An insomniac's Psalm 103: Verse 5

". . . who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

We feasted on God's "love" and "mercy" in verse 4, and now we are presented with his "goodness." I realize that Hebrew poetry is noted for its parallelism and redundancy, and so there is an overlapping of attributes here. But I like to ponder God's "goodness" as distinct from His "love" and "mercy," the better to savor each peculiar flavor. This is what I do with the Galatians fruit of the Spirit too, though, of course, they are all but as the rays emanating from one Sun.

When God created the world, the operative word was "good." After making every thing he had made, he surveyed his product and pronounced it "good." Doing "good," in distinction from, say, being "kind" or "merciful," seems to have to do with concrete and tangible acts. Dorcas the seamstress "was full of good works and of charity" (Acts 9:36)

The New King James Version renders verse 5 "who satisfies your mouth with good things," and this is indeed the most basic level of goodness: shelter and food; a beautiful home called planet Earth to live on, and daily bread to renew strength. Except for rare times of voluntary fasting, this widow and her children have never missed a meal. In the manner of Elijah's widow, the jars of meal and oil have been replenished daily---and miraculously (if you knew my obtuseness with finances!).

The wonderful "eagle" in this verse who soars when satisfied with good things turns up again in Revelation12:14, again in connection with God's daily nourishment that gives her strength to soar. Here we see the dark background of that dinner---the dragon in ambush, her flight to the wilderness. It's just Psalm 23 again.

The other day I saw a bald eagle at Fort Washington State Park. The Humana volunteers on the observation deck with their fancy binoculars monitoring the early autumn skies said I was lucky. They were very excited, having expected to see only the turkey hawks that day. But there is was suddenly, soaring high above the hawks. Alone, majestic.

To read "Verse 6," click here.

To hear commentaries by Andrée Seu, click here.