oppressed’ the psalmist then narrows his focus to Moses and Israel. While every oppressed person is saved by Yhwh, Moses is granted something more. To Moses Yhwh “makes his ways known”. In the context of this psalm, Yhwh’s ‘ways’ must refer to his covenant obligations. That is not immediately apparent, here, but the psalm will repeatedly refer them and Moses is understood as the primal ‘law-giver’. Importantly, these covenant obligations are not merely expressions of Yhwh’s ‘will’; they are, rather, his ways—they accurately and intimately reveal Yhwh’s ‘person’. More deeply than his saving acts, or even his blessing, his ‘ways’ reveals Yhwh ‘interiority’. It is this ‘intimacy’ that is granted Moses and Israel. They are given, in other words, his Name, which must be understood as being granted to the same person to whom the ‘law’ is given—Moses. And this, understood from a broad perspective, is what the interior life of the covenant involves—the ‘unveiling’ and communion of Yhwh with his people. This ‘gateway’ into Yhwh is important to grasp. The lines that follow will exhibit the inner dynamic of the relationship between Yhwh and his people. As we will see, it displays an immensely rich and prodigal and lavish concern of Yhwh for his people.

Ps. 103.3-5 (creation, liturgy and theology)

He is the one / who has forgiven / all your iniquity
who has cured / all your ailments
the one who has redeemed / your life / from the Pit
who has crowned you / with loyal-love and affection
the one who has filled your existence / with good
so that your youth has come back / new as an eagles. 

We noted the theme of ‘totality’ in the previous reflection—the fact that the psalmist calls upon his entire (total) being to bless Yhwh. In turn, Yhwh’s ‘totality’ is embodied in his ‘transcendent’ name that is the source of all blessing. Here, in these verses, we see how this ‘totality of blessing’ is performed in the psalmist own life. Yhwh’s action toward the psalmist is not partial; when he acts, he acts in a total and prodigal fashion toward him. Note the repeated use of “all” (all your iniquity, all your ailments) and the redemption of his entire “life” from the Pit and his “filling” of his “existence with good”. There is, in this, a two-fold dynamic. The first three lines speak of Yhwh’s total act of removal and redemption. The second three lines focus on his ‘filling’ the psalmist’s life with abundance. All of this is Yhwh’s act of ‘blessing’. One thing that comes through very clearly in this is that Yhwh’s act toward the psalmist is not simply an ‘act of grace’ but an abundant, and overflowing act of generosity and loving-concern for him. He does not merely provide the psalmist ‘what he needs’. Instead, he removes what is necessary for his life to be restored (iniquity/ailments), but then pours down upon him, or ‘fills him’ with a torrent of festive life. What we see in this is that the removal of iniquity and ailments is, in a sense, but a prelude to the real goal of blessing, which is the ‘filling of existence’ with good things; we might say this—that ‘redemption from sin’ is not the point, although it is necessary. The point (or goal) is a living within the prodigal and divine blessing of Yhwh. This is, incidentally, the same dynamic inherent in Yhwh’s wrath and blessing—Yhwh’s wrath is always penultimate to his gracious blessing, which is the sphere he seeks to move his people (and all of creation) into. We could even say that these verses exhibit a type of movement of cross-and-resurrection. 

A second thing to note is that the psalmist is intentionally attributing (and reminding himself of) all of these actions to Yhwh. “He is the one who…”. This may seem like a banal observation but I think the psalmist finds in this refrain something of crucial importance to his act of blessing and his memory. Perhaps what we see is the temptation on the psalmist’s part, and those around him, to attribute these acts to other divine forces, that all acts of blessing and redemption are not Yhwh’s alone. And yet, this attribution to other divine forces, is precisely what would thwart the ‘totality’ we have been speaking of. The psalmist can throw his ‘entire being’ into blessing Yhwh because Yhwh is the entire source of his blessing. If there is any remainder, if blessing originates from any other source, then the act of blessing Yhwh cannot be total and all-consuming. Moreover, his name is, arguably, not the ‘transcendent’ name that is the source of all of the psalmist’s and Israel’s redemption and blessing. This is not abstract. It entirely shapes and affects the way the psalmist, and all of Israel, provide liturgy and blessing to Yhwh. If blessing originates, even in part, from a source other than Yhwh, then Yhwh is not and cannot be the entire focus of blessing. 

Incidentally, this reality must shed light on the creation account in Genesis, and the fact that it is, itself, a type of liturgy. What I mean is this—what Genesis establishes, over against every other creation account, is the fact that Yhwh is sole ground, or cause, of creation. There is no remainder, no competitor, no partner. It is, in the words of this psalm, a ‘total’ act of Yhwh. For that reason, all of creation, and all divine power, is founded in Yhwh. More crucially—this establishes Yhwh’s sole and unique praise of Yhwh alone. It is the ground of their liturgy. If the foundational question is, “Who do we bless? Or, Who do we give liturgy to?” then Genesis provides the answer—Yhwh alone. What I find tremendously important about this is the fact that liturgy may stand at the heart of Genesis; liturgy may be what actually ‘shapes’ the creation account more than anything. Genesis must establish that no other divine power can be appealed to as a source of blessing. This finds resonance in the Church’s later development of her understanding of Christ—if Christ is not fully God, then we are not fully redeemed. In other words, Christ must be God, without remainder, in order for our liturgy to make any sense, in order for what the Church had been practicing in her living tradition, to mean what it professed. Liturgy, in this sense, drove theology (so to speak). Theology (the Creed in particular) was the attempt to precisely define what the Church practiced in her liturgy.

Ps. 103.1-2 (totality)

Bless Yhwh / I tell myself
every part of me / bless his transcendent name
Bless Yhwh / I tell myself
and do not forget / any of his benefits. 

These opening lines are pregnant with meaning, and provide the foundation on which the psalm will be built. In this regard, we should note a few things: the first word of the psalm, and that which will conclude the psalm, is ‘bless(ing)’. This psalm, in other words, begins and ends in blessing, and everything that occurs throughout it is an act of blessing. Importantly, though, the beginning and end are acts of blessing by the psalmist, whereas everything in the middle is Yhwh’s act of blessing the psalmist and Israel. This dynamic of blessing-response to blessing is key; there is a rich communion between Yhwh and his people that is, here, best displayed as that of mutual blessing (for his people: it is liturgical response-blessing, for Yhwh: it is the granting of abundant life). There is nothing static to this; it is a drama, a communion. 

This reality points to a second: the psalmist calls upon “every part of me” to bless “his transcendent name”. What we see here is something that will echo in every line of the psalm—it is that of totality. The psalmist, so to speak, calls upon his entire being to be ‘cast into the fire’ of blessing. Again, though, just as the psalmist’s blessing finds its origin in Yhwh’s primal blessing, so too does the psalmist’s ‘totality’ find its origin in Yhwh’s ‘totality’, his ‘transcendent name’. This ‘name’ was given over to Israel. Moreover, as we will see, the transcendence of the name is not the transcendence of something static—rather, as the psalm will make clear, it is the transcendent power of blessing and goodness. This is why the ‘transcendent name’ is paralleled in the following line with “his benefits”. In other words, Yhwh’s ‘transcendent name’ is perceived and known in and through his acts of overwhelming blessing-power to his people. That is his ‘totality’, his ‘name’. And this is why “every part of me” is caught up into the “transcendent name”—the psalm will make clear that the entirely of the psalmist, and all of Israel, has been ‘purchased’, ‘redeemed’ and brought into the sphere of this transcendent-blessing name. 

A final point to make is the fact that for the psalmist the act of casting ‘every part’ of himself into the blessing-flame of Yhwh involves an act of memory that is both personal and corporate. He ‘remembers’ Yhwh in his personal acts of blessing and salvation in verses 2-5 and his corporate acts toward Israel in the following verses. As such, the psalmist’s memory is not a momentary act, but one that involves the remembrance of a history that is much deeper than himself and one that he finds himself a part of. In other words, ‘every part of him’ involves himself and the history of Israel itself. It is not the case that he only sees himself as individual, inhabiting a moment in time, but, instead, he sees himself as part of a corporate body, a covenant family and nation, that stretches back to the very origin of Israel’s election; when Israel was elected, he, in some fashion, was there. And the momentum of her (salvation) history is gathered up into himself, and is perpetuated in his own life, and then ex-pressed in the form of blessing Yhwh’s name; he speaks back to Yhwh what Yhwh has ‘spoken’ to him and Israel—and that is him, a ‘part of him’. This is ‘history as liturgy’.