“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” – Psalm 103:1
The psalmist David is speaking to himself here, encouraging himself to give praise to God. He is seeking to give more than mere lip service to the goodness and greatness of God. He wants to be sure that his communication is coming from the depths of his soul, from the very essence of his being.
It is good to give praise to the Lord, and most churches I know use music in some way that gives people a means of expressing their thanks and praise to God. However, too many Christians lack the attitude that David expressed here in Psalm 103. Too many of us are disinterested, distracted, or perhaps too discouraged to bless His name with “all that is within us.”
Sometimes musicians are too busy thinking about the details of the music to truly be involved with the message of the song. This happens to singers and instrumentalists alike. Any detail is sufficient to get us off track if we think about it long enough. It is easy to be so focused on the fingering for the next embellishment we want to add or the posture and breathing necessary for the high note that is coming up. Indeed, these are things that do require some portion of our mental processes. However, it is possible to practice and prepare in such a way that we are able to focus primarily on the message of the music and allow that message to get across to the listener.
Many times the problem is simply that our effort is half-hearted. There was nothing half-hearted about David’s attitude in this Psalm. He said, “I am going to bless the Lord with all that is within me.” I believe that every Christian should share that same sentiment. In our personal devotional lives, in our witness to others, and in our participation at church, it should be obvious to everyone who sees us that we are praising Him with “all that is within us.”
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