HOW TO BLESS THE LORD
By
Jerry Falwell
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Psalm 103:01).
Today I want to ask four questions about this Psalm and answer them.
1. Who should bless the Lord?
2. What aspect of my life should bless the Lord?
3. Why should I bless God’s name?
4. At what age should we bless the Lord?
A. WHO SHOULD BLESS THE LORD?
1. The Psalmist Talks To Himself.
Your soul is the first audience to which you should speak. Your soul is your best audience, your most honest audience and the most important audience in life. What you say to yourself determines what you are and do. You cannot lie to yourself, you only tell yourself the truth. When you say “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” you know if your heart means what your words say you are doing.
2. The Psalmist Directs Himself To Bless The Lord.
David didn’t tell the angel to bless the Lord, or the works of Creation to bless the Lord, or other believers to bless the Lord, or the nation of Israel to bless the Lord. David spoke to himself.
3. The Psalmist Blesses The Lord Because He Has Been Blessed.
You can never be a great choir leader, until you know the music. You can’t paint a picture on canvas until you see the portrait in your soul. You can’t play hockey until you can ice skate. I’ve never appreciated hockey, because I didn’t ice skate as a boy. You can’t bless the Lord until you know how and where God has blessed you.
Why bless God? (v. 3,4)
a. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. You can bless God because you’ve been cleansed.
b. Who healeth all thy diseases. You can bless God because of good health.
c. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction. You
can bless God because He protects you from harm.
4. We Can’t Bless The Lord.
It is not possible for us to bless God, because the one who is the “Blesser” is greater than the one who is blessed. So, how can we bless God? It begins when God blesses us, then we in turn bless Him for His goodness to us. When we bless God, we are giving back to him what He deserves. Worship is giving the worthship To God that is due Him.
B. What Part of My Life Should Bless The Lord?
“Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me.” I must bless the Lord with every part of my being, i.e., “All that is within me.”
1. May my lips bless the Lord. Let no evil thing cross my lips, but let me praise Him with my mouth.
2. May my eyes bless the Lord. Let my eyes never look on evil, but may my eyes be always lifted up toward heaven, and always looking to Him in praise.
3. May my “feelings” bless the Lord. Let me not feel evil or rebellion, but may my emotions always express all my love, passion, goodness and depth of heart to God. Let me bless the Lord with depth of emotions.
4. May my “mind” bless the Lord. Let me not think of wickedness or evil, but may I bless the Lord with all of my memory, my reason, my insight, my logic and my rationality. Let my intellect always bless the Lord.
5. May my “volitional nature” bless the Lord. Let me never choose sin, nor ever decide against God. May I always choose to bless the Lord, may I always decide to make Him first, may my will always be His will, and may I always pray like Jesus, “Not my will but thine be done.”
6. May my Spirit bless the Lord. Let my spirit never get discouraged or downcast. May I always bless the Lord with my nature, and my loftiest powers.
7. May my body bless the Lord. Let me never sin with any part of my physical frame. May every part of my body, its moves, its reactions, its strength and its weakness, may all my body bless the Lord.
8. May my eternal soul bless the Lord. Let me bless the Lord with all of my spiritual energies, with all of my spiritual insight, and all of my spiritual drives. May I bless the Lord from the depths of my being.
9. May all of my interests bless the Lord. Let the things that I want, the things that I dream about, the things I desire and the things that attract me. May all of my visions bless the Lord.
10. May all of my energies bless the Lord. May all of my enthusiasm, all of my convictions, all of my honor, all of my sensitivity and all of my impulses bless the Lord through all of my life.
C. WHY SHOULD I BLESS GOD’S NAME?
There are many names of God. Dr. Towns has taught 3 series in my Bible class and published 3 books on this topic:
1. The Names of Jesus, - he listed over 700 names and titles of Jesus.
2. My Father’s Names, - he listed over 125 names and titles of the first person of the Trinity.
3. The Names of the Holy Spirit - he listed over 125 names and titles to the third person of the Trinity.
I asked him why there are so many different names of God. He said each name tells us about a different action God does, or a different aspect of His nature. God has so many names because He does so many things.
Each of my different titles tells different things I do. I’m a pastor, preacher, Chancellor and I’ve been President of Liberty University. I’ve been called Doctor, Reverend, Coach, and song leader. I’m a husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and as a boy, I was a son. My grandchildren call me “Poppy;” Sumner Wemp used to call me “Bishop.”
1. First we must bless His name God because He is our Creator. At Thanksgiving, we bless God because He has created fruit, vegetables and food for our strength and enjoyment. We bless His name because He feeds us and provides for our needs.
2. We bless His holy name which is Jehovah, for He is Lord. He is the Self-existing One who loves us, protects us, guides us and looks after us. We bless the Lord for who He is.
3. We bless His holy name Shepherd, because “The Lord is our Shepherd.” He is the one who guides us through the dark valley of death, He guides through the dangerous cliffs, He guides us to the mountain tops of spiritual blessing, and He guides us through the dry valley when we seem to spiritually starve. We bless the holy name for the Lord who is our Shepherd.
4. We bless His holy name which is the Almighty. He is the El-Shaddai who is our All-Sufficient God. He is mighty to protect us, and mighty to care for us. We bless his holy name Almighty.
5. We bless His holy name Father, for He is our Spiritual Father. We have been born into His family and adopted as His sons. We are His children. As a father, He cares for us, He teaches us, He provides for us, and He guides us. We bless His holy name, Father.
6. We bless His holy name Redeemer, because Jesus has redeemed us from our sins. We have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ and we no longer face spiritual death. We bless His holy name for our salvation.
7. We bless His holy name Immanuel, for He is God With Us. He is with us in all our struggles. He is with us at work, He is with us in our home, and at our play. We bless His holy name, Immanuel.
8. We bless His holy name Comforter or Paraclete. He is the Heavenly Dove who came upon Jesus Christ. He is the Fire that came upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. He is the Holy Spirit who convicts us, regenerates us, seals us and teaches us. We bless His holy name which is the Holy Spirit.
9. We bless His holy name, Master. For He owns us and directs us. We bless Him because His character is both holy and love. His attributes are all-powerful, all-knowing, and He is everywhere present at all times. We bless Him for His very nature of being God.
D. AT WHAT AGE SHOULD WE BLESS THE LORD?
1. Let young men with their strength, ambition and stamina . . . bless the Lord.
2. Let young girls with their charm, virtue and innocence . . . bless the Lord.
3. Let children with their laughter, curiosity and effervescence . . . bless the Lord.
4. Let middle aged men who are striving to make their mark in life . . . bless the Lord.
5. Let older women who understand the ways of life and have served the Lord all their life . . . bless the Lord.
6. Let older men who are wise and long-suffering . . . bless the Lord.
7. Let everything that has breath . . . bless the Lord.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Contact us and ask for a copy of The How To Book or use The How To Book Online (Falwell.com). It is a booklet that will answer many of the questions you are sure to have about living the Christian life. And when you contact us, tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
