Blessing the Lord

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—

(Psalms 103:1-2)

We believe the Bible to be the Word of God.  Yet, what that means is not clear in the text itself.  For the Scriptures are made up of many kinds of literature – poetry, history, prophecy,  wisdom, liturgical direction, narratives, fictional stories (parables for example), rules, regulations, stories of exemplary behavior and of  sin.  Some of the words of the Bible are directed to God, and some are from God directed to us.  Some are prescriptive and some descriptive.  The verse quoted above from Psalm 103 is the Psalmist talking to himself, and in turn when we appropriate the text, it is our own giving direction to our self, and is not directed to God.

In that Psalm, I am reminding and commanding myself to bless the Lord.  And I am to do it “with all that is within me.”  ALL that is within me – with my heart, soul, mind, body.  With my lungs, brain, stomach, kidneys, muscles and joints.  With my thoughts and yes with my temptations, my feelings, my pains, sorrows, drowsiness and my boredom.  The cobwebs in my brain are to bless the Lord, so too my addictions, my doubts, my fears, my joys, my passions, my energies.  Everything within me is called to bless the Lord.

And if we could direct everything within us to bless the Lord, our life indeed would be changed!  Nothing then would separate us from God, for we would be directing everything within us toward the Lord God.  We would become unified and whole, single-hearted, with our entire being directed toward our Creator, Father and Son and Holy Spirit.  Nothing would separate us from God and nothing would be moving us away from God.

I would indeed in that moment call to mind every blessing God had ever given me, and not only me but everyone I knew, and had given the entire creation.   This complete change of heart, mind, direction, a true metanoia, all resulting from blessing the Lord, and simply doing what one verse of the Scriptures tells me to do.

And how long am I to continue this blessing God?  For as long as I am alive.

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

(Psalms 104:33-34)

I am to bless the Lord with all that is within me, and to do it as long as I am still alive.  The praising of God is not dependent on how I feel, or whether things are going well or badly, or whether I’m successful or failing, or whether I’m rich or poor, whether or not my prayers have been answered, whether things are happening as I believe they should or not.  As long as I live I am to sing this praise to God, to bless God, and to think about things that are pleasing to Him.

And, I can also ask, and just where am I to bless the Lord?

Bless the Lord, all you His works,

in every place of His dominion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

(Psalm 103:22)

I am to bless the Lord in every place of His dominion, which turns out to be everywhere and anywhere.  I do not need to go to a special place to bless the Lord for the earth is the Lord’s, and everywhere I am is the place of His dominion, and so I should be blessing the Lord wherever I am.  I don’t need to wait until I am in church, nor do I need to go to a monastery to bless the Lord.  As St Nikitas Stethatos remarks:

“I have heard people say that one cannot achieve a persistent state of virtue without retreating far into the desert, and I was amazed that they should think that the unconfinable could be confined to a particular locality… the desert is in fact superfluous, since we can enter the kingdom simply through repentance and the strict keeping of God’s commandments.  Entry into the kingdom can occur, as David states, in all places of His dominion, for he says, in all places of His dominion bless the Lord, O my soul (Psalm 103:22).”  (quoted in PSALMS AND THE LIFE OF FAITH, p 293)

How different the world would be if we Christians blessed God with all that is within us, in every place and in each moment that we are alive.  It would be as we pray: On earth as it is in heaven.

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Picturing Psalm 104:29-35

Previous Post: Psalm 104:23-28

When you hide your face, they are dismayed;

when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created;

and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in his works—
who looks on the earth and it trembles,

who touches the mountains and they smoke.

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.

Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.

Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD!

Picturing Psalm 104:23-28

Previous Post:  Psalm 104:16-22

People go out to their work
and to their labor until the evening.

O LORD, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

Yonder is the sea, great and wide,

creeping things innumerable are there,

living things both small and great.

There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;

when you give to them, they gather it up;

when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

Next:  Psalm 104:29-35

Picturing Psalm 104:16-22

Previous Post:  Psalm 104:11-15

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has its home in the fir trees.

The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

You have made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.

The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.

Next: Psalm 104:23-28

Picturing Psalm 104:11-15

Previous Post: Psalm 104:1-11

giving drink to every wild animal;

the wild asses quench their thirst.

By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;

they sing among the branches.

From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,

and plants for people to use,

to bring forth food from the earth,

and wine to gladden the human heart,

oil to make the face shine,

and bread to strengthen the human heart.

Next: Psalm 104:16-22

Picturing Psalm 104:1-10

Bless the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great.

You are clothed with honor and majesty,
wrapped in light as with a garment.

You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,

you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers,

fire and flame your ministers.
You set the earth on its foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.

You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.

At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.

They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for them.

You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,

Next: Psalm 104:11-15

The Sun – Serving God and Humans

“… the sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.

The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises, they withdraw

and lie down in their dens.

People go out to their work
and to their labor until the evening.

O LORD, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

(Psalm 104:19-24)

Psalm 104 Pictured (PDF)

The three part blog series

(Psalm 104:1-12

Psalm 104:13-23

Psalm 104:24-35)

with the text of Psalm 104 and my photographs are now available to be viewed as one continuous document at Psalm 104 Pictured PDF.

You can also find links to other Photo-blogs I have posted at My Photo Blogs.

Psalm 104:24-35 Pictured

Psalm 104  (nrsv)

Previous: Psalm 104:13-23

 O LORD, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,

creeping things innumerable are there,

living things both small and great.

 There go the ships,

and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

 These all look to you

to give them their food in due season;

 when you give to them, they gather it up;

when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;

when you take away their breath, they die

and return to their dust.

 When you send forth your spirit, they are created;

and you renew the face of the ground.

 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in his works—

 who looks on the earth and it trembles,

who touches the mountains and they smoke.

 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

 May my meditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the LORD.

 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more.

Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Praise the LORD!

See links for all of my other Photo Blogs

Psalm 104:13-23 Pictured

Psalm 104  (nrsv)

Previous:  Psalm 104:1-12

 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,

and plants for people to use,

to bring forth food from the earth,

 and wine to gladden the human heart,

oil to make the face shine,

and bread to strengthen the human heart.

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

 In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has its home in the fir trees.

 The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

 You have made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

 You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.

 The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises, they withdraw

and lie down in their dens.

 People go out to their work

and to their labor until the evening.

Next: Psalm 104:24-35

See links for all of my other Photo Blogs