Over the past few weeks, I have been so incredibly encouraged by this new song, Bless God. It has convicted and challenged me, been a balm to my weary soul, and energized me for corporate worship. As we approach the Thanksgiving season, I pray this song will push our church family to an attitude of praise in all circumstances. As we anticipate introducing the song this Sunday, I want to unpack a few questions I’ve been pondering as I’ve been preparing for worship.
What does “bless” really mean?
The word bless is a tricky one in the English language. Like the word, love, it is used interchangeably to mean multiple things. It shows up in common casual expressions like, “bless you!” or “bless my soul” or “have a blessed day”. We pray that God will bless us and our loved ones with good things. And we sing praises to God using words like “bless the Lord oh my soul / worship His holy name”.
The Hebrew word typically translated to bless is, “barak”. It is used interchangeably of people blessing God and of God blessing people, and according to Blue Letter Bible, the word ultimately means “to kneel or give praise”. Our English definition of bless reflects these 2 distinct contexts. According to dictionary.com, it can mean to consecrate, sanctify, or pronounce holy, or it can mean to request divine favor from God. Ultimately, when we look at the word bless, its meaning depends on the object of the blessing.
When we echo the words of Jesus saying, “blessed are those who…”, it is implied that divine favor is promised to those who exhibit a specific behavior or belief. When we say or sing “bless the Lord” or “bless God”, because God is the object of the blessing, it is implied that our meaning is to ascribe worth and honor and praise to Him. Both of these examples are present in the lyrics of Bless God.
Why should we all sing “praise the Lord with me”?
At a first glance, this lyric may seem to imply that the song is meant only for the worship leader to be singing. It’s an invitation, but potentially awkward for the congregation at large to be singing. May I humbly remind us of Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 5 to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit” and in Colossians 3 to “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit”. When we collectively sing the words, “praise the Lord with me”, we are inviting each other into a moment of corporate, group praise of our shared God. Our worship in the corporate setting is truly for the benefit of those around us.
What is the caution in this song?
With these repeated lyrics about blessing, I was reminded of the caution in James 3 that, “out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing”, and Jesus’ caution in Luke 6 that, “out of the heart the mouth speaks”. How easily my heart turns dark and spews curses instead of blessings! My hope and prayer is that as I fill my mind and heart with blessings and praises to God and “fix my gaze” on Christ, He will fill my heart with things of His kingdom. That I will seek to bless His name “every chance I get”. That when I sing about blessing God with my church family on Sunday it will truly become the posture of my heart throughout the week. I pray this for all of us!
Blessed are those who run to Him
Who place their hope and confidence in Jesus
He won’t forsake them
Blessed are those who seek His face
Who bend their knee and fix their gaze on Jesus
They won’t be shaken
Come on and praise the Lord with me
Sing if you love His name
Come on and lift your voice with me
He’s worthy of all our praise
Blessed are those who walk with Him
Whose hearts are set on pilgrimage with Jesus
They’ll see His glory
Blessed are those who die to live
Whose joy it is to give it all for Jesus
And for Him only
Oh Jesus all for Your glory
Come on and praise the Lord with me
Sing if you love His name
Come on and lift your voice with me
He’s worthy of all our praise
Come on and bring your offering
Sing if you’ve known His grace
Come on and lift up your holy hands
He’s worthy of all our praise
Bless God in the sanctuary
Bless God in the fields of plenty
Bless God in the darkest valley
Every chance I get I bless Your name
Bless God when my hands are empty
Bless God with a praise that costs me
Bless God when nobody’s watching
Every chance I get I bless Your name
Bless God when the weapon’s forming
Bless God when the walls are falling
Bless God ‘cause He goes before me
Every chance I get I bless Your name
Bless God for He holds the vict’ry
Bless God for He’s always with me
Bless God for He’s always worthy
Every chance I get I bless Your name
Brandon Lake, Brooke Ligertwood, Cody Carnes
CCLI Song #7206380
© 2023 Brandon Lake Music; Capitol CMG Paragon; City and Vine Music Publishing International; Writer's Roof Publishing
For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com
CCLI License #702888
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103:1-5 (ESV)
…Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:18b-20 (NIV)
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:16-17 (NIV)
A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
Luke 6:45
Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be so.
James 3:10 (NIV)