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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 103

1 By David. Praise the Lord, O my soul. With all that is within me, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, O my soul. Do not forget all his kind deeds. 3 He is the one who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases,⁠ 4 who delivers your life from the Pit, who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your life with good things, so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.⁠ 6 The Lord does what is fair, and executes justice for all the oppressed. 7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts to Moses, his deeds to the Israelites. 8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful; he is patient and demonstrates great loyal love.⁠ 9 He does not always accuse and does not stay angry. 10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve. 11 For as the skies are high above the earth, so his loyal love towers over his faithful followers. 12 As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. 14 For he knows what we are made of; he realizes we are made of clay. 15 A person’s life is like grass. Like a flower in the field it flourishes, 16 but when the hot wind blows, it disappears, and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew. 17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers and is faithful to their descendants, 18 to those who keep his covenant, who are careful to obey his commands. 19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven; his kingdom extends over everything. 20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his, you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees and obey his orders.⁠ 21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his, you servants of his who carry out his desires. 22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made, in all the regions of his kingdom. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 103:5 and Exegesis on the Soul 4:28

Hebrew Bible · Nag Hammadi

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Summary

In Psalm 103, the psalmist praises God for renewing his youth like an eagle’s. Exegesis on the Soul, a Nag Hammadi text, uses this image to describe the soul’s rebirth before her return to heaven.

Passages

Psalm 103:5

Hebrew Bible
1 By David. Praise the Lord, O my soul. With all that is within me, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, O my soul. Do not forget all his kind deeds. 3 He is the one who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases, 4 who delivers your life from the Pit, who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your life with good things, so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Exegesis on the Soul 4:28

Nag Hammadi
The prophet, therefore, said: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, praise his holy name. My soul, praise God, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who ransoms your life from death, who crowns you with mercy, who satisfies your longing with good things. Your youth will be renewed like the eagle’s.” After she is young again, she will ascend, praising the Father and her brother who saved her. In this way, by being born again, the soul is saved.
200–230 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Exegesis on the Soul

References

“... Now it is fitting that the soul regenerate herself and become again as she formerly was. The soul then moves of her own accord. And she received the divine nature from the father for her rejuvenation, so that she might be restored to the place where originally she had been. This is the resurrection that is from the dead. This is the ransom from captivity. This is the upward journey of ascent to heaven. This is the way of ascent to the father. Therefore the prophet said (Ps 103:1-5), Praise the lord, O my soul, and, all that is within me, (praise) his holy name. My soul, praise God, who forgave all your sins, who healed all your sicknesses, who ransomed your life from death, who crowned you with mercy, who satisfies your longing with good things. Your youth will be renewed like an eagle’s. ...”
William C. Robinson Jr. and Maddalena Scopello, “The Exegesis on the Soul (II,6),” in The Nag Hammadi Library in English, ed. James M. Robinson, rev. ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1990), 196.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 103:5 and Exegesis on the Soul 4:28

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