Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Psalms 103
Metaphysically Interpreting Psalms 103:1-22
Psalms 103 (asv)
A Psalm of David.
103:1Bless Jehovah, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
103:2Bless Jehovah, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits:
103:3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
Who healeth all thy diseases;
103:4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;
Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
103:5Who satisfieth thy desire with good things,
So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle.103:6Jehovah executeth righteous acts,
And judgments for all that are oppressed.
103:7He made known his ways unto Moses,
His doings unto the children of Israel.103:8Jehovah is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness.
103:9He will not always chide;
Neither will he keep his anger for ever.
103:10He hath not dealt with us after our sins,
Nor rewarded us after our iniquities.
103:11For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is his lovingkindness toward them that fear him.
103:12As far as the east is from the west,
So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
103:13Like as a father pitieth his children,
So Jehovah pitieth them that fear him.
103:14For he knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are dust.103:15As for man, his days are as grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
103:16For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
And the place thereof shall know it no more.
103:17But the lovingkindness of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting
upon them that fear him,
And his righteousness unto children's children;
103:18To such as keep his covenant,
And to those that remember his precepts to do them.103:19Jehovah hath established his throne in the heavens;
And his kingdom ruleth over all.
103:20Bless Jehovah, ye his angels,
That are mighty in strength, that fulfil his word,
Hearkening unto the voice of his word.
103:21Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts,
Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
103:22Bless Jehovah, all ye his works,
In all places of his dominion:
Bless Jehovah, O my soul.
June 23, 1929: Psalms 103:1-13
Explain the metaphysical import of the first verse of our lesson today. “Bless Jehovah, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” To bless means to consecrate or hallow. When the soul of man is consecrated to Jehovah and hallows His name, all the attributes of Jehovah are magnified and glorified in man's consciousness. Thus man's whole being is exalted and lifted up and new channels are opened so that additional blessings may flow to him.
In the second verse of the psalm, man is admonished to “forget not all his benefits.” Explain. Jehovah is self-existent life in eternal activity, bringing good into manifestation. Man's continuous recognition of this divine fount of supply keeps his consciousness open to the source of his good and increases his soul's capacity to receive greater good. This understanding of the law makes one alert and always willing to acknowledge every favor received of God.
In this lesson Jehovah is given credit for forgiving all iniquities, healing all diseases, and redeeming all life from destruction. Explain. Jehovah is God mind in action. Jehovah is the great healing, redeeming power back of all nature. Jehovah as health, life, perfection, is not conscious of sickness or disease of any kind; God mind set into action. (Jehovah) can no more help wiping away iniquity, healing disease and redeeming life from destruction, than the sun can help shining. Just as we must stay out in the sunshine to receive the full benefit of the sun's rays, so we must keep ourselves open and receptive to God mind in order that we may be made perfect.
In verse 5 the thought is presented that Jehovah satisfies man's desires “with good things” so that his “youth is renewed like the eagle.” Explain. Every desire that stirs in man's soul is Jehovah's desire within him. However, when man is functioning in sense consciousness, spiritual desire is not always rightly interpreted and often works out destructively. But when man listens to the inner voice, until he gets its real spiritual import, his whole being unifies with the recreating, rejuvenating law of Spirit, and he lets go all thought of age. His youth is renewed “like the eagle.”
Jehovah “made known his ways unto Moses, his doings unto the children of Israel.” Explain. The law of unfoldment in Being is as exact as the progressive steps in a mathematical problem in which no error is made. This law is revealed to all who seek to do the will of God and thereby to fulfill the law of life. The meaning of the word “Moses,” the lawgiver, is “drawn forth.” Moses extracted or drew forth from Omnipresence an intellectual understanding of spiritual law, and presented it to the children of Israel.
Explain these verses: Jehovah is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. He will not always chide; Neither will he keep his anger for ever. All things come about according to law. Through the divine law of forgiveness man does not always have to reap the results of his error ways. Forgiveness wipes the slate clean. The assumption that Jehovah gets angry is not presented in a careful translation of this psalm. The Ferrar-Fenton translation reads: Gentle and kind is the Lord, With great Mercy forbearing from wrath. He is not reproving for ever, Nor will He eternally chide. He does not to us, like our sins; Nor like vices, return on ourselves.
September 1, 1940: Psalms 103:1-5
What are some of God's blessings for which the Psalmist gives thanks? Life, health, healing, forgiveness, safety, love, mercy, and true satisfaction.
Where and how does man commune with God? Man communes with God through prayer in the “secret place of the Most High” that is within him. There he makes known to Spirit the desires of his heart, and receives assurance and uplift from Spirit. “Bless Jehovah, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
Can the ills of the body be relieved through the exaltation of the soul? A sick body is the out-picturing of man's past unspiritual thinking. Exaltation of the soul spiritualizes and regenerates his thought, and his healing becomes manifest.
How does the soul become exalted? By praise and thanksgiving.
Is the safety of the individual dependent upon the state of his soul? Yes. Confidence and trust are soul qualities. Through them man lays hold of divine power and realizes its all-infolding protection.
September 1, 1940: Psalms 103:10-18
Interpret the verse: “He hath not dealt with us after our sins, Nor rewarded us after our iniquities.” When divine love takes possession of the heart of man, it lifts him above the law of cause and effect and redeems his life from “destruction” (the consequences of the law of cause and effect).
What man is as transitory as torn grass? Physical man is transitory.
What man is eternal? Spiritual man is quickened to awareness of divine love and knows God as love. Such a one makes himself one with Jehovah, who is “from everlasting to everlasting.”
August 7, 1949: Psalms 103:1-11
For what can we constantly give thanks? For forgiveness, healing, safekeeping, loving-kindness, mercy, and the satisfaction of all our material needs. As we trust in God for these blessings, we give thanks for them.
Are anger, censure, and harsh judgment consistent with the divine nature? No. If they were, they would be eternal; but they are temporal in nature. “Jehovah . . . will not always chide; Neither will he keep his anger for ever.”
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 12-01-2013
