Hey Cindy,
Thank you. I see everything as one big paradox. God is wrath and grace. Mercy and justice. Love and hate. Glorious and humble. He mixes these together to bring about redemption. Some were saved at the cross others will be purified in the lake of fire. His hatred mixed with love destroys sin and the old self in hell and creates a new person fully cleansed. I think when it happens it will be a time of sorrow and rejoicing at His holy love.
Hi Cindy,
Great summary Cindy. Suggestion for another psalm? In an earlier post I suggested 103 Praise the Lord and 121 I lift my eyes unto the hills but I am happy follow whatever you and others choose. 
Ref your comment on the choice of the word Kiss, which in the Middle East is quite a common practice man to man as a salutation, even among Italians and Greeks, today, though here in Spain there is just the embrace (abrazo) unusually accompanied by a kiss. Embrace, hug, abrazo used to confuse Brits 
being welcomed here by their Spanish and Catalan friends - no longer since Easy Jet et al low cost flights. 
Blessings
Michael
Oh yes, I’d forgotten about the kiss of greeting. I read something a few months ago about certain forms of the greeting kiss being customary in Israel. I believe a kiss on the hand denoted respect while a kiss on one or both cheeks was an exchange between equals – but I might have got that wrong. . It was an exposition of Jesus’ visit to the house of Simeon the Pharisee (or was he a priest?), who “gave him no kiss” nor water to wash in. Apparently an intentional put-down. Very interesting. I’d never connected the two references until you explained the customs in Spain. Cool!
Jesus said you’re either for me or against me. There is a division between the spiritual truths of Christ and the truths of secular thought. Either/or reasoning is good in areas like math and sciences. But when it comes to Christ we must transcend the either/or into the both/and. The reason why is because He is a mysterious paradox. He cannot be figured out with logic. When we transcend the rational mind into faith, opposites hold together just as they do in Christ. This is why Christ is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. When you love good and hate evil you have light. This is the fear of the Lord and the beginning of wisdom. In the both/and we can love our enemies. It’s no longer us and them. It’s no longer all or nothing thinking or following a set of rules because one fears punishment. In here love casts out fear and obedience comes from the heart. The spiritual truths of Christ are experienced and understood with the mind but not the rational mind of either/or reasoning. It is here we find the peace beyond understanding and the fruits of the spirit - love, patience, joy, kindness etc.
Oooops
That is a very acute observation Cindy and I had not realised of course Jesus would have expected his host Simeon to greet him with a kiss on both cheeks as is the custom now - I am not sure but in some countries it is a one-two-three, varies from right-left-right to left-right-left!!
And then some time in perhaps the 1960s the kiss by the man on the delicately poised woman’s fragile limp hand somehow got transferred to a mutual kiss on both cheeks. I seem to remember that this change took some time to drift from the Mediterranean latin cultures to the still very reserved Brits. My father could not understand and thought it most offensive and was most embarrased when the vicar’s wife introuced herself planting a kiss on both cheeks!
Oh yes, it was quite common for formal letters addressed to higher beings here in Spain to sign off with
Le beso a sus pies a kiss at your feet or Le saludo y le beso a sus pies 
That has disappeared with emails, though not unusual to end with
un abrazo fuerte a big hug !
So
Un abrazo fuerte, Cindy!
Michael
Here we give X’s and O’s, Michael (in correspondence, I mean), which for some inexplicable reason stand for kisses and hugs. I suppose the X looks maybe like two pairs of lips meeting, and the O is an encircling sort of letter. We’re always shorthanding stuff here in the entrepreneurial businessy society of the USA. We miss out on quite a few of the gracious customs of the old world, I fear.
Let’s do Psalm 103. Psalm 121 is (as I’m sure you know) one of the Psalms of Ascent, and I’d like to do those all in one group. How about we look at 103 -108? Those should go together nicely and also be very uplifting. If not, we can just do 103 for now. Here it is:
And here’s the Septuagint:
We are now open for comments. Poetical, exegetical, artistical – whatever!
Hey Cindy,
I like the part about God not being wrathful forever. For me it took hitting bottom a few times before I was released from my spiritual suffering. It was a combination of love and suffering that got me where I’m at today. When the suffering became intense and was suddenly released it created a desire for love and beauty in my heart. I think the greater the suffering the greater the love. It’s a mixture of both just as it was for Christ on the cross. I think this is how it will be for those in hell. The suffering will open their hearts up to see and feel God’s beautiful love.
A brief observation about poetic voice here Cindy-
Unlike the Psalm 2 which has many voices this Psalm has but one – the psalmist intimately addressing their ‘soul’ reminding their ‘soul’ of the reasons to bless the Lord (it is not directly addressed to God. God is spoken of in the third person as ‘the Lord’). From this I draw the negative inference that the soul can be forgetful and therefore needs reminding. The voice of the psalmist becomes the voice of the community of Israel in the second section and as the Psalm is recited in liturgy and the forgetful soul becomes the soul of the community that is awakened/reminded through the recitation of the Psalm). In the final section the 'reminder, is extended to God’s angels, hosts ,and handiwork so the remembering of praise becomes a cosmic act in which the individual and the liturgical community participate.
The psalm divides into four sections according to shifts in the theme of remembering to praise I reckon (what do you think Cindy?)
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 praises:
who forgives all thy transgressions, who heals all thy diseases;
who redeems thy life from corruption; who crowns thee with mercy and compassion;
who satisfies thy desire with good things: so that thy youth shall be renewed like that of the eagle.
The Lord executes mercy and judgment for all that are injured.
He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the children of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and pitiful, longsuffering, and full of mercy.
He will not be always angry; neither will he be wrathful for ever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, the Lord has so increased his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children, the Lord pities them that fear him.
For he knows our frame: remember that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he flourish.
For the wind passes over it, and it shall not be; and it shall know its place no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation upon them that fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children; to them that keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them.
The Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, all ye his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, ready to hearken to the voice of his words.
Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his that do his will.
Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion:
Bless the Lord, O my soul
And here’s a version I remember from my yoof (starts at 1:17). But that’s a mere side issue.
Can you imagine the Older Testament WITHOUT the Psalms? I cannot. The beating heart of worship and praise as expressed here gives me insight into what all the commandments, sacrifices, types, symbols, judgments, feasts - all that religious ‘stuff’ was really about - this Psalm shows all that in its true light.
I don’t think we could properly understand God’s dealings with Israel - and with us! - without Psalms like this one.
And as an aside, the more I read GMac’s Book of Strife, the more I see the parallels of that work with the Psalms, in the sense that both are deliberate works of art that reflect the experiences of lives lived in relationship to God, with all the ambiguities and doubts, clarities and affirmations, that attend such a life.
Yup
One thought – before any other analysis - this Psalm blesses the Lord and enjoins us to fear the Lord and then he will bless us. I think something more subtle is meant here than that the Lord only blesses those who are terrified of him. In fact this is obvious IMHO. The ‘fear’ meant in this psalm is not the same as the ‘fear’ as that which true love casts out.
I also note that judgment sits with mercy in a purely positive restorative framework here. God’ judgement is to get justice for the oppressed and those who are cast down. His anger is at those who do not do justice and walk in the ways of justice, but it is always ready to abate for God is long suffering and loving kind. He does not take infinite offence; although he is enthroned in majesty he has intimate father like pity for his children.
Dave,
I like what you said about true light. I’ve been thinking about this and I think I’m going back to what I’ve said before. It’s got to be BOTH either/or AND both/and. It’s another paradox. It’s reason and the heart. When the two are balanced there is true light. When we love good and hate evil there is holy light. Knowledge and moral purity.
2Co 13:12 Greet one another with a holy φιλημα.
This Greek word is derived from the word “φιλος”, which means “affection”. So it appears that the word “φιλημα” means “an expression of affection.” A kiss would be an expression of affection. But it seems to me that there are other expression of affection as well, such as a hug.
I am surprised at the word Bless instead of Praise.
I see this Psalm as being an outburst, outpouring of the heart, mind, and soul in praise. I can see the writer almost overcome with wonder, joy and thanksgiving, bursting with his mind’s eagerness to give words to the praise and wonder flowing from his heart and the depths of his soul , as if he had reached the summit of his understanding and relationship with his Maker.
Anyone else for enlarging on this 
Michael in BCN
“Bless” is a good observation, Michael. The lesser is blessed by the better (or was it by the greater?) so how could my soul bless the Lord? Maybe it’s a different sort of blessing. Our children can bless us with their love and admiration – who doesn’t melt when a child offers praise?
I’ve been kind of overwhelmed the last several days. Plus, I don’t want to hog the podium. Why don’t you go for it? We can all have a word of course, but this psalm was your suggestion and I’ll bet you have many interesting things to say about it.
OK I’ll do a boring literary analysis – first by giving the text again divided into its thematic parts (since we are on a new page)
Part 1
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 praises:
who forgives all thy transgressions, who heals all thy diseases;
who redeems thy life from corruption; who crowns thee with mercy and compassion;
who satisfies thy desire with good things: so that thy youth shall be renewed like that of the eagle.
The Lord executes mercy and judgment for all that are injured.
Part2
He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the children of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and pitiful, longsuffering, and full of mercy.
He will not be always angry; neither will he be wrathful for ever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, the Lord has so increased his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children, the Lord pities them that fear him.
Part 3
For he knows our frame: remember that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he flourish.
For the wind passes over it, and it shall not be; and it shall know its place no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation upon them that fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children; to them that keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them.
Part 4
The Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, all ye his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, ready to hearken to the voice of his words.
Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his that do his will.
Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion:
Bless the Lord, O my soul
Michael – that’s a brilliant observation about blessing and praising – I’ll look at it last because that saves me from redoing my analysis (previously completed) from the beginning; but I think you’ve made a very important point which has opened my eyes .
So from the top, IMHO -
The patterning of language in this Psalm is based on repetition – which is appropriate because the Psalm is reminding us to do something we can be forgetful about; the repetition of benediction -blessing the Lord -and the listing of reasons why the Lord is to be blessed. The first part both blesses the lord and lists/gives reasons why the Lord is to be blessed. The second and third parts develop the listing of reasons why the Lord is to be blessed. The final section is a simple act of praise and blessing now the act of reminding us of why we should do this has been completed.
The first part is addressed seemingly to the individual soul giving personal reasons that the Lord is to be blessed.
The second part, with the mention of Moses, grounds the blessings in the remembrance of God’s liberating acts towards Israel and the community of the children of Israel.
The third part presents things in a new light to us by focusing on our situation rather than on the Lord’s blessings to us. It takes up the theme of Ecclesiastes reflecting on the vanity of human life in the first there lines. However, unlike Ecclesiastes, the final sentence turns the situation round. Although we are dust the Lord is merciful and sustains us if we fear him.
The fourth and final part places the blessing in a cosmic setting which contrasts with the evocation of mankind as ‘dust’ in the previous part.
I’ve had a look at a few websites concerning the ‘fear of Lord’ – I won’t go into huge detail but I understand that to fear the Lord because he will punish us for our transgression was/is considered a low form of servile fear in Jewish religion (as in Christian). A higher form of ‘fear’ is a sense of awe and wonder that comes from realising that I am not alone/ I am not the centre of the universe – I am actually a dependent being in the vast scheme of things (and I can understand this simply by contemplating my own morality in terms of the vastness of the universe). This type of fear/awe leads a person to a state of wonder and to direct their thoughts to the Creator of the universe on whom they are dependent. This Creator may be/seem sometimes severe but has also revealed Himself as loving kind so we can trust our Creator and serve the Lord willingly. (This all links to Cole’s ideas about paradox and Dave’s discussion of severe mercy on his Gmac thread.
And finally – my thoughts on Michael’s excellent observation: this psalm, unlike others, actually does not invite us directly to praise and worship the Lord with dance and cymbal and loud shout of exultation etc (I note that praise/worship is something which we can do for the Lord but the Lord does not reciprocate, for we are not worthy of praise and worship while He is). Instead, this psalm blesses the Lord because the Lord has blessed us – so it is about a reciprocal relationship. We bless the lord by not forgetting all that is praiseworthy in how he has blessed us and – this comes in the third part – by keeping our part of the covenant by remembering/doing his commandments. In the fourth section the host and angels etc less the Lord by automatically doing his will and expressing his rule – the implications that we are to align ourselves with his cosmic order/rule by choosing to live by his commandments.
Excellent as always, Dick, thanks.
Thanks Dave
Perfect love casts out fear. When we have perfect love in heaven it will balance the fear we have of hell. We will be sorrowful at the suffering of those in hell yet this will be balanced by the joy of heaven. It’s a paradox. This is why hell must be eternal. It keeps us in balance. The Bible says it was by the joy set before Him Christ endured the cross. It was the joy of purifying His bride. At the cross we see a perfect balance as Christ’s arms are stretched out. Sorrow and joy. Love and fear. Justice and mercy.