Bless the Lord together

Psalm 34:1, 3

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth...Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”

Hebrews 13:15

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

How do we “bless the Lord at all times?”  Perhaps our real question is How do we bless the Lord?   We want God to bless us.  We even pray for the Lord to bless others for whom we pray.

At this Thanksgiving season we especially try to show our thanks for all His blessings to us, but how do we “bless the Lord?’

David seems to be saying, “I will continually speak of God’s goodness, kindness, generosity, and all His other traits that we enjoy and for which we truly feel grateful.”  However it seems an “attitude of gratitude” continually expressed by our mouth, blesses the Lord.  Coming together to magnify the Lord, and exalt His name together, blesses Him.  As in the book of Hebrews “praise to God” is the kind of sacrifice modern day Christians should be offering to Him in our worship.

It is not animals sacrificed to Him, nor grain, nor oil, that is brought to the altar that blesses Him.  It is not even the tithe, for that already belongs to Him and is offered back to him week by week in worship to show how much we trust Him.  He wants the  “fruit of our lips,” He wants to hear us “giving thanks to His name.”  He not only is blessed when we do, It is our highest worship.  His name represents His person; who He is, how He has revealed Himself to us and what He has done for us in His great love.  He deserves the “fruit of our lips.”

It is not praise until it is spoken (or sung).  I hear, “He knows I am grateful.”  “He knows what is in my heart.”  Perhaps you should remember your mother’s coaching when she would prompt you,  “Now, what are you supposed to say?”  We would utter an embarrassed “Thank You.”  As a Father myself, I usually know what is in my children’s heart, but I want to hear them say it, because it blesses me.  How much more important it is to bless the Lord.

Dr. David Jeremiah said, “Not just on Thanksgiving Day, but on every day, we should give thanks to God and bless His holy name for His many gifts of grace to us. Even on challenging days, we can be grateful for the fact that God is with us, causing all things to work together for good for those who love Him” {Rom.8:28}.

“Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3).