“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 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! Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!” (v1-5,20-22)
What does it mean to “bless the Lord”? What does it mean “to bless”? From where does blessing originate?
According to the Bible dictionary, God longs to bless people as the desired outcome of every covenant He makes. He blesses us in two main ways: first, publicly declaring us as favored by Him, and second, endowing us with something such as power, prosperity, or success. A blessing from God enriches, encourages, motivates and guides us toward a life of further blessing from God.
Jesus opens His famous sermon on the mount with the “beatitudes” (Mt 5:2-12), a series of promises of blessing such as “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). His teaching is that we are set apart by God, for God, and that we will be greatly rewarded (blessed) for obeying God.
So, blessing originates from God and is a gift from Him to His people. So what does it mean for us to bless God? We can’t endow Him with anything that He needs – He lacks nothing and everything we can offer is only that which He first gave us. God is already the most blessed one and cannot be more blessed.
The best way I can understand a phrase such as “bless the Lord, O my soul” is we’re acknowledging who God is, the one who is the source of blessing, and we are praising / thanking Him for that. Saying “bless God” is similar to saying “exalt God”, “magnify God”, “lift up His holy name”, or “God is the only one worthy of praise”. It’s an expression of both gratefulness, and submission to God’s sovereignty.
“Blessing God” is a form of worshiping God – exalting Him over all others, acknowledging that He is the one and only source of blessing, righteousness, and salvation. By having “no other gods before Him”, by conforming ourselves to His image, being grateful to Him, we are blessing Him.
I’m thinking of it this way – when someone does or says something for us that is completely unexpected and undeserved, do we not feel a sense of being blessed? My five-year-old niece told me she loved me – I’m not sure she fully understands what that means, but it warmed my heart and I felt blessed by her. I think when we praise God, He feels a similar warm sense of blessing from us – not because He lacked anything or needs us to praise Him, but because He loves us and is glad when we love Him back.
It’s a challenge for me not to take God for granted. Expressing gratitude and blessing toward God helps break that loop of complacency by humbling me – I refocus on the correct perspective of who God is, and who I am in comparison. My challenge for us today is to “bless the Lord” with all of our soul, express how grateful we are to Him, and acknowledge Him as King and Savior – it all starts with a simple “thank you Lord”.
Father God, O Glorious One, Almighty God of Israel we exalt Your holy name. We acknowledge that You, Creator, are our strength and shield, our savior and king. We are Your meek servants, Your people, called by Your name. Please accept our gratitude and blessing of Your name. Father God all praise, honor and glory are due to You, the one and only true God. May we always remember and never forget You and Your covenant promises to us Your people. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training