The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comesBless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
These words are from the song 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)
Surely we would chalk it up as a good day if we begin by blessing the Lord in song and that song continues into the evening. Don’t let the struggles of the day choke this song out of you.
Instead of using “whatever” as an adolescent lack of interest, let us face the whatever with a steeled confidence in the Lord. The kind of confidence that leads to worship.
I agree totally! In all situations it is good to Praise the Lord. In joy or in sorrow in sickness or in health, in times of prosperity or in times of want, He is our Creator and He does all things for His children with our best interests at heart. Amen!
Still, there is a reason not to use the word ‘Bless’ when it comes to directing praise unto the Lord! If you remember in the N.T. it says clearly that blessing goes from the greater to the lesser and not the other way around. See:
New International Version (©1984)
And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater.
New Living Translation (©2007)
And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.
Therefore we need to understand how this idea of ‘Blessing the Lord’ error came into being. It is due to the fact that in the Hebrew language, which I do speak, read and write, the same word is used for bless as well as praise. That word is “Baruch.” But, the Apostle Paul made it imminently clear who was blessing and who was praising in Hebrews 7:7
So, I maintain that so long as we understand that we indeed are not, in any way, shape or form, greater than our Creator, we should never use ‘Bless’ coming from a created being toward the Creator. Praise! …Yes! Thanks! …Yes! Adoration! …Yes! Love! …Yes! Worship! …Yes! But ‘Bless’ no! Even so, I seriously doubt that God would hold it against us if the intentions of our hearts are right. But superior knowledge should make a change in our habits toward the more accurate. Once we understand the difference (which in English we do have 2 separate words…Praise and Bless) in Hebrew the same word ‘Baruch’ is used interchangeably to mean both praise and bless! This is why I believe the Apostle Paul made a point of explaining the difference in Hebrews.
I understand the distinction you are making, but I don’t fully agree. The text you cite in Hebrews 7 indicates that it is indisputable that the greater blesses the lesser. The point is not that doing the blessing ascribes greatness. Instead the position of the greater is a blessing to the lesser.
James 3:9 speaks about us using our tongues in blessing “our Lord and Father.”
I do agree that God looks on our heart in these situations and that we should desire to be accurate.
Thanks for the input, my brother.