Daily Scripture: Day 151—Psalm 103

From Handbook to Scripture, Day 151

READING: PSALM 103

Psalm 103, the first of a group of psalms of praise (Psalms 103–107), reminds us with skill and beauty that God’s lovingkindness is the source of our greatest satisfaction. The psalm begins with a personal hymn of thanksgiving (verses 1–5) in which David recounts several reasons to praise the Lord from his personal experience of walking with Him. The psalm shifts in the second stanza from an individual thanksgiving to a communal hymn of praise around the theme of God’s loyal love (verses 6–18). The third stanza of the psalm transports us from the individual and the community to the entire created order (verses 19–22). The meditation moves from God’s grace to God’s greatness as the psalmist invokes the myriad angelic and heavenly hosts to bless the holy Name.

Prayer: Lord, if I do not love You with my whole being, I will love some lesser good with my whole being. I ask that I would put You first in my affections and seek You as my supreme good and final joy.

Meditation passage: verses 1–5, 8, 11–13