The words we use matter and more specifically, the words we use in worship matter—a lot.  This month’s focus in my ongoing series, words of worship, is Bless.  As I began digging into it I realized that this word bless is often used more flippantly than is should be.  Okay, I know, I’m poking at a beloved word within the church, but stay with me.

 

Bless is often used in the context of giving anything good.  Dictionary.com says it like this: “to bestow good of any kind upon…” We see this in the context of giving and receiving, so we say things like, “I’m blessed because I have a great family.”  Feel free to fill that in with whatever it is that makes you feel blessed.  This is not untrue, just perhaps incomplete.  In the context of our relationship with the LORD, to bless takes on a completely different meaning, something much fuller and more complex.

 

The LORD invites us to come and know his heart.  That, my friend, is why he created us.   And it from this perspective that challenges a re-examination of the word bless.  In Genesis, we read the account of creation. Each day, God creates, and then he declares it good, but on the sixth day—as he creates humanity—things change a little.

 

And God blessed them

 

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them.  And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  Genesis 1:27-28, ESV

 

As you read further down the passage you will note, that after this day of creating, God declares it verygood (Genesis 1:31). There is something special and distinctive about humanity over everything else.  And this isn’t the only time we see this in scripture!

 

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the starts, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet…” Psalm 8:3-6

 

And God blessed them. 

 

Dig a little deeper in your dictionary and you can begin to build into the complexity of what it means to bless.  Context is everything, and the words we use to worship matter.  There is a rich depth to this word that gets lost when we reduce it to simply highlight the good things we enjoy.

 

To bless means, “to consecrate or sanctify…to extol as holy; glorify” (Dictionary.com)  So, go ahead and fold that in and then read the Genesis text again.  It should read like this: And God consecrated, sanctified and extolled them as holy.

 

 

 

 

What it means to be blessed

 

God set us apart and declared us holy, because he created us to commune with him.  This is what worship is—intimate communion between Creator and the ones he blessed.  Worship isn’t what we do to appease him because of our unfaithfulness, it is the fulfillment and completion of who we were created to be.

 

To be blessed is to be set apart and extolled as holy.  To be clear, we aren’t holy in and of ourselves, blessing is declared—grace He bestows upon us. God blessed us, so that we can enjoy community.  Can you see it?  That blessing is necessary so that he can come near.  It was instituted right from the start and we see it demonstrated again and again through scripture, finally culminating in the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross.

 

To be blessed is so much more than just reveling in the good things of our lives.  We have been set apart for so much more.  The reality is, that close communion with God (blessing) sets us up to experience the good things that happen in his presence (favor). Gratitude is a must, but I think we should be careful to draw the distinction between the two.  The words we use in worship matter, because they help us with alignment.

 

To be blessed means that we live in community with God and in that divine community, we get to enjoy all the benefits that come with Him.  There is divine favor that falls all over the blessed, because that kind of proximity to perfection is gonna have a powerful ripple effect.  But don’t reduce it just that; favor comes after the blessing.

 

 

 

 

What it means to bless

 

So, what about when we bless the LORD?  I mean, it makes complete sense that He would bless us, but how can we bless the LORD? I mean, He is the Almighty One, after all.  Apart from Him, we are far from holy, so how can we even think that we can bless the LORD?

 

And God blessed them.

 

He blessed them, setting them apart and consecrating them for communion—intimate community. Holiness is a requirement, because God is holy.  I know, I’m repeating myself because this is an important part of how this all works. Stay with me.

 

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”  Psalm 103:1

 

In order to bless the LORD, we must surrender it all.  We have to acknowledge His Majesty, but even more we have to acknowledge to way he designed us to live—completely connected to him.  Saying it is not enough; we must embody the process.  Speak the words we use in worship, and mean them.

 

Holiness still matters to God.  Sometimes, I think we forget that a little bit.  The work of the cross secured salvation, but it doesn’t negate holiness. Now that’s not to say that we need to clean up our behavior, because there is no amount of behavior modification that will get us an audience with the Father—it’s always about believing what God says, and living out of the truth.

 

To bless the LORD, means to stand in the blessing and live from it.  It’s not about declaring gratitude for his favor (that’s what it means to praise and give thanks), it’s about standing in our true identity as beloved sons and daughters, who are blessed—sanctified, consecrated, and set apart for divine community.  Living in the place he has established for you is how you bless him.

 

 

 

 

The words we use to worship matter

 

This changes things for me. The words we use to worship matter, because they help us to stand in the correct lanes.  There are plenty of great words to choose, when we talk about communion with the Father, but certain words have a way coloring the lens by which we see.

 

When I talk to the LORD, I want to make sure I know what I’m saying so I can mean it—I want to be honest. Words are cheap—that’s what my Dad always used to say.  He had a way of cutting right through to the point without saying a whole lot and his point was this: If you’re going to say something, then you need to mean it! And, I think, that’s especially true when we come into the presence of God.

 

God created us so that we could enjoy intimate and authentic relationship with him. He doesn’t need our praise.  Empty, meaningless words are fake flattery—he sees right through it.  Authentic worship requires surrender and honesty.

 

And God blessed them. 

 

That’s why we get to enter in.  We bless him back, when we live fully surrendered to that holy order.  Listen, this isn’t about self-abasement, this is about alignment and trust.  When David said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul and all that is within me…” (Psalm 103:1), he was talking about heart, body, spirit, and mind—all of it coming into agreement with the purpose and identity ordained by God.  The words we use in worship matter, because they help us position our heart and steady our mind on what is true.

 

Lean in, my friend, and drink deep from the well of grace.  The LORD invites us to come close and know him.  To come close requires the surrender of pride and self-sufficiency, but the acquisition of intimacy is worth more.  God doesn’t withhold; he is generous and extravagant.

 

The practice of blessing

 

Okay, so let’s make it practical.  In order to bless the LORD, we need to stand in the place of blessing.  It’s from that place of standing that worship is birthed. Our whole-hearted response to the Great, I am, comes out of our dwelling and resting place with him.

 

“Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”  Psalm 46: 10

 

This verse is an invitation of the LORD, to come and know him.  Why don’t you go ahead and take him up on it?  Perhaps this is a familiar verse.  That’s okay, because the amazing thing about the LORD and his word is that we will never plumb the depths understanding.  Let him reveal new things as you take your place in his nearness. Let the Spirit open your eyes to the depth and richness of the words we use in worship, that you might encounter more.

 

Knowing about God, is different from knowing him.  I know you know what I’m saying, but I’m going to go ahead a poke a little harder. There are things we become comfortable and satisfied with, but God has more.  Go deeper.  Surrender the attitude that says, I know this, and let the LORD take you into the fullness of his blessing.  Write in a journal and mark the words he speaks.  Let his blessing draw you into the extravagance of what he designed in the first place.