By David. Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!
Parallel translations
- KJV Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
- BSB Of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy name.
- NKJV Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
- NASB Bless the Lord, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
- NLT Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David calls his whole inner being to praise the LORD's holy name. Worship is to engage the entire self.
Overview
Psalm 103 opens with David rousing his own soul to bless God with all that is within him. The summons to praise God's 'holy name' centers worship on His revealed character. This wholehearted devotion models the love for God that Christ both commands and makes possible in His people (Mark 12:30).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 146:1–2Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh, my soul.
- Ps 57:7–11My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.
- John 4:24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
- Ps 111:1Praise Yah! I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart, in the council of the upright, and in the congregation.
- 1 Cor 14:15What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
- Ps 103:22Praise Yahweh, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise Yahweh, my soul!
- Col 3:16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
- Ps 99:3Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is Holy!
- Mark 12:30–33you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
- Luke 1:46–47Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.
- Ps 63:5My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,
- Ps 47:7For God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding.
- Phil 1:9This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment;
- Ps 138:1By David. I will give you thanks with my whole heart. Before the gods, I will sing praises to you.
- Isa 6:3One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
- Ps 86:12–13I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name forever more.
- Rev 4:8The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 103:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.