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Psalm 103

1  Bless the Lord, O my soul, ♦︎
   and all that is within me bless his holy name.
2  Bless the Lord, O my soul, ♦︎
   and forget not all his benefits;
3  Who forgives all your sins ♦︎
   and heals all your infirmities;
4  Who redeems your life from the Pit ♦︎
   and crowns you with faithful love and compassion;
5  Who satisfies you with good things, ♦︎
   so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6  The Lord executes righteousness ♦︎
   and judgement for all who are oppressed.
7  He made his ways known to Moses ♦︎
   and his works to the children of Israel.
8  The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, ♦︎
   slow to anger and of great kindness.
9  He will not always accuse us, ♦︎
   neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10  He has not dealt with us according to our sins, ♦︎
   nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
11  For as the heavens are high above the earth, ♦︎
   so great is his mercy upon those who fear him.
12  As far as the east is from the west, ♦︎
   so far has he set our sins from us.
13  As a father has compassion on his children, ♦︎
   so is the Lord merciful towards those who fear him.
14  For he knows of what we are made; ♦︎
   he remembers that we are but dust.
15  Our days are but as grass; ♦︎
   we flourish as a flower of the field;
16  For as soon as the wind goes over it, it is gone, ♦︎
   and its place shall know it no more.
17  But the merciful goodness of the Lord is from of old
      and endures for ever on those who fear him, ♦︎
   and his righteousness on children’s children;
18  On those who keep his covenant ♦︎
   and remember his commandments to do them.
19  The Lord has established his throne in heaven, ♦︎
   and his kingdom has dominion over all.
20  Bless the Lord, you angels of his, ♦︎
   you mighty ones who do his bidding
      and hearken to the voice of his word.
21  Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, ♦︎
   you ministers of his who do his will.
22  Bless the Lord, all you works of his,
      in all places of his dominion; ♦︎
   bless the Lord, O my soul.

Exhortation to Choose Life

11 Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. ¹²It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ ¹³Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ ¹⁴No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

15 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. ¹⁶If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God^* that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. ¹⁷But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

The Jews and the Law

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relation to God ¹⁸and know his will and determine what is best because you are instructed in the law, ¹⁹and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, ²¹you, then, that teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²²You that forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You that abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³You that boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law? ²⁴For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’

25 Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶So, if those who are uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you that have the written code and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. ²⁹Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.