Fathers

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What the Fathers say

Psalms 103:1

Eastern Fathers

Cosmas Indicopleustes

With respect to souls, divine scripture declares them to be circumscribed, and indicates them to be circumscribed by the body itself, as in the passage: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me; thus speaking of the soul as being within

The Christian Topography, Book 2 ↗

Western Saints

Augustine of Hippo

..."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. …

Exposition on Psalm 103 ↗

Jerome

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. It is said also in another place: "Know that the Lord himself is God." And now it is said, And all that is within me, bless his holy name. If we have said, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and the Lord is Lord, what name of the Lord does he seek here? If he is called Lord, the Lord, why does he say, And all that is within me, bless his holy name? The coming of the Son is the name of the Father. Before the coming of Christ, God was known, but the Father was unknown. …

Homily 29, on Psalm 102 ↗