Bless, Honor, Speak
In some areas of our lives in our nation, we seem to have set a pretty low and narrow standard regarding those we see as worthy of receiving praise and honor. Who do we honor and put on pedestals? Whose opinions do we deem valuable?
What we hear most often is praise and honor being given to Hollywood and sports stars. There are award banquets, parades, or TV specials for entertainers who excel according to those who judge such things. Magazines have covers which tell us who is special, with titles like: ‘The Man of the Year’ or ‘The Woman of the Year’! They tell us the persons who are the most handsome or beautiful. There is nothing wrong with recognizing and acknowledging one who excels in what they do, however honor should be given according to the merit of the deed.
Once in a while, we hear of a heroic act where someone went above and beyond in bravery and action to help or save someone who was in a desperate situation. That is honor deserved.
We do, rightfully so, recognize and give honor to those who have stood out above others in areas of Science or Medicine where discoveries have been made which benefit all of mankind.
We see and hear of athletes who compete on a world wide stage like the Olympics and those who participate in Special Olympics. Those who are high achievers receive trophies, medallions, or sometimes financial awards.
Scripture tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. (Romans 13:7 NET)
There is One though, Who is above all, and is always worthy of honor and praise! That One is God!
Let’s look at Psalm 145:1-3 (NLT), “I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. 2 I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. 3 Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.” Think of it! He is most worthy of praise! No one can even measure His greatness!
God’s Word is so rich! It tells us beyond a shadow of a doubt Who He is and what He has done. The Scriptures have a lot to say to us regarding our giving honor, blessing, and praise to God!
Isaiah 9:6b tells us of Jesus: “His name will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
We gain more insight into who God is through 1 Timothy 1:17(NKJV), “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, ‘immortal’ means: not liable to decay, imperishable; ‘alone’ means: sole, single, one, alone; ‘wise’ means: forming the best plans and using the best means for their execution: and ‘honor’ means: honor of one who out ranks others, pre-eminence, deference, highest degree of esteem.
Revelation 4:11 (NKJV), reads, "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."
Psalm 34:1-3 (NKJV), “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.” To gain added understanding of verse one, let’s look at the word ‘bless’, barak in the Hebrew. It means : to kneel, to bless, to thank, or praise while on one’s knee before someone (God or a King) as a gesture of obedience, subservience, loyalty, respect, or honor. Then, we see the word “praise’ - tehilla in the Hebrew. It means: praise, song of praise, singing a spontaneous praise to God. See, Psalm 34:1 expresses a heart that will be blessing and praising God at all times! The desire will be at the forefront of our thoughts. I wonder how many of us need to allow the Lord to stretch us in regard to our blessing and praising Him?
Psalm 35:28 (NLT), “Then I will proclaim your justice, and I will praise you all day long.” Our conversation will be centered around God, His wonders, His blessings, His love, power, and goodness.
Psalm 40:3 (NLT), “He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.” We should not sing to and praise Him to bring attention to ourselves. Our desire should be to reveal all that He has done to others.
Psalm 33:3 (NLT), “Sing a new song of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.”
Ephesians 5:18b-20 (NKJV), “be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Hymns are sacred songs and spiritual songs are those divinely inspired songs emanating from the Holy Spirit.
Jesus, when speaking to the Pharisees, as recorded in Matthew 12:34 (NASB20) said, “You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.” From this verse, we see the importance of taking care of what we fill our hearts with. How do we fill our hearts? By what we read, what we watch, and what we listen to.
The Scripture exhorts us regarding filling our hearts in Psalm 119:11 (NLT), “ I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” You are responsible for what you fill your heart with, thus, you are also responsible for what comes out of your mouth. Years ago, the song “Input-Output by the Bill Gaither Trio also told us how it works…”What goes in, is what comes out.”
Proverbs 4:20-24 (ESV), “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.” As we put God’s Word in our hearts, our mouths will be influenced by God’s Word and our love for Him.
Psalm 44:8 (CSB), declares we should “boast in God all day long and praise His name forever!”
2 Corinthians 10:17 (NASB20), “But the one who boasts is to boast in the Lord.”
In Hebrews 13:15, (NKJV), “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” ‘Sacrifice’, thysia in the Greek, means: a free gift, which is likened to an offered sacrifice. Even if and when we don’t feel like it, we present our praise to God, as a gift. ‘Fruit’, karpos means praises which are presented to God as a thank offering.
Psalm 103:1 NKJV), “Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!” This is the first Scripture that drew my attention and revealed to me the truth that, not only does God bless us, we can bless Him! In this verse the word, barak means: to kneel, by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), to celebrate or to adore.
Do you deliberately and intentionally spend time blessing God?? Worshiping Him? Praising Him?
In the following Scriptures, the disobedient are contrasted to believers. 1 Peter 2:6-9 (NLT)), “As the Scriptures say, "I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced." 7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, "The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone." 8 And, "He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they do not obey God's word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. 9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” As believers, we can show others the goodness of God.
As we soak ourselves in the Word of God, we come to not only ‘know’ Him intimately, we also will ‘experience’ Him intimately.
We will experience His joy, His love, and His peace.
When we know and experience Him intimately, how can we not bless Him?
When we know and experience Him intimately, how can we not give Him the praise and honor that is due Him?
When we know and experience Him intimately how can we not speak of Him?
Be intentional!
Bless Him!
Honor Him!
Speak of Him!
If you have comments or questions, I would be happy to hear from you and do my best to respond quickly.
Keep praying, seeking, and growing!
CSB Christian Standard Bible
NET New English Translation
NLT New Living Translation
NKJV New King James Version
NASB20 New American Standard Bible 2020
ESV English Standard Version