Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Read Chapter 103
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
1. ..."Bless the Lord, O my soul! and all that is within me, His holy Name" (ver. 1). I suppose that he speaketh not of what is within the body; I do not suppose him to mean this, that our lungs and liver, and so forth, are to burst forth into the voice of blessing of the Lord. There are lungs in our breast indeed, like a kind of bellows, which send forth successive breathings, which breathing forth of the air inhaled is pressed out into voice and sound, when the words are articulated; nor can any utterance sound forth from our mouth, but what the pressed lungs have given vent to; but this is not the meaning here; all this relateth to the ears of men. God hath ears: the heart also hath a voice. A man speaketh to the things within him, that they may bless God, and saith unto them, "all that is within me bless His holy Name!" Dost thou ask the meaning of what is within thee? Thy soul itself. In saying then, "all that is within me, bless His holy Name," it only repeateth the above, "Bless...
Himself. All agree that David wrote this psalm as a model of resignation. The occasion is not known. (Berthier)
It may express the sentiments of the captives, (Calmet) or of converts to Christianity, (Eusebius) and is written with inimitable sweetness.
