Psalm 103

¹ Praise the LORD, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!

² Praise the LORD, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits,

³ who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases,

⁴ who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,

⁵ who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The LORD executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel.

⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.

⁹ He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever.

¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ Like a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

¹⁴ For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

¹⁶ For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.

¹⁷ But the LORD’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children,

¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant, to those who remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Praise the LORD, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word.

²¹ Praise the LORD, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure.

²² Praise the LORD, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise the LORD, my soul!

Around Psalm 103

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

Report a mistake