What does it mean to bless the Lord? The Hebrew word is bāraḵ and means to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration). In Psalm 103:1-5, David lists five things God does for us that ought to cause a response of worship and adoration.

He addresses this admonition to our souls – our minds, our emotions, and our will. Our soul is that unseen, immaterial inner man that makes us separate and distinct beings from one another. It’s our personalities, desires, and passions, the seat of all our appetites that animates our physical bodies.

If we have been regenerated and brought to spiritual life by the Holy Spirit, we have a living spirit that communes with God. Those who have yet to be born again are spiritually dead in their sins (Ephesians 2). You would think David would say, “Bless the Lord in your spirit,” but he refers to the soul when he tells us we ought not to forget all God’s benefits and bless His name.

This says to me that our worship of God is not just a spiritual experience separate from this life. We are to worship Him with all that we are – all that He has made us and uniquely created us as individuals living in this earthly life. Worship touches this life as well as the next, and affects how we think, how we feel, and how we make an infinite number of choices in both the big and small things of our daily lives.

Jesus said something similar, didn’t He? And He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

Why ought we to bless and worship God, according to this psalm of David? What has God done that causes our souls – our minds, emotions, and wills – to cry out in worship?

#1 – God pardons all our iniquities.

In Christ, we are forgiven of all our sins. Because He took on the wrath of God in our place on the cross, paying the “wages of sin” (Romans 3:23), we have obtained forgiveness; we are pardoned. The verdict has been rendered by the Righteous Judge, and we are now justified in the sight of God on account of the righteousness of Christ.

We are forgiven people, and we ought to live as forgivers. Our hearts and minds freely forgive others when they hurt us. We don’t live in emotional distress, nursing grudges and allowing unforgiveness to make us bitter people, but choose to let go of anything that hinders our ability to bless the Lord with all our souls.

#2 – He heals all our diseases.

Isaiah 53:5 declares that “by His stripes [scourging] we are healed.” Does this mean that God always, every time, heals us of the physical sickness that these fragile human bodies succumb to on a regular basis? Many of God’s faithful servants’ experiences tell us this is not what this scripture means. God’s children are susceptible to physical illness, and while God does choose to heal, and certainly has the power to take away all physical suffering, His sovereign plans often have a greater purpose in our pain. Paul was a perfect example, as he sought God three times to remove a “thorn in the flesh,” but God purposed him to carry it to the grave so that he would experience more of His all-sufficient grace (2 Corinthians 12:9).

God does ultimately heal all our diseases when He takes us to heaven. Our mortal bodies are changed to immortal, glorified to be like Christ. This is the promise of healing – released from this life into life eternal.

As those who have experienced spiritual healing, we don’t live in fear of what could be in our future physically before God takes us home. We surrender those emotions to God and choose to focus our minds and hearts on His precious promises that will not fail.

#3 – He redeems our life from the pit.

To redeem is to “buy back” or to restore. Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection redeemed us, rescuing us from the kingdom of darkness and transferring us into the kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13). Not only does Jesus rescue us from the spiritual pit through salvation, but He also makes us a new creation, bringing hope and God’s glory out of our messes. He sets our feet firmly on the rock, makes our footsteps firm, and puts a new song in our mouth – a song of praise to bless the Lord (Psalm 40:1-3).

As those who have been rescued from THE pit, we have no reason to fall back into the pits of despair, depression, anxiety, fear, or any other negative emotion. We can choose to live in the strength of the joy of the Lord, filling our minds and hearts with all that is good and glorifying to God, things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

#4 – He crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion.

God is the ultimate giver. He isn’t content just to remove the effects of sin and death, He lavishes His grace and mercy and love and kindness over us, both in salvation and every day we walk with Him.

Lovingkindness is the Hebrew word ḥeseḏ, which means goodness, kindness, and mercy. Our Creator, the Most High God, sets His favor upon us. Compassion is translated “tender mercies” in the KJV. The Hebrew word raḥam is the picture of a mother’s womb – that place where a baby is nourished, cherished, and protected while it grows and develops into the person God made him or her to be.

Oh, how this ought to affect our hearts and minds, to know that God has poured out such mercy and grace, and delights in us! We willingly serve and bless the Lord, knowing we are recipients of such love.

#5 – He satisfies our years with good things.

Very often we find ourselves in conversations listening to people describe their lives APART FROM Jesus. What they talk about – their concerns, their desires in life, their passions, the things that occupy their time and thoughts – sounds so limited and sad considering the wholehearted, soul-satisfying experience of life lived IN Jesus. I can’t put into words the difference He makes in this life, not even counting the hope I have for eternity.

Jesus truly satisfies. He came to give us life – abundant life (John 10:10).  When our souls are surrendered to Him, He satisfies us with good things.

Our minds can be challenged and enlightened through the study of His Word; we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Our hearts can be changed and shaped into a heart that reflects His heart – tender and compassionate, filled with mercy and love for others, and filled with His peace (Colossians 3:15).

Our emotions can get off the roller coaster of fear and anxiety and doubt and depression and be settled firmly in truth.

Our wills can be bent toward God, listening and obeying, and walking by faith according to the Spirit of God that lives in us (Galatians 5, Romans 8).

To bless the Lord simply means to give not just the words of our mouth, but our very lives – our very souls – back to Him in praise, adoration, and worship. Here’s why.

The very first time we see the word “blessed” in scripture (that Hebrew word bāraḵ) is in Genesis 1:22. Speaking to Adam and Eve, “God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’”

We bless God because He has blessed us. He doesn’t kneel before us in adoration of us; He doesn’t worship us. But He has proven through His Son Jesus that He delights in and adores us and will do whatever is necessary to bring us back to that place where our souls were always meant to be.

We are blessed people, and we bless the Lord by living like we know we are blessed.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His Holy name.