Psalm 135:13-21
O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD! O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion, He Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD! (vv. 19-21) What does it mean to “bless the LORD”? Yesterday afternoon we had our annual cookie baking/decorating party with Christian’s family, the Wolfes. As Richard and I stood together, grandfathers sharing our beautiful granddaughter, Audra, I noted to Richard how blessed we were. I know what it means (within our human sphere) to be blessed, to see “blessed” as an adjective. I’m less certain about what it means to bless one another, with “bless” as a verb. I suppose it means something like wishing a person good will, good fortunes, good outcomes going forward.
But what does it mean for God to be blessed, or for us to bless the Lord? I presume that God is blessed even as Richard and I are blessed when we see our children and our grandchild living in happiness and joy. So too, God is blessed when He sees His children – us – happy and joyful. But He also knows that our pure joy, pure happiness can only come when we know Him more fully. Which answers that original question, what does it mean to “bless the Lord”. For us to come to know Him more fully, to embrace Him with all that we have – that would be what blesses the Lord. So, bless the Lord, folks. Seek Him!!