As I began studying what I’ve been memorizing (Psalm 103:1-5), the very first thing that struck me is that blessing our God is imperatival. In other words, it is not an option but a command. The words bless in verse one* and two are in the imperative form. Interestingly, it is not a command from God, but a command from self. The psalmist is commanding himself to bless God. How often do we consider what God has done and command ourselves to give praise and honor to our God?
I also noticed two other nuggets related to this. First, when we bless God it should be with all of our being. All of us at times attend church, joining in the singing in some feeble way with only our minds engaged (and barely engaged at that!). How often do we really engage all of our being–body, soul, mind–in giving praise, honor, and glory to our Lord?
Finally, we should bless our God because of the sacredness of his name. We should not need to wait until God blesses us to praise him; we should not need to wait until we see God do something to give him honor. No, we should engage all of our being in blessing our God simply because he is. What a challenge.
*Just a note: the second use of “bless” in verse one is not in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in English to make the sentence more smooth.
Jason,
Thanks for sharing these truths. Psalm 103 is one of my favorites!
JP
Very Nice. I really enjoyed it
Thanks for sharing. I’ll be adding your blog to my list of feeds to follow, as a passion for the Word is what I have right now, and I’m in need of a few bits of encouragement to continue in some related projects of my own, and general meditation and “consummation” (to consume) of the Word.