Psalm 103- Bless His Holy Name
Opening Discussion Question: One of the ways that God uses to communicate to us about himself is through metaphor or word-picture. What is your favorite word picture used in the Bible to describe God or the spiritual life?
Verses 1-6: What God does
- As Psalm 103 opens, where is David’s focus? What aspects of God’s character does he focus on?
- According to David, what activities is God involved in as he works in the lives of people?
- Discuss some of the ways that our own Christian lives should be aligned with these activities? How can our spiritual witness reflect the heart of God?
Verses 7-18: Pictures of Redemption
- This section of the text provides some of the richest pictures of God and man in all of scripture. List some of them, being careful to note the meaning behind them.
- In what ways does David help to illuminate God’s character in a way that is encouraging and reassuring to His people?
- Verse 8 presents a truth about God that is repeated over and over in scripture. (See Numbers 14:18, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, and Nahum 1:3) How is this truth represented in other parts of the Bible? How is it represented in your own Christian walk? Why is this truth so precious, and so important to remember?
- Discuss how verses 11 and 12 speak to forgiveness and our place in God’s family.
- Verses 15-17 present a contrast between God’s transcendence and man’s mortality. Discuss how these verses can be both a warning and also an encouragement to God’s children.
Verses 19-23– Giving God His Due
- Psalm 103 seems to build to a crescendo in the last few verses, and David seems to be swept up in the emotion of meditating on God’s character. How is his meditation instructive to God’s people? How can we incorporate praise as a part of our personal and corporate worship?