Psalm 103

The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of David,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by David, about David, or was inspired by David. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David in this way, 73 of 150. Ancient Jewish history tells of David playing a lyre and writing songs. For one, he wrote a song of mourning at the battlefield death of King Saul and his sons: “How have the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19-27 New American Standard Bible). An ancient Jewish scroll from about the time of Jesus, discovered among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, reports that David wrote 3,600 songs.

Deuteronomy 28 outlines the covenant agreement between God and the Hebrew ancestors of the Jewish people, with blessings for obedience and punishment for breaking the agreement. God promised to bless the nation with safety and prosperity. In return, they were to obey the laws God gave them through Moses, which are revealed in the stories reported in the Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The covenant actually began with their ancestors Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17) and Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15), with promises for a huge family and enough land for a nation of their descendants.