What does it mean to “bless the Lord, O my soul” in Psalm 103:1?

Answer

Psalm 103 opens with this stirring exhortation: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” (verse 1, ESV). The same directive to “bless the Lord, O my soul!” is reiterated in the following verse «Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits: », (Psalm 103:2, NKJV), at the conclusion of the psalm (verse 22), and twice more in Psalm 104, verses 1 and 35. Psalm 103 commences with an individual blessing the Lord with his soul, and it concludes with the angels and all of creation joining in (verses 20–22).

The expression O my soul pertains to the author’s entire being—his inner self. The New Living Translation clarifies the meaning of soul here in Psalm 103:1 more explicitly: “Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.” When we bless the Lord with our soul, we are praising Him with our whole hearts—with all that we are and everything we have within us.

Apart from “soul,” the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon provides various English interpretations for the original Hebrew word (nephesh), such as “heart,” “myself,” “self,” “the breathing substance,” “living being,” “inner being of a person,” “the man himself.”

To “bless” the Lord is to praise Him. The author of Psalm 103 urges himself and the people of God to always remember to praise the Lord with complete focus for His love, goodness, compassion, forgiveness, and salvation: “Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” (Psalm 103:2-5;NLT).

We bless the Lord.

Our souls are stirred when we rid ourselves of apathy, absentmindedness, and any negativity that may have entered our lives. By recalling all that God has done for us, we ignite a fervent outpouring of praise and worship that emanates from our innermost being.

When the Israelites acknowledged that the Lord had not treated them as their sins deserved, they wholeheartedly praised Him for His enduring love: “He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:7-12;NLT). Likewise, when we express our gratitude wholeheartedly for God’s mercy and grace towards us as sinners, we bless the Lord with all our soul.

Psalm 103 is profoundly evangelistic and a beloved anthem of sinners. Similar calls to bless the Lord with our entire being are found throughout the Psalms: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5;see also Psalm 42:11;see also Psalm 43:5;see also Psalm 104:1). From the ancient Israelites to the most humble sinners of today, we bless the Lord with all our soul when we contemplate God’s kindness towards us and His abundant, unwavering love: “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”(Psalm 103:13-14; NLT).

We honor the Lord with our soul when we offer wholehearted praise and worship to Him: “My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul. Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies” (Psalm 108:1-4).