Psalm 103, attributed in the superscription to David, is a psalm of praise for the wonderful goodness of God directed toward His people. David begins by talking with himself, demanding that his whole being "bless" the Lord (verses 1-2). This is in response to all of God's wonderful benefits—the blessings He gives us. We cannot of course bless God in kind. A "blessing" from a human being directed to God is a word of heartfelt praise or thanksgiving or an expressed wish to see all of God's purposes fulfilled, implying cheerful and committed cooperation with Him—submitting oneself fully to His will. Note that the psalm begins and ends with the same formula (verses 1, 22)—as does the next psalm (Psalm 104:1, Psalm 104:35).

In Psalm 103:3-5, David calls attention to six personal blessings from the Lord: forgiveness, healing, redemption, lovingkindness, satisfaction and renewal. With "you" and "your" in these verses, David was still speaking to himself, but clearly these statements apply to all of God's people. That is, each of us reading or singing along with the psalm could say the same things to ourselves. A seventh blessing—relief from oppression—is listed in verse 6 as applying to "all" (thus expanding the divine blessings out to others).

At the top of his list, David thanks God that He has the power and desire to forgive the perverse crookedness of our human nature that manifests itself in various iniquities (verse 3a). Next we are told that God "heals all your diseases" (verse 3b)—just as God "forgives all your iniquities" in the previous clause. Some, realizing that godly people sometimes must suffer ongoing infirmity despite repeated prayers (as even the apostle Paul had to), think God healing "all" our diseases here does not mean that He heals every single one. Rather, they interpret these words as meaning merely that all diseases we have that are healed are healed by God—that is, whenever we are healed, God is the One who heals us. This is problematic, however, as it would indicate the same meaning for the previous parallel clause—that all iniquities we have that are forgiven are forgiven by God (thus meaning that God is the One who does whatever forgiving is done and not all of our sins are necessarily forgiven). Yet the statement about forgiveness seems more clearly to mean that God forgives every one of our sins—which indicates that the healing clause means that God heals every one of our diseases. In fact, as an inspired scriptural proclamation about God's nature, this would seem to be a divine promise. How then are we to reconcile this with faithful Christians who are not healed?

First we must recognize that there are conditions that must be met for healing—just as there are for forgiveness. Forgiveness requires repentance and faith—and so does divine healing (especially in cases where the sickness or disease is a result of the afflicted person's sins). But even when these conditions are met, God is not obligated to instantly and immediately remove affliction. Yet Psalm 103:3 would indicate that He has obligated Himself to heal the faithful at some point. He may choose to instantly intervene and heal—or, for His great and inscrutable purposes, He may decide to delay healing until much later. In fact, He may in some cases choose to delay healing until after a person has died—when, in the ultimate healing, He will return believers to life in the resurrection from the dead. In this, God still proves Himself faithful to the promise of Psalm 103. Indeed, faithful believers brought up in the resurrection will experience perfect wellness and be impervious to illness for eternity to come.

We find a further parallel in the benefit that follows. God "redeems your life from destruction" (verse 4a)—“from the pit" (NIV)—pulling us from dire circumstances and ultimately from the grave. This, of course, does not mean that we won't suffer adversity or death. David suffered both. God's own perfect Son, Jesus Christ, suffered intensely and died in His human life at a young age. So, while the promise of Psalm 103:4 is in part for our lives today—as God keeps us from various calamities throughout our lives and lets us endure others before rescuing us—the ultimate fulfillment of the verse will not come until our future resurrection in God's Kingdom. Even so, in verse 3 God delivers us from physical ailments throughout our lives today, but He will not remove all illness from us for eternity to come until that same resurrection.

The same applies to being crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies (verse 4b). On one level, David may have been speaking to himself of God having literally crowned him as the king of Israel—along with the advantages and privileges that brought. Yet he may also have been thinking of God more generally and figuratively heaping blessings and care upon his head (compare Genesis 49:26). The word for "lovingkindness" in Psalm 103:4 is hesed, meaning loyal steadfast love or covenant faithfulness, while tender mercies here refers to deep compassion and parental care (compare verse 13). Being the objects of God's grace or favor "crowns" His people above all creation. And ultimately, they will be crowned as literal kings to rule in His Kingdom (Revelation 5:10).

That God "satisfies your mouth with good things" (Psalm 103:5) includes more than providing food. "The word translated 'mouth' is a bit of a puzzle since it is usually translated 'ornaments' or 'jewelry,' words that hardly fit this context" (Wiersbe, Be Exultant, note on verses 1-6). The NIV follows the Greek Septuagint translation in rendering the word as "desires" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, footnote on verse 5). "Some students interpret the word to mean 'duration' or 'years' (see NASB [compare NRSV]). No matter how old we become, God can satisfy the needs of our lives and the spiritual desires of our hearts" (Wiersbe, note on verses 1-6). To be renewed like the eagle (verse 5) pictures having the strength to soar, to keep on (compare Isaiah 40:31). Both elements of Psalm 103:5 will find ultimate fulfillment in the Kingdom of God—as will God's righteous and just intervention for the oppressed of verse 6.

David uses the past national experience of Israel to illustrate God's blessings on His people—particularly His forgiveness, mercy and love. This was explained to Moses and demonstrated to the Israelites in how God dealt with them (verses 7-8, 17-18; compare Exodus 34:6-7). Though the Israelites, as we all do, deserved death for sin, God nevertheless continues to work with His people. His punishments against Israel's constant rebellion were not without end but were intended to help rehabilitate the people, not to justly destroy them (Psalm 103:9-10). God is here praised for His willingness to temper His righteous anger with His vast mercy and care for His people as His little, weak children (verses 11-14). Whereas God's anger is brief—required only during the fleeting physical existence of man—his "mercy" or loyal love is forever and will serve to perpetuate those who honor their commitment to follow Him (verses 15-18).

God's benefits extend to all within His dominion. "And His kingdom rules over all" (verse 19)—so that all creation (in both the spiritual and physical realms) should praise God along with David, as the psalm calls for in the threefold address: "Bless...Bless...Bless..." (verses 20-22a), followed by the final repetition of the psalm's opening line. This also serves to introduce the praise of God for His creation in the next psalm.