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 my sin, who heals all my diseases, who redeems my life from the pit, who crowns me with His steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies me with good so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's. ....
When I sit to read God's word this morning, it envelopes me with it's deliciousness. I want to rush through the chapters and gorge on it, but the richness, and deep sweetness is found in tiny increments for me to savour and contemplate as I read each word, each phrase, each line. [For instance, I just love how many hundreds of times I see the word, "steadfast" used before the word "love", when describing God's love towards me.]
My heart pounds as I read aloud in this empty room, the words of Psalm 103.... when I get to talk to the angels who stand in God's presence and do his bidding...I want to shout...shout loud enough to reach across the expanse of all creation so as to reach the ears of every last one of them and command them to bless the Lord with me!! "Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers who do his will!"
I like to think about the little crickets and clouds, the trees and wildflowers and stars all hearing me tell them to bless God with me. "Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion..."
By the time I reach the next to the last phrase of the Psalm, instead of shouting, my eyes are filled with tears and my voice quiets and faulters. I find myself at just a raspy whisper as I return to the final words: "Bless the Lord, O my soul." I realize how very small I am in the scope of all creation and eternity. If the angels are busy and don't pay me any heed, if the stars have all fallen asleep, if the cacophony of the traffic drowns out the sound of my voice so the wildflowers and trees and crickets don't join me....even if I am all alone in this tiny corner of the earth, I will bless the Lord, with a full heart and overflowing soul.
BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME BLESS HIS HOLY NAME!
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