Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth
At Thanksgiving time I always ask myself, “How has God blessed me?” Maybe that is a question you have asked yourself. But before you even ask how He has blessed you, the question would be, “Has God blessed you?” I know He has, and my guess is that you can think of some ways in which God has blessed you. Another question is, “Do you think you should bless God?”
Psalm 103 says, “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.” Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” So, God has blessed me and I am to bless God. What? How is that possible and what does that mean? Is God to bless me? Am I to bless God? How can both be true at the same time?
Well, we learn here that we should bless God for blessing us. Now, generally bless in the Old Testament goes from the greater to the lesser. In other words, a king blesses his subjects, a father blesses his child. The blessing is given from the greater to the lesser. However, the Bible says that we are to bless God. So, what are we talking about here?
Obviously, my blessing God and God blessing me are different. For instance, the first time this specific Hebrew word bless is found in the Old Testament is Genesis 1:28 where it says, “And God blessed them [Adam and Eve], and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” This is politically incorrect, yet a totally correct concept and verse in Scripture. As the word is used there it means “to endue with power for success.” We know that from the definition of the word and also from the synonyms given in Genesis 1:28 where God blesses Adam and Eve. The synonyms include “fruitful,” “multiply,” “replenish,” “subdue,” dominion.” He is enduing power for success. That is exactly what He gave to Adam and Eve.
When we are to bless God in Psalm 34, are we talking about enduing God with power? That would be absurd. So, look at the synonyms following in Psalm 34, “My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” The Bible goes on to basically say, “I was poor and I cried. The Lord heard me. I trusted in Him. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.”
So, the synonyms when it is us blessing God are things like boasting in God, magnifying God, and exalting God, and the word means “to kneel, to praise, to thank.” God doesn’t thank me. What would He had to thank me for? He made me. No, God endues me with power for success and gives blessings, but I thank Him. The word is used in two almost seemingly opposite directions. Psalm 103 says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me.” You find the concept of mercy over and again. So, the truth is I am to bless God, to kneel in praise and thanksgiving to Him, not just for what He has given me, but for what He has not given me. No matter how bad things may be in my life, it is better than I deserve, and God has done that. So, we should bless God for blessing us. Obviously, they are the different, the way God blesses me and the ways in which I am to bless God.
Second, they are obviously connected. We are to acknowledge God. In Psalm 34 when the Bible is talking about my blessing God, it says, “I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Then the psalmist goes on to acknowledge God. His ears are open, and the Lord has heard and delivered. He heard the humble and He always does. So, we are to acknowledge God. In Psalm 103 we are to remember God. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
Last night my grandson, who is a year and a half, came over with his parents, and we had a birthday party for his mother. As soon as my grandson came in the door, I said, “Hey, Beckham!” He looked at me and said, “Yaaahh.” Precisely what he said, I don’t know, but his eyes brightened as he looked at me. I said, “Hey,” and he said in 1 year old language, “Hey.” So, I acknowledged Beckham and he acknowledged me. I’m not his dad, but when I acknowledge Beckham, I have the power of blessing him in the sense that I can empower him and provide for him. How does Beckham acknowledge me? It is not by giving me anything. He can’t. He acknowledges me by the way his face brightens. Friend, God owes me nothing. I can give God nothing but myself. The lightening of my face is precisely what God wants, my acknowledging of Him and His place in my life.
We should bless God for blessing us. I acknowledge my grandson and he acknowledges me. They are two different things, although they are tied together. Likewise, God blesses me, and I am to bless God. Obviously, they are different but connected. We should bless God for blessing us.