How can mere man bless the LORD, the Most High God?
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
What does it mean for man to bless the LORD?
Asked differently, how can lowly man, a mere creature whose days are like grass and a flower of the field, confer any right, privilege, or benefit to his Creator, the everlasting, self-existing One?
Oh, but a creature's blessing of the Lord is not like the blessing of the Lord.
It is not symmetrical, but luminescent.
It is a rightful, covenantal response in adoration and praise to the immeasurable benefits conferred to the weaker vessel by God Almighty, the Holy One of Israel.
It is adoration and praise by blood-ransomed members of His spiritual household for the conferring of rights, privileges, and benefits to them, by the Lord—not a conferring of rights, privileges, or benefits by them, to the Lord.
This concept is captured within the rich Hebrew verb we translate “to bless.” “בָּרַךְ” (bāraḵ) means “to kneel down” or “to break the knees.”
A creature blesses the Lord by kneeling before Him to worship, adore, and praise Him with thanksgiving, as God and King, for His revealed nature and character, as communicated by the immeasurable benefits He has conferred to His ill-deserving, ransomed people, at an immeasurable cost to Himself.
By the precious blood of His only begotten Son, He forgives His people’s sins, and heals them from sin’s manifold afflictions so that they may live for what is good and right. (Psalm 103:3; 1 Peter 2:24)
By the suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, we are redeemed from the abyss of eternal death and destruction, and instead are seated with Him in the heavenly places, crowned with His enduring love and the immeasurable riches of His grace and mercy. (Psalm 103:4; Ephesians 2:4-9)
And by beholding the glory of our Risen and Reigning King, we are renewed from strength to strength, transformed from glory to glory, and satisfied with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, Who indwells us. (Psalm 103:5; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 14:17)
Break your knees, O my soul, and bless the Lord!
Lay prostrate, and with all that is within me,
Bless His holy Name!