A SOLILOQUY OF BLESSEDNESS

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies: Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Have you ever engaged in a soliloquy? Talked to yourself? Grabbed yourself by the ears, so to speak, and told yourself how things really are. Try it. Instead of letting your soulish self get you down with discouraging circumstances, take inventory of the blessedness and goodness with which the Lord has blessed you. Try it. Do it. Tell yourself how to think and feel.

Bless the Lord, His person, not merely His truth, His doctrine, His church, His works, and His gifts.

Bless His holiness, His Name, His glorious fame, His reputation, all that He is.

Bless Him with your soul, your innermost being... all of yourself. With every fiber of your existence, love, adore and praise Him.

Do it, my soul! Bless the Lord. Not merely His means but Him. Be careful to not forget any of the multitudes of His benefits.

He forgives all our iniquities. They are iniquities. They are many, and they are ours. Forgiveness is His alone, and He forgives them all!

If no one else forgives and God does not, we will still be unforgiven wretches. But if everyone forgives but God, we will yet be unforgiven wretches. Self-forgiveness will still leave us guilty without God's forgiveness. You cannot forgive yourself without God's forgiveness. He forgives them all!

He heals all your diseases. Diseases of the body. Medicines, herbs, skills of physicians are all His gifts for our healing. Diseases of the soul: they destroy moral beauty. Our warped personalities make us ugly to others, disable from duty, and lead to death. He heals them all. The medicine is sometimes bitter; the therapy painful, but it leads to life.

He satisfies with good things and brings us into rest. Bless the LORD, O my soul.