We may be the smartest animals on earth…but we still don’t know much of anything.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Crazy Jack Dagget)
“Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wonderful things from Your instruction.”
–Psalm 119:18 (HCSB)
————————————
“Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”
Since the past three Mondays I have been looking at Psalm 103, I have been pondering how I can bless the Lord. It seems to be normal fare that we ask for the Lord to bless us. But in this psalm it begins by the Psalmist calling on his soul to bless God. Perhaps it is that we have the wrong perspective. George Matheson wrote, “The eye of the heart is generally first directed to its own desires; the eye of the Psalmist’s heart is first directed to the desires of God!”
We hold our hands out to receive blessings from God. “Seek ye first the welfare of God, the establishment of His kingdom, the reign of His righteousness!” (Matheson). What is it that God wants? He wants souls for the kingdom, He wants His word spread to all lands, peoples, and nations. That is first and foremost. Then He wants you–all of you. He wants each of us to pick up our cross and follow Him. By being a witness and daily taking up our cross we can bless the Lord.
It is not in our power to bless the Lord, but it should be our desire, our wish. We cannot sway the universe, we cannot create new worlds, we cannot bring a proper sacrifice, but we can give Him our hearts and minds. We can bless Him with our love and our joy. We can bless Him by living our lives for Him in joyful expectation. We can work for Him, even in our jobs, by worshiping Him in all that we do. That will bless Him.
What are you doing with your talents and with your gifts? They are many, are they being used to bring glory to God? Do not be self-seeking, that will bless the Lord. In the troubles of life, how do you respond? In the seasons that come and go, how do you praise God? There is a reckoning, a day of harvest, not only of the fields, but of each of our lives. What kind of harvest do we bring to the Lord?
“But the song I would now sing is of higher strain; and the rhythm of its music is this: A good harvest to Thee, O Lord! May earth grant Thee Thy heart’s desire! May the wings of Thy love be untrammelled! May the flight of Thy hope by unfettered! May the sweep of Thy grace be unhampered! May the power of Thy peace be unimpeded! May the reign of Thy righteousness be unchequered! May the joy of Thy presence be unbroken! May the light of Thy countenance be unsullied! May the music of Thy voice be unmuffled! May the sway of Thy Spirit be unceasing! These are my morning wishes–my burden of blessings on Thee.”
–George Matheson
We bless the Lord by keeping His commandments. We bless Him by watching what we say and what we express. We bless Him by a righteous attitude, a humble walk, and a servant’s heart. We worship Him, and express it with the prayer of David, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, NKJV)
————————————
“Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”
Since the past three Mondays I have been looking at Psalm 103, I have been pondering how I can bless the Lord. It seems to be normal fare that we ask for the Lord to bless us. But in this psalm it begins by the Psalmist calling on his soul to bless God. Perhaps it is that we have the wrong perspective. George Matheson wrote, “The eye of the heart is generally first directed to its own desires; the eye of the Psalmist’s heart is first directed to the desires of God!”
We hold our hands out to receive blessings from God. “Seek ye first the welfare of God, the establishment of His kingdom, the reign of His righteousness!” (Matheson). What is it that God wants? He wants souls for the kingdom, He wants His word spread to all lands, peoples, and nations. That is first and foremost. Then He wants you–all of you. He wants each of us to pick up our cross and follow Him. By being a witness and daily taking up our cross we can bless the Lord.
It is not in our power to bless the Lord, but it should be our desire, our wish. We cannot sway the universe, we cannot create new worlds, we cannot bring a proper sacrifice, but we can give Him our hearts and minds. We can bless Him with our love and our joy. We can bless Him by living our lives for Him in joyful expectation. We can work for Him, even in our jobs, by worshiping Him in all that we do. That will bless Him.
What are you doing with your talents and with your gifts? They are many, are they being used to bring glory to God? Do not be self-seeking, that will bless the Lord. In the troubles of life, how do you respond? In the seasons that come and go, how do you praise God? There is a reckoning, a day of harvest, not only of the fields, but of each of our lives. What kind of harvest do we bring to the Lord?
“But the song I would now sing is of higher strain; and the rhythm of its music is this: A good harvest to Thee, O Lord! May earth grant Thee Thy heart’s desire! May the wings of Thy love be untrammelled! May the flight of Thy hope by unfettered! May the sweep of Thy grace be unhampered! May the power of Thy peace be unimpeded! May the reign of Thy righteousness be unchequered! May the joy of Thy presence be unbroken! May the light of Thy countenance be unsullied! May the music of Thy voice be unmuffled! May the sway of Thy Spirit be unceasing! These are my morning wishes–my burden of blessings on Thee.”
–George Matheson
We bless the Lord by keeping His commandments. We bless Him by watching what we say and what we express. We bless Him by a righteous attitude, a humble walk, and a servant’s heart. We worship Him, and express it with the prayer of David, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, NKJV)