Bless the Lord

Blessed Be God 1 Peter 1:3 Christlike Affections in 2025 • The first Sunday of every month in ’25, we are asking God to heighten our religious affections. • Definition of Affection: Deep and lasting transformation of the soul that results in the zealous pursuit of God, overflowing love for God’s people, and joyful service in God. • Last month, we discovered “God’s Love Language.” Today we’re going to explore the affection of blessing, that is, our blessing of God. What does it mean to bless? 1. God Blesses People (or objects): to endow with a special grace for a particular commission; the largest of the 3 categories (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 15:1-2) 2. Man Blesses Man: to declare or to invoke God’s special endowment grace for a particular commission (see Psalm 67); least of the three categories 3. Man blesses God: Let’s explore this category with the remainder of our time and work toward a definition. Bless the Lord • Frequent theme in David’s writing and in other Psalms • After David’s death, uses of “Bless the LORD” all but disappear until Israel faces the punishment of exile. • Once exiled, the language of blessing God returns in force: 4x in 1-2 Chronicles; Ezra 7:27; Nehemiah 9:5; Daniel 2:20; Luke 1:68 • In the New Testament, the word is synonymous with worship, but retains a certain flavor – it’s the worship of (1) suffering saints (Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3) and (2) people aware of their unworthiness (Revelation 5:13; 7:12; Romans 9:5) Blessed Themes 1. We Bless God because of God: • • • • “I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel in the night” (Psalm 16:7) “Blessed be the LORD for He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy” (Psalm 28:6) “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things” (Psalm 72:18) “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (Psalm 103:2) Blessed Themes 2. I will bless the LORD: • • • “My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly, I will bless the LORD” (Psalm 26:12) “I will bless the LORD at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1) “I will extol you my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever” (Psalm 145:1) 3. Bless the LORD worldwide: • • “Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be fille with His glory” (Psalm 72:17) “Let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever” (Psalm 145:21) Blessed Themes 4. Bless the LORD Corporately: • • “Blessed be the LORD who daily bears us up; God is our salvation” (Psalm 68:19) “Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD” (Psalm 134:1) 5. Blessed is the One who Trusts in a Blessed LORD: • • “I will bless the LORD … blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34) “Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive, he is called blessed in the land… Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 41) Reflections 1. What does it look like to bless the LORD? (Let’s go back to 1 Peter 1:3ff to see it in a New Testament context) 2. Blessing the LORD is both a command and response – it’s incumbent on Christians, therefore, to expose themselves to truths that naturally lead to blessing God. 3. Blessing God is so foundational for the Christian because of its (a) personal awareness and (b) group dynamic.