“Blessing the Lord”


BIBLE READING: Psalm 103-105

                The concept of the “blessing” in the Bible is a very interesting one.  The word essentially means “to kneel” but has also been known to be translated as a “present of gift”.  The first mention of the word is found in Genesis 1.22 when God “blessed” Adam and Eve and told then to “be fruitful and multiply”.  Then again in Genesis 5.2 with reference to Adam in the first record of the genealogy.  The word is also used of Noah in Genesis 9.1 of God “blessing Noah and his sons”.   Then in Genesis 12.2.  It is here that God is “blessing” Abraham with His promise that He would have a great name and every family of the earth would be blessed because of him.  Then from that moment on, we see this blessing being passed down to Isaac, then Jacob and so on.  Therefore, from the earliest of record in the Scripture the word has been used of God, blessing man. Yet in today’s reading of Psalm 103.1-2 that is not the case. “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…”.  David’s plea in this passage changes the direction in which the blessing flows from man to God.  It is here that although it is the same word in Hebrew as used in the previous passages, the word begins to take on an additional meaning.   In the case where the “blessing” is transferred from man to God, it’s meaning shifts to a “praise with affection and gratitude” (Pulpit Commentary on Psalms, page 382).  David’s intent within this song is for us to offer praise to God with the whole nature of our bodies including our hearts, intellect, lungs, emotions, tongue, etc.  In addition to his plea for us to offer up to God this praise it is repeated for the sake of emphasis in the second verse.  What a wonderful expression that David provides for us that we should have today as we continue in our worship and adoration of God for all of the blessings we receive from Him.  God continues to “bless” us every day with a plethora of things.  It seems only fair that we return the same gift or present of us “kneeling” before Him with a blessing of our entire being.  May our lives be a continual action of blessing our God.                                                                                                   MH


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