Verse of the Day for April 12

Psalm 103 is a list of things not to forget, and David addresses it to himself: bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The eagle image comes from the bird's moult. An eagle loses and regrows its feathers, and for a period it is neither what it was nor what it will be.

Renewal in this picture is not a return to a previous condition. It is a shedding, and the shedding is the part nobody enjoys.

The benefits listed before it are worth reading slowly — forgiveth all thine iniquities, healeth all thy diseases, redeemeth thy life from destruction, crowneth thee with lovingkindness.

And the instruction attached to the whole list is forget not, which tells you what usually happens to it.

If you are in a season of feeling half-formed and less capable than you used to be, the moult is the picture the psalm offers.

Bless the Lord, O my soul. He is talking to himself. You may need to.