{"id":9357,"date":"2026-05-29T09:29:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/answers\/psalom-102-blahoslovy-dushe-moya-tekst\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T09:34:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:34:58","slug":"psalom-102-blahoslovy-dushe-moya-tekst","status":"publish","type":"answers","link":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/answers\/psalom-102-blahoslovy-dushe-moya-tekst\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Psalm 102 about, and when should it be read?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Psalm 102 is a great song of thanksgiving for all that the Lord does for us: He forgives sins, heals diseases, and crowns us with mercy. It is prayed when the heart is full of gratitude or when we need to remind ourselves how much God has already done.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u041f\u043e\u0432\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u0442\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0442 \u041f\u0441\u0430\u043b\u043c\u0430 102 (\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0434 \u041e\u0433\u0456\u0454\u043d\u043a\u0430)<\/h2>\n

\u201cBless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle\u2019s. The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us! As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him, for He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust: as for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes, for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children\u2019s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them! The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure! Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion! Bless the Lord, O my soul!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A brief note about the numbering, so there is no confusion. In the Ohienko tradition (church, Greek) this is Psalm 102<\/b>; in the Hebrew numbering, the same text appears under number Psalm 103<\/b>. The difference arose because the Greek tradition combines Psalms 9 and 10 into one, and from there the numbering is one lower than the Hebrew. The content and words are identical \u2014 it is the same psalm of David.<\/p>\n

What this psalm is about<\/h2>\n

The psalm begins not with a complaint and not with a request, but with a call to oneself: \u201cBless the Lord, O my soul.\u201d The psalmist speaks to his own soul because he knows how easily the heart forgets goodness \u2014 and deliberately commands himself to remember \u201call His benefits.\u201d This is a prayer of grateful remembrance: it lists specific gifts, not general words. Forgiveness of sins, healing of diseases, deliverance \u201cfrom the grave,\u201d crowning with mercy, satisfying with good things \u2014 each image describes a real act of God in a person\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

The heart of the psalm is the description of God\u2019s character: \u201cThe Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy.\u201d There is no indifferent, distant deity here; there is a Father who \u201chas compassion on His children\u201d and remembers that we are only dust, fragile and short-lived like a flower of the field. That is why His attitude toward us is not based on a strict accounting of sin: \u201cHe has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.\u201d This is the same message of mercy that also fills the penitential Psalm 50 \u201cHave mercy on me, O God\u201d<\/a> \u2014 only here it sounds as an answer already received, as the thanksgiving of a person who has already been forgiven.<\/p>\n

The strongest image in the psalm is the distance to which God removes our sin: \u201cas far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.\u201d East and west never meet; there is no measure between them \u2014 and just that far the Lord takes away from us what condemned us. The psalm ends where it began, but no longer alone: angels, the heavenly hosts, all God\u2019s works join in the blessing \u2014 all creation of the universe sings one \u201cbless the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

When to read Psalm 102<\/h2>\n