BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty?" (Psalm 104:1 NKJV).

The book of Psalms is full of praises of, and prayers to God. Psalms 103 and 104 are distinct out of the other psalms because of their description of who God is and what He is doing to us that make Him deserve our worship, adoration, praises and thanksgiving.

Let us examine first who God is in Psalm 104 before coming back to Psalm 103 to discover what He is doing for us that made the psalmist told his soul "and all that is within" him to bless or praise the Lord.

He started with the greatness of God. The greatness of God is manifested in His creation: He stretches out the heavens like a tent (verse 2b); He sets the earth on its unmovable foundations (verse 5) and covers it with the deep (verse 6a); He sets the course of water (verses 6b-9); He satisfies the earth and other creatures by His work (verses 10-13); He makes the earth produce food for the animals and even man (verses 14-15); He provides dwelling place for His creatures (verses 16-18); and He marks off seasons, days and years by the sun and the moon (verses 19-23). The psalmist continues to describe how God made His creation in wisdom, and all these creatures look unto God for sustenance (verses 24-29).

Having considered all these things, the psalmist concludes that the glory of God will endure for ever and that he would respond to God's greatness by singing to Him all his life and that he would find pleasure in meditating about it.

The implication of this psalm is that we should always praise God for who He is as He has demonstrated it in His creation. Bless the LORD, O my soul!

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

NB

Next week, we will consider the other aspect of why our soul should bless the Lord. Till then, God bless you!