02/17/2024
I was really taken time and again the last few days with the phrase, “I will bless the Lord,” or “bless the Lord.” You read it over and over again in the Psalms.
I thought …how does one bless the Lord? So, I decided to look up the meaning. You see all of that under my musings.
At the end of it all…like a friend or parent, blessings are relational. If you gift something to a person that isn’t their preference or love language, you get a halfhearted thank you. But if you touch their heart, no matter how small or insignificant the gift/action, it will resonate and build the relationship.
That is what I am attempting to do this year in the Bible Immersion Journey—build a deeper relationship with the Godhead. I hope this blesses the readers and blesses God as we contemplate how to give God a blessing instead of just receiving a blessing!
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Bless verb
1. religion: to hallow or consecrate by religious rite or word; I asked the priest to bless their marriage; Bless this home.
2. religion: to hallow with the sign of the cross; He blessed himself before liftoff.
3 to invoke divine care for; bless your heart—used in the phrase bless you to wish good health especially to one who has just sneezed
4a. PRAISE, GLORIFY bless his holy name; 4b. to speak well of, APPROVE
5. to confer prosperity or happiness upon; God has blessed us with four children.
6. (archaic) PROTECT, PRESERVE; Bless me from marrying a usurer!—Shakespeare
7. ENDOW, FAVOR blessed with athletic ability
Oxford Languages Dictionary
Bless (verb): pronounce words in a religious rite, to confer or invoke divine favor upon; ask God to look favorably on. “He blessed the dying man and anointed him.” (especially in Christian church services) call (God) holy; praise (God).
Similar:
ask God's favor for, ask God's protection for, give a benediction for, invoke happiness on, endow, favor, provide, grace, bestow, furnish, entrust, present, grant, vouchsafe, afford, accord, give, donate, confer on, lavish on, endue
Praise, worship, glorify, honor, exalt, adore, pay tribute to, pay homage to, give thanks to, venerate, reverence, hallow, magnify, laud, (of God) endow (someone) with a particular cherished thing or attribute. “God has blessed us with free will;” consecrate, sanctify, hallow, dedicate (to God), make holy, make sacred, set apart, devote to God, anoint, ordain, canonize, beatify
Opposite:
Curse, trouble
Blue Letter Bible
Hebrew Lexiconic meanings of bless in the Old Testament:
H833אָשַׁר 'āšar blessed, lead, go, guide, happy, leaders, relieve
H835 אֶשֶׁר 'ešer blessed, happy
H1288 בָּרַךְ bāraḵ bless, salute, curse, blaspheme, blessing, praised, kneel down, congratulate, kneel, make to kneel, misc
H1289 בְּרַךְ bᵊraḵ bless, kneel
H1293 בְּרָכָה bᵊrāḵâ blessing, blessed, present, liberal, pools
