The Most Powerful Element in the Universe-- Psalm 103

Bless Yahweh, O my soul
And all that is within me, bless His holy name
Bless Yahweh, O my soul
And forget none of His benefits
To bless God is to offer Him positive speech. We do this from our minds, but when the psalmist speaks of one’s “soul” he is not speaking just of the unseen part. Rather, the Hebrew word “soul” is usually used to speak of the whole self, including one’s body. So one is to give praise and honor to God, not just with one’s mind, but one’s whole being—mind, body, emotions and actions. But to do this, we must not forget who He is. It does us no good to speak good things about a God who does not exist, or to love a different god with the same name. So the rest of the psalm reminds us who God is, what He has done and why we give him praise.

He who forgives your iniquities
Who heals all your diseases
Who redeems your life from the pit
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion
Who satisfies your years with good things
So your youth is renewed like the eagle.
First of all, Yahweh is the god of redemption. This means that he delivers us from evil in our lives. The first evil he delivers us from is ourselves—our own wicked acts which we regret. As a display of this forgiveness, he takes away the judgment of sickness. Then, Yahweh delivers us from humiliation. Perhaps He does not take away the shame visited upon us by other humans, but if we serve Him truly, then He will honor us Himself with love and mercy. He will never forget us, or forget to honor us, as long as we honor Him with our whole selves. Lastly, even as we age, Yahweh delivers us from our bodies weaknesses. We may falter, but God within us is strong and gives us strength when we need it, gives us hope when we have failed.

Yahweh does righteous acts
And judgments supporting the oppressed.
He has made his ways known to Moses
His deeds to the sons of Israel
Yahweh is compassionate and gracious
Slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.
He will not always fight with us
Nor will He keep his anger forever.
Then the psalmist reminds us of what Yahweh has done in the past. He reminds us of Yahweh’s actions supporting the poor. That when the whole world was against people, Yahweh supported them. He was the one who did not forget Joseph in jail when he was falsely accused. He was the one who heard Hagar in the wilderness when her son was dying of thirst. He was the one who delivered the children of Israel from slavery under the most powerful nation on earth. He was the one who saved his people from oppressive regimes and attacking armies. So He will help the poor today.
But the psalmist also reminds us that Yahweh is a teacher. He teaches history and morality and law. He informs Moses of what is right and true. And He reminds His people of what he has done through His word. But his most important teaching to Moses, the psalmist reminds us, is the teaching of his true nature. Yahweh spoke to Moses, as Moses was hidden behind a rock, informing Moses that He is a God of mercy and kindness of graciousness and faithfulness. Yahweh is not a precarious God, who says something one day and changes his mind the next. Rather, Yahweh keeps all of his good promises and always remembers his people in love.
Yes, his people sin, they fight against their god at times, they hate, steal, murder and oppress the poor. But as they repent, Yahweh always forgives. God has no desire to fight, to argue with his people, to offer terrible pronouncements. So as soon as His people are on the right track, He forgives and sets his anger aside. He is slow to anger and sets it aside quickly.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth
So great is his faithful love toward those who fear Him.
He knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are dust.
As for humans, their days are like grass
As a wildflower, so is human glory.
When the wind blows over it, it is gone
And its place is known no longer.
Yahweh knows full well that we are not made of the stuff of the spirit. We are weak, helpless against our hormones, pleasures, pains and desires. We are washed from thing to thing, desire to desire, as foam floating upon the ocean’s waves. And most of all, we are fearful. And that which we fear most is our frailty, our humiliation, our death. We do all we do to remain in perpetuity, to be remembered, to make a mark upon this world, upon which we remain for but the briefest moment.

But the faithful love of Yahweh is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him
And His righteousness to children's children.
To those who keep his covenant.
And remember his precepts to do them.
Yahweh’s love, is the opposite, however, to our mortal frame. We are but dust in the wind, but Yahweh’s love for us is stronger than the pyramids, it is a monument more lasting than the mountains. When the sea is dried up and the earth is cast into the sun, God’s love for us will remain. All that we do for ourselves will fade in a mere few years, perhaps a century. But God’s remembrance of what we have done for Him will never end. And if we live for Him, we will remain with that remembrance.

Yahweh has established His throne in the heavens
And his rule is over all.
Bless Yahweh, you his angels
Mighty in strength
Who perform His word
Obeying the voice of his word
Bless Yahweh all you his hosts
You who serve Him doing his will
Bless Yahweh, all you works of His
In all places of dominion
Bless Yahweh, O my soul
Yahweh is the king of the universe, and His love is the most powerful element in the universe. So if we have that love, through our faithfulness meeting His faithfulness, then we have that power within ourselves.
That power is so great, that we can command the gods. “Praise Yahweh” the psalmist commands the angels of heaven. Yes, the merest glance of one of them could break the psalmist in half—but he is confident in Yahweh’s love. So he commands them, “Honor your commander!” It is not enough, the psalmist says, to obey God, we must take time to honor Him as well. Obedience is wonderful, but we need to give respect to God’s name. We must give thanks for what He has done. We must recognize and laud his perfect character, his love.