Bless Jehovah, ye his angels, mighty in strength, that execute his word, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Psalm 103 ends by widening its call to praise — from one person's soul to the whole of God's kingdom, and here to His angels. The verse describes them by two things: their strength, and what they do with it.
The verse sits in a psalm about God's rule over everything. That rule is why the call to praise reaches so far.
His kingdom displayed as over all calls for the praise of all, both in heaven and earth. So all spiritual beings are summoned to bless the Lord. All His "hosts" — every providential force in nature — are called to bless the Lord. All His created works are called to bless the Lord. And let every individual of the redeemed say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul."
The ESV calls them "mighty ones"; older translations say they "excel in strength." So what does that strength do?
The angels "excel in strength" (Ps. 103:20), but they use their might only in the path of instant obedience to the will of the Creator. Every one of the countless myriads of the angelic hosts depends on Him, whose will is their happy service. All angels are strong, but there are measures, and ranks, and orders among them.
The verse does not only say they obey what God says. It says they listen to the voice of His word.
Their obedience is not a lukewarm, merely dutiful obedience, but it is an obedience of the heart. They "hearken" — that is, they incline their ears not only to "His word," but to "the voice of His word." Their hearts, as well as their ears, love to hear the voice of their Divine Sovereign. They take an interest in everything that concerns His glory.
Not every angel kept that place. One writer treats this verse as the line between the angels who fell and those who did not.
The sin of the angels who did not keep their first position was more one of disobedience. One mark of the angels God has kept is that they "do His commandments" (Psalm 103:20). Lastly, in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah it was the will of the flesh, self-will in lust... And note the moral order: first unbelief, then disobedience, and finally the licence of the flesh — an order the word of God shows again and again.
The angels' obedience is also a model for ours. One writer finds the pattern in the seven angels of Revelation.
Notice the attitude of the seven angels as a pattern of all true service. It is an attitude of perfect obedience. They come out from the presence of God. They receive the tools of their service from one of the living creatures. They do not move a step until they have a divine command. They "do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word."
The other half of the pattern is the spirit behind the work. It does not change with the size of the job.
A well-known and honoured servant of Christ used to quote someone from long ago: "Suppose it pleased God to send two angels, one to rule an empire and the other to sweep a street crossing in London. The second would do his work with the same willingness and heartiness as the first."... they never fail to do His commandments — strength combined with obedience. And note this, Christian reader: they obey not out of a mere sense of duty, but heartily, "hearkening to the voice of His word." They not only know, but love the voice of their Heavenly Master.
Their obedience is perfect. Yet one writer notes something the verse never says of them.
We do not read that angels have this privilege: they indeed "do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word" (Ps. 103:20), but the intimacy with God that prayer gives is, apparently, granted to man only. Surely this gift is a proof of God's desire that man should enjoy communion with Himself. Do we prize this privilege as we should?
- Throne — God's rule covers everything, so the call to bless Him reaches every spiritual being, every force in nature, and every created work.
- Strength — the angels are mighty, but their might moves only along the line of God's will. They depend on Him for every step.
- Hearing — they incline their ears to the voice of His word, so their obedience comes from the heart, not from duty.
- Standing — obedience marks the angels who kept their place. Disobedience brought the others down.
- Serving — the pattern for us: never move without His word, and do the smallest task as heartily as the greatest. Yet the closeness of prayer seems to be ours, not theirs — so prize it.
Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his that do his will.
Psalm 103 begins with one man telling his own soul to bless the Lord. By verse 21 that single voice is calling on all heaven's servants — so who are these "hosts" and "ministers," and what does it mean that they "do his will"?
The call widens as it goes. God's kingdom covers everything, so the call to praise reaches everything He rules.
His kingdom displayed as over all calls for the praise of all, both in heaven and earth. So all spiritual beings are summoned to bless the Lord. All His "hosts" — every providential force in nature — are called to bless the Lord. All His created works are called to bless the Lord. And let every individual of the redeemed say, "Bless the LORD, O my soul!"
"Hosts" reaches further than "angels" in the line before. One writer includes the forces of nature alongside intelligent beings.
Nothing remains, then, but eternal praise to Him whom all His ways suit. We join with all intelligent beings and all His hosts — the forces that, with sun and moon and storm and earthquake, still do His pleasure. And all His works, all created things in every place of His dominion, bless Him. Yes, "Bless the LORD, O my soul!"
The word translated "ministers" carries no hint of rank or title. It is the ordinary word for serving, used of a young man who waited on Moses.
The word commonly occurring in the Old Testament is sharath, "to minister, serve." Joshua was Moses' minister. All God's hosts are called "ministers of his, that do his pleasure," and He makes "his ministers a flaming fire." The priests were the ministers of the Lord. Joshua 1:1; Ps. 103:21; Ps. 104:4; Joel 2:17.
To "do his will" is not passive availability. These servants move, and creation's powers cannot block them.
Those ministers of His that do His pleasure go every one of them straight forward, giving place to none as they carry out His sovereign will. The earth's mighty ones can put no obstruction in their path.
The verse describes a state of affairs above that has not yet arrived below. That gap is exactly what the Lord's Prayer addresses.
The Lord had come to set up the promised kingdom. He instructed His followers to pray to Him whose kingdom it was ("Yours is the kingdom") for its proper establishment. They were to pray that the Father's will might be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:9-13). On high the angelic hosts share one perfect desire: to do the divine pleasure. A psalm of praise puts it this way: "Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!" And in Messiah's kingdom this spirit of obedience to the divine will will appear below as well.
The angels here are not just an example to admire. They set the measure for people who have received far more than angels ever did.
A well-known and honoured servant of Christ used to quote someone of old: "Suppose it pleased God to send two angels. One is to rule an empire, the other to sweep a street crossing in London. The second would do his work with the same willingness and heartiness as the first." We are more than angels, fellow believer, saved by grace and called to glory. If only we were more like these blessed heavenly servants of the Lord! Though they are mighty in strength, they never fail to do His commandments. That is strength joined with obedience. And note this, Christian reader: they do not serve from a mere sense of duty, but heartily, "obeying the voice of His word." They not only know, but love the voice of their heavenly Master.
- Throne first. God's kingdom rules over all. So the reach of His rule sets the reach of His praise.
- Hosts. The call goes beyond angels. It takes in every force in nature — sun, moon, storm, earthquake — all still doing His pleasure.
- Ministers. The word means servant. It covers Joshua waiting on Moses and the priests serving God.
- Unhindered. These servants go straight forward to carry out His will, and no power on earth can block their path.
- Ours to copy. We pray for the same hearty obedience on earth. Saved by grace, we have more reason for it than angels do — and the psalm ends where it began: "Bless the LORD, O my soul!"
Bless Jehovah, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless Jehovah, O my soul!
Psalm 103 ends by throwing the doors wide: what began as one man talking to his own soul now sweeps out to every creature and every corner of God's rule. Then the last line turns back to where it began: one soul blessing the Lord.
The command to praise rests on what the psalm just said about God's throne. His rule reaches everything, so the call to praise reaches everything too, in widening circles.
His kingdom displayed as over all calls for the praise of all, both in heaven and earth. So all spiritual beings are summoned to bless the Lord. All His "hosts" — every providential force in nature — are called to bless the Lord. All His created works are called to bless the Lord. And let every individual of the redeemed say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul."
Nature is not left out. Things with no will of their own still carry out His pleasure, and the psalm counts them in the chorus.
Nothing remains, then, but the eternal praise of Him whom all His ways suit. Nothing remains but to join with all intelligences and all His hosts. These are the forces that with sun and moon and storm and earthquake still do His pleasure. Meanwhile all His works, all created things in all places of His dominion, bless Him. Yes, "bless Jehovah, O my soul."
This last verse reaches beyond anything the psalmist saw in his own day. One writer sets it beside John's vision in Revelation, where that praise breaks out at last.
The psalmist knows nothing of enthroned elders in heaven. Yet he summons not only angels but all God's "works in all places of His dominion" to bless the Lord (Ps. 103:22). And here in John's vision, after the songs of the elders and of the angels, the praises of creation also rise. "And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'"
Commentators differ on whose voice they hear in this psalm. One hears a saint living in God's completed kingdom on earth. Some lines, he notes, no believer today can claim word for word.
Psalm 103 fits well here. It is the praise of a millennial saint whose heart is full of the goodness of Jehovah… Many a child of God has found comfort and encouragement in this Psalm, and much of it applies to saints in all ages who have proved the mercy of their God. Still, not every word of it could really be applied to believers in Christian times. All their diseases are not healed (3)… "The Lord's kingdom rules over all," they say (19). Angelic hosts must therefore praise Him, and all His works in all places of His dominion should bless Him (20-22). And as the Psalm begins, so it ends, with, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." The heart is full, and the mouth gives expression to it.
Another names the singer: the Messiah, praising among His people.
In Psalm 103 we have the answer to all this in praise, telling what Jehovah is. It is Messiah praising among the congregation, and praising on the ground of a universal blessing, as wide as the efficacy of His sufferings… All His works in all places of His dominion, delivered and rescued from evil, are summoned to join in the praise of Jehovah, now glorified in them. Praise is easy now, because they enjoy the full blessing of all that He is.
Praise here is a reply, not a payment. God blesses first, and the blessing comes back to Him.
This will be truly glorious: the blessed responding to the Blesser in praising and blessing. It reminds us of the end of Luke's Gospel. The risen Saviour ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives with His hands outstretched in blessing, and the disciples rejoiced with great joy, "Praising and blessing God continually!" Begun here on earth, it shall never end.
The psalm calls in the whole universe, then it will not let the singer disappear into the crowd. Someone must take up the call in person.
We must, in this way, take our own part in the worship. As the psalmist, after calling on all creation to praise, says, "Praise the Lord, O my soul."
- Throne — God's kingdom rules over all, so the call to praise is as wide as His rule.
- Tiers — spiritual beings, the hosts that work His pleasure in nature, then all created works — each rank blesses the same Lord.
- Everywhere — "all places of His dominion" leaves no corner out. Writers tie it to every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth and in the sea.
- Answer — praise is the blessed answering the Blesser. It begins on earth and never ends.
- One soul — the psalm summons the universe, then the singer speaks to himself again. As it begins, so it ends: no one is worshipping until he takes his own part.