Human Response 754: Bless and Praise the Lord Always

Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

We are encouraged to respond to the salvation, blessing, and presence of God with blessing and praise. And this response is to be at all times and continually, because God is always good and His mercy endures forever. There is never a time when He is not good and never a moment when He is not merciful. Therefore, we can and we will bless and praise the Lord always as a regular pattern of our life. Our life is prayer, as David says.

To bless the Lord is to say good things to God and about God. To praise the Lord is to lift Him up to the highest place of worship and regard in our minds. We look to the Lord for every good and never cease thanking Him for it. We naturally become neglectful and forgetful and distracted by the things of the world. For this reason we are faithful and intentional in our weekly worship and in our daily devotions. Then we live through each day with blessing and praise in our thoughts and on our lips.

We praise and bless the Lord always, no matter the circumstances nor how bad we may be feeling. Our emotions and surroundings do not change the truth that the Lord is always good to us, that He is always kind and merciful. We respond by faith in the Word and Promise of God, and not to the feelings of the moment. We can honestly bless at all times, for God is present with mercy. We thank God in everything for all things work together for good.