I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Ps 34:1
I never did very well in school when it came to math or science, but I was a good student, when it came to words. I loved to read. I loved to diagram sentences and to parse words to get to their deeper meaning.
One of the most misused words in the English language is the word blessed. We ask the Lord to bless us when we don’t know what else to say. It is one of those big stretching words that just about covers everything. But what does it really mean? Here in the psalm it means to salute, congratulate, or praise. In other words, I will salute the Lord at all times, and I will congratulate God. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
We have words continually in our mouths, but these words are not always about praise. We also have complaining words, gossiping words, boasting words, empty words, and mundane words that fill our mouths. I remember telling my girls when they were little to “use their words,” when they got mad at each other, and then when they got older I told them “NOT to use certain words,” when they got mad at each other! The words we use are important!
Remember the rhyme, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” not true! Words can hurt. Words can build up or break down a person or a church and can sometimes not be forgotten. Maybe we should be more careful of our words.
A. W. Tozer said, “Words of praise will drive out gloom. It can change the direction of our lives. If we let our minds and hearts and mouths be filled with words that are unclean, complaining, gossiping, boasting, empty, or earthly, we will go in that direction, But if we insist upon filling our mouths with congratulations to the Lord God Almighty under all circumstances and learn the joy of inward prayer, again, it will change the whole direction of our lives.” *
So, Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.
*Authentic Worship, A. W. Tozer, Bethany House publishing, 2023, by James L. Snyder, p. 35-42
Terry Hanna