GRATITUDE FOR ALL GOD’S BENEFITS
BlessH1288 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. . .
Psalm 103:1-2 (ESV)
What does it mean to “bless the Lord”? We know the Lord blesses us, but how do we “bless” Him? The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines “bless” as follows:
H1288 – bârak, baw-rak’; a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration)
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
John Piper explains what it means to “bless God”:
So to bless God means to recognize his great richness, strength, and gracious bounty and to express our gratitude and delight in seeing and experiencing it. Read an the whole article here:
John Piper
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-bless-god
To kneel before the Lord is to acknowledge Him as our Creator, Master, Savior, and King. We bless Him by giving Him the praise and adoration He deserves as our gracious Father. We demonstrate our gratitude for all the benefits we receive from Him. We do this with the entirety of our being, all of who we are. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary has an excellent note about this:
1-2 Praise of God begins with the self. As the psalmist exhorts himself to praise the Lord with his “soul” and “inmost being,” (i.e., his whole person), he has nothing else in mind than a full commitment to the act of giving thanks. The “name” of the Lord calls to remembrance all his perfections and acts of deliverance. “Praise” is the response of awe for God, while reflecting on what the Lord has done for his people. The opposite of “praise” is forgetfulness. To “forget” the “benefits” of the Lord is to disregard his covenantal lordship.
Expositor’s Bible Commentary
David goes on to list some of the benefits God’s people enjoy with the top of the list being that we are forgiven, healed, and redeemed. We are crowned with God’s love and mercy because when we surrendered our lives to the lordship of Christ, we became children of our King. Take the time to read the entire psalm and express your gratitude to the Father for all these things!
For more about what it means to bless God check out this article: https://biblehub.com/q/what_does_it_mean_to_bless_god.htm
Father, we remember all the ways we benefit from being Your beloved, adopted children and praise You with our whole heart!
Worship with the Gaither Vocal Band singing “10,000 Reasons”: