The psalmist David proclaims: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” (Psalm 103:1) How do we (or can we) bless the Lord?
When was the last time someone blessed you after sneezing? Blessing someone after a sneeze began in the 6th century. It was Pope Gregory I who ordered unceasing prayer for divine intercession. Anyone sneezing was to be blessed immediately. And why? Sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague. Coincidentally, this was the first plague pandemic to be reliably recorded in history. And, by the 8th century it became quite customary to say “God bless you” when someone sneezed.
Well, I’m sure Father God never sneezes, and since Jesus was never sick– never did He for that reason. Then, as we appeal to God to look with favor upon us and others with a blessing, does it not seem odd to invoke (or call upon) divine care upon God, as David does so passionately?
There has to be more to this idea of blessing than how we have been led to understand it. The Hebrew word for bless is very similar to the Hebrew word for pool, as in the source or pool from which water collects to spring forth. Then blessing the Lord is to draw attention to (or acknowledge) God as the pool (or the spring) from which everything flows to us. Whenever you say “God bless you” imagine a pool of water, from which you are asking God to flow with goodness into the life of someone. Whenever you say “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” you are adoring and appreciating the pool of God’s great goodness.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” (Psalm 103:2)
What are we to remember? What are we not to forget? “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and decrees that I am giving you this day.” (Dt. 8:11) Yes, God’s moral law draws attention to what is already written upon our hearts. Whoever follows this law, and teaches others to do the same, (as says Jesus) will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven. But notice, to whom is our focus? The Lord our God. Abiding by the commandments comes second to our focus upon our heavenly Father, and that being, our relationship with Him.
Then, can we forget the One who created us? Can we forget the One who gave us life? Can we forget the One who is the pool, the wellspring, of our delight? Can we forget the God of our salvation? (Isaiah 17:10) Yes we can, and we do.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, [God says] yet I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15) Even though we forget God, He does not forget us.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not His benefits.” The crown of God’s benefits centers upon our deliverance from the murky sin of our neglect and callousness. “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” who forgives all of our iniquity, who redeems our lives from the pit. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:11-12)
How far is the east from the west? If you decide to fly away on a jet plane with unlimited fuel and start heading west, you would never meet east. That means our sin and God is infinitely apart, never to come together again. When we are forgiven by God our shame is as far as the east. Our guilt is as far as the west. We have been set free, picked out and from the polluted murky waters of our sin, to draw from the pool of God’s eternal blessing.
This all happened because the Son of God did not forget the purpose by which he came to this earth. Then, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3) •
— By Pastor Neil Stern
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church,
Leduc, AB