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In this Psalm we see recorded two forms of blessings -a plea for all servants to “Bless ye the Lord”, and a declaration that the Lord should also “bless thee”.  If we read the bible we see four different types of blessings emerging, and at first it is hard for us to grasp that we, as humans, are given the instruction to “Bless ye the Lord” -after all, we surely believe that God is the Almighty, and all blessings flow from Him? This is so and has always been from the beginning, as we read in Genesis 1 :28, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” These blessings are still being effected today, because the word of God is true, and because God is eternal and omnipotent.  His omnipotence causes his blessings to avail in the present life in respect to all things and also in the life to come. God gives forth both spiritual and natural blessings -Spiritual blessings which are eternal, and natural blessings which are temporary to us. This is the first type of blessing, the blessings from God, and this should be sought after, acknowledged, and thanked for at all times in our life. We have a proverb, “If something is worth asking for then it is worth thanking for”, and this should always be on our minds; it leads us to the second form of blessing, which is when we “bless God”, as is the instruction in the text.
Psalms 103: 1-2 makes it very clear as written, “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul; and all that is within me; bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” We see it should be a spiritual or soul generated act from within us. When we perform this type of blessing we acknowledge those characteristics which are His, acknowledge His sovereignty and express thanks for His mercies, especially in the sending of His son, Jesus Christ -and these blessings will never go unrewarded, as we see in Christ’s teaching in Matthew 10:32, “whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven”. This confession, or blessing, must be in accordance with the Psalmist’s instruction, ”from the soul”, which is in sincerity and not loosely voiced around.
The third form of blessing is when we, as humans, bless one another, either on behalf of the Lord, or from ourselves. Often we read in the bible where divine guidance was given to issue the blessing as in Genesis 49:28, when Jacob foretold to all his sons what their futures would be, and then it is recorded, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spoke unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them”. Moses blessed the Children of Israel in Deuteronomy 33, and under God’s instruction all Priests from the time of Aaron are to issue a blessing on their fellows in the form of the benediction. As well as these divinely led blessings we can, and must, bless each other by expressing good wishes, and above all being prepared to pray for blessings for one another. When we pray for another we extend to them one of the greatest blessings we can give. The Apostle James (5: 16) instructs us, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed”. By passing this blessing on to another, by praying for them, we know according to Job 42: 1 0, it pleases the Lord, “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before”. Often in life we become so concerned about ourselves that we forget to pray for others, thus withholding our blessings from them.
We also bless in this life, in thanksgiving, natural things. The most common example is at meal times when we
place a blessing on the food that the Lord has provided. This blessing seems to originate from the days of Moses when they were instructed to place a blessing on the food of the Passover. Christ upheld this when on earth and we can read at the times of feeding the multitude it is recorded, ‘He blessed the loaves and fishes and brake”. At the Last Supper it is recorded he took the bread and wine and blessed it, and then gave it to His Apostles, declaring it to be His body and blood (Blessed). We see from this that God does accept this form of blessing if it is accompanied with thanksgiving. -Let us never, as our text warns, become as servants that by night stand in the house of the Lord -Never let the darkness of the world overshadow our desire to BLESS and BE BLESSED.