Man Blessing God

“Bless the Lord, O my soul.” — Psalm cm. i.

We commonly begin our prayers with a request that God will bless us; the Psalmist begins his prayer by calling on his soul to bless God! The eye of the heart is generally first directed to its own desires; the eye of the Psalmist’s heart is first directed to the desires of God! It is a startling feature of prayer, a feature seldom looked at. We think of prayer as a mount where man stands to receive the Divine blessing. We do not often think of it as also a mount where God stands to receive the human blessing. Yet this latter is the thought here. Nay, is it not the thought of our Lord Himself! I have often meditated on these words of Jesus, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness! ‘* I take them to mean: “Seek ye first the welfare of God, the establishment of His kingdom, the reign of His righteousness! Before you yield to self-pity, before you count the number of the things you want, consider what things are still wanting to Him I Consider the spheres of life to which His kingdom has not yet spread, consider the human hearts to which His righteousness has not yet penetrated! Let your spirit say, Bless the Lord! ‘Let the blessing upon God be your morning wish! It is not your power He asks, but your wish. Your benediction cannot sway the forces of the Universe; your Father can do that without your prayer. But it is the prayer itself that is dear to Him, the desire of your heart for His heart’s joy, the cry of your spirit for His crowning, the longing of your soul for the triumph of His love. Evermore give Him this bread!”

Lord, take my blessing on Thy labours! Take my prayers for the harvest — Thy harvest! I often give Thee prayers for mine. But I would remember that Thou, too, hast a sowing time and a waiting time. I would remember that Thou hast committed Thy seed to an uncertain soil — the soil of my heart. I would remember that between Thy spring and Thine autumn there are many blasting gales, many blighting influences. I would sing a new song to Thee this day. All the old songs have had one refrain,” Lord, send my harvest-home! ‘* But the song I would now sing is of higher strain; and the rhythm of its music is this: A good harvest to Thee O Lord! May earth grant Thee Thy heart’s desire! May the wings of Thy love be untrammelled! May the flight of Thy hope be unfettered! May the sweep of Thy grace be unhampered! May the power of Thy peace be unimpeded! May the reign of Thy righteousness be unchequered! May the joy of Thy presence be unbroken! May the light of Thy countenance be unsullied! May the music of Thy voice be unmuffled! May the sway of Thy Spirit be unceasing! These are my morning wishes — my burden of blessings on Thee,