Bless the Lord

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and do not forget 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 as long as you live
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  

Psalm 103:1-5

The dawning of the new day inspires me with awe of God’s holy hand at work.  The rapidly changing colors in the sky, the gradual elevation of sounds as the world wakes up, the slightly cool air delivering dewy aroma – each a sign of God’s grace.  I am blessed to be here witnessing the glory of it all.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!  Bless the Lord indeed.  Crying out to God in praise, worship, thanksgiving and awe is the only possible response to being confronted with the majesty of His creation, the creation He spoke into existence, and through it all, Him.  

In the context of Psalm 103, the word translated as bless means to kneel, worship, praise, revere, and adore.  It connotes a mixture of awe, fear, gratitude, delight and love that only God Almighty inspires.  

Through Moses, God declares,

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.   You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.  Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.  Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9

And Jesus explains that loving God with your entire being is the greatest commandment (see Matthew 22:36-38).  We know we should love God, but the psalm is a passionate expression of joyful love.  It is an outpouring from the soul.  We love God, not because He commands us to do so, but because He is God, and once we realize that He is really who He claims to be in His holy word, that He is really with us, that He really loves us, that He really listens to our prayers, and His promises are true, how could we respond in any other way?

Bless the Lord, O my soul!  Bless the Lord indeed.  Amen.