Bless the Lord, O my Soul
By Evangeline Unity Esaaba Folson
Bless the Lord, O my Soul and all that is within me.
Bless His Holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O m Soul, and forget not all His benefits.
The Google dictionary defines the word bless as to pronounce words ion a religious rite in order to confer or invoke divine favour upon; ask God to look favourably on. Ask God’s favour for, ask God’s protection for or give a benediction for.
However, when it comes to blessing the Lord, bless is usually translated “praised” or “extol”
Another translation of the passage says!
All that I am, praise the Lord; everything in me, praise His Holy name. My whole being, praise the Lord and do not forget all His kindness.
The emphasis in both translations is to bless or praise the Lord.
How can we bless or praise God? We can
- Bless God through words
Psalm 145:21
James 3:9
- Bless God through songs
Psalm 96:1-2
Luke 1:46-56 (Mary’s song)
- Bless God through our posture
Genesis 6:1-22
Luke 13:11
Bless God through Words
Psalm 145:21
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless His name for ever and ever.
To bless God with our mouth or words involves calling God by His tithes like:
- Omnipotent God (Almighty God)
- Omnipresent God ( A God who is everywhere)
- Omniscient God (All Knowing God)
- Jehovah Jireh (The Lord our provider)
- Jehovah –Nissi (The Lord our banner)
- Jehovah Rapha (The Lord our healer)
There are many others.
As you call God by these names you are praising His name
James 3:9
Therewith bless we God, even the Fathers and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
The verse above is sounding a caution to all Christians. You cannot use the same mouth you use to praise God to curse another human who is made in the image of God.
This implies that God expects us to use our mouth to speak positive things. We should always be optimistic. You either use your mouth to praise God or to speak positive things about your neighbor.
Being optimistic involves speaking words of encouragement even in challenging times. Confessing victory even in the face of failure. Like,
Father, though I may have failed my exams, your word says all things work together for the good of them that love God who are called accordingly to His purpose.
Please open the door for me to take this exam again and I believe I will come out victorious because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Bless God through Songs
Psalm 96:1-2
Sing unto the Lord a new song1 sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
Sing unto the Lord, bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day.
According to the passage above we can bless the Lord by singing or though songs. Sing some of the songs we use for praise and worship during church services or other Christian gatherings.
We could also learn more songs of praise from the internet to enrich your repertoire of songs.
Luke 1:46-56
The passage above is too long to quote but it records the song that Mary the Mother of Jesus sang after she had been told by an angel that she would be the mother of the Messiah.
We could also learn from Mary’s example we could also compose our own songs based on our testimonies of miracles God has done in our lives.
Bless God through our posture
Genesis 6”1-22
Posture refers to the way in which a person holds their body. Or how a person behaves in a way intended to impress or mislead.
The passage above tells the story of Noah and how he built an ark according to God’s instructions to preserve a remnant of humans and animals after the flood.
In relation to this story Noah put up a posture that was pleasing to God because he obeyed God fully.
Obedience can be said to be a posture that praises God. As you obey God’s commands in the bible and live a life pleasing to Him you are praising Him.
Luke 13:11
And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no use lift up herself.
The emphasis in the verse above is the fact that the woman was ‘bowed’ Bowing not because of sickness, could be a posture for blessing or praising God.
Another posture for blessing God is going down on your knees.
Conclusion
At every point in time our aim should be to bless or praise God in all our actions and way of life.
Meditate on the words of this song.
Lord I want to love you more
You‘re so easy to adore
Lord I want to love you more
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