The Keynote of the Year

The Keynote of the Year

A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JANUARY 5, 1890,

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH
7, 1889.

"Bless the Lord, O my Soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy
name." Psalm 103:1.

BEFORE our friend who leads us in singing begins, we sometimes hear his
tuning fork. He is getting the keynote into his ear. When he comes
forward he often sounds out that keynote before he begins to sing. This
is what David does in this wonderful Psalm. He sounds the tuning fork
with this clear note–"Bless the Lord, O my Soul." It is well for all
to be ready to sing harmoniously–it is a pity when those who gather to
worship do not know what they are doing. I wish I could always have you
spiritually in tune and keep in tune myself. Alas, I fear we are often
half a note too flat.

The words before us are the keynote of this Psalm and all the music is
set to it and closes with it. Notice that the Psalm begins, "Bless the
Lord, O my Soul," and it ends in the same way, "Bless the Lord, O my
Soul," as if to show us that praise is the Alpha and the Omega of a
Christian life. Praise is the life of life. So we begin; so we
continue; so shall we end, world without end.

This Psalm has just as many verses in the original as there are letters
in the Hebrew alphabet. It is an alphabetical Psalm as to number and so
I may say that the A of it is, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul," and the Z
of it is, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul." Oh, that our infancy would bless
the Lord and our childhood and our youth bless the Lord–and our
manhood and our old age bless the Lord! From the cradle to the tomb one
line of sapphire, one streak of sparkling crystal should run through
the entire mass of life–and that should be praise unto God.–

I would begin the music here, And so my soul should rise Oh, for some
heavenly notes to bear My passions to the skies!"

Oh, to have Heaven's employment and Heaven's enjoyment here below by
never-ceasing praise! We need never make a pause in that of which we
shall never make an end.

As I said in the exposition, there is no prayer in this Psalm–it is
all praise right through and through. There are times in a Christian's
life when he feels as if praise employed the whole of his faculties and
his own needs and faults and all about himself sank into
insignificance. Usually we mix prayer and praise and they make up a
delightful incense of mingled fragrance–but sometimes, when on Tabor's
top we stand transfigured with the light of God's goodness–all we can
do is praise His name. All that is within us is blessing Him and there
is no faculty left with which to pray Him to bless us! This is an
anticipation of the occupation and enjoyment of Heaven, where forever
and forever we shall bless and praise and magnify the Thrice-holy God.

At this time I pray that while I talk about this verse I may be
carrying it out–and may you be, each one, carrying it out, too, if,
indeed, the Lord has blessed you! Let us preach and hear with harps in
our hands and songs in our hearts! If I am to lead your thoughts, I
will lead them to the place of adoration. If you are His blessed
people, be His blessing people! If He has blessed you for many a day,
bless Him this day!

I. I call your attention, then, first to THE BLESSED OCCUPATION. "Bless
the Lord, O my Soul" A truly wonderful word is this! How can we bless
the Lord? For God to bless me I can understand and enjoy! But that it
should be mentioned in Scripture that I can bless God is one of those
incomprehensible things which, though certainly true, is not to be
explained. For man to bless God is a sort of Incarnation–God in human
flesh. God blessing me–that is Divine! But mysel/blessing Him–there
is something of the human, but also somewhat of the Divine.

The Divine blesses the human or the human could not bless the Divine!
God is with us or we could not be thus with God! Our blessing Him can
only be the echo of His blessing us! The more you turn it over the more
you will wonder at it. If it had said, "Praise the Lord, O my Soul,"
that would have been reasonable–but, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul,"
rises out of the region of reason into a still higher and more
spiritual atmosphere! These are heavenly words–"Bless the Lord, O my
Soul."

But how can we bless God? We cannot add to His happiness, or increase
His greatness, or enlarge His goodness. "O my Soul, you have said unto
the Lord, You are my Lord: my goodness extends not unto You!" What can
our poor drops contribute to the ocean? What can our nothingness bring
to His all-sufficiency? What can our darkness contribute to His light?
And yet, if the Bible says so, it must be so, for it never speaks in
vain. Idle words are in the speech of man, not in the writings of
Jehovah. If the Scripture teaches us to say, "Bless the Lord, O my
Soul," then it is a correct word. We may wonder at it, but we may not
dispute it.

How, then, can we bless God? I answer, first, God blesses us by
thinking well of us and we bless God by thinking well of Him. When the
Lord says in His heart, "This people shall be blessed," before ever He
has stretched out His hand to give anything, we are blessed by His
favorable regard for us. I beg you, in the same respect, to bless God
by sweet, holy, adoring, loving, grateful thoughts of Him. Think well
of Him who thinks so graciously of you! This, surely, is no task, no
burden. Such thinking is the happiest exercise of the mental powers!

To think of what God has done for me–why, it makes my heart begin to
beat more quickly than usual! My God! The very word is music! My Lord!
How pleasant the sound! How sweet it is to speak of our Father who is
in Heaven! "How precious also are Your thoughts unto me, O God!" To
turn over thoughts of what God is, what He has done, what He has been,
how He has dealt with us, how He has revealed Himself unto us, how He
has glorified His holy name–why, this is a heavenly pleasure!

Some of the best moments of devotion I have ever been able to enjoy I
have spent in entire silence–looking up. I sat still and wondered that
God should ever love me and I found a dew gathering about my eyes. I
thought of how He loved me and what that love had worked in me and for
me, till, not venturing to speak, I have been content to be silent
before the Lord in inexpressible rapture. It was not possible for me to
see Him, but yet I felt that He was very near and I looked up to Him as
my Father, my Friend, my All in All. My heart felt an inward glow under
a sense of Divine love and I could not have been happier if I had
possessed 10,000 worlds. Oh, this is blessing God, whom your heart, not
venturing to use words, has learned with every pulse to beat His praise
and with every throb to mean an inward love to Him.

Spend some time in that quiet, rapt devotion which gets beyond the use
of words into a communion of gratitude and love. Words are weak when
Love has to load them with her treasures and therefore she is content
to spare them the burden. "Bless the Lord, O my Soul." My soul shall do
what my tongue cannot! Think deeply of what the Lord has done. Do not
pass His mercies over superficially, but look into them. Pry into their
very heart–look into the deep things of God. Do not cease to think of
the Covenant of electing love, of everlasting faithfulness, of
redeeming blood, of pardoning Grace and all the ways in which Eternal
Love has shown Himself since that day when you first heard Him speak in
your ear, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with
loving kindness have I drawn you." To think well of God is one of the
chief ways in which we can bless Him.

We also bless God when we wish Him well. You can do a great deal in
this way of wishing well and desiring great things for the Lord's honor
and glory. God's wishes are all practically carried out. We cannot
carry out ours, but, at the same time, we ought to indulge them freely.
He that taught us to pray bade us begin, "Our Father which are in
Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done in
earth as it is in Heaven." Our prayers are not sufficiently directed to
the glory of the Lord. How seldom do we begin with praying for God's
name and kingdom! We put that last which should always be first.

We ought to pray far more than we do for the Lord Jesus Christ. Is it
not written, "Prayer also shall be made for Him continually and daily
shall He be praised"? Do you continually pray for Jesus and daily
praise Him? Pray for yourself, certainly, "Give us this day our daily
bread." But this comes after, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done."
Sit down and wish that all men knew God, that all men worshipped
Him–and let your wishes blaze up into prayers. Wish that all idols
were abolished and that Jehovah's name would be sung through every land
by every tongue. Wish well for His name, His glory, His Truth.

Lay home to your hearts the burden of His Church and long for the
success of its work. When you see His Truth dishonored and His Word,
itself, defamed and despised–be grieved, for this is a way of blessing
Him–when you abhor all that dishonors Him. Wish well for His Church,
His cause, His Truth, His people and all that concerns His glory. Pray
without ceasing, "Father, glorify Your Son." Turn your wishes into
prayers and as the first stage of thinking well is a blessing of God by
meditation, so this second stage of wishing well will be a blessing of
God by supplication. "Bless the Lord, O my Soul."

Think well, wish well. Then, next, you can bless God by speaking well
of Him. Perhaps you say very little about Him. Chide yourself for your
reticence. Perhaps you have even spoken against Him though you are His
child. I mean that you have fallen into such a state of heart that you
imagine that He deals harshly with you. Ah, this is the opposite of
blessing Him! Perhaps you have lost your husband or child, or in health
or property you are a sufferer–and it may be that the devil says to
you, "Curse God and die." Surely you will not listen to this vile
suggestion! No, no! A thousand times, "No!" Beloved, if you are His
child, far be it from you to curse your Father! And yet, in a modified
sense, you may do it by inward quarrelling with the will of the Lord in
His Providential acts towards you.

God's people provoke His Holy Spirit when they murmur against Him in
their hearts. A murmuring spirit is the very reverse of blessing the
Lord–especially when the murmurs take a loud voice–when they are not
merely choked and concealed within the bosom but when, every time you
speak, you complain bitterly of how the Lord deals with you and think
that He acts in a very harsh and trying way. Away with every rebellious
though! "Bless the Lord, O my Soul." "He has not dealt with us after
our sins." "Why does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of
his sins?" said Jeremiah in his Lamentations.

Let us lament for sin but let us not complain because of chastisement.
Indeed, some of us have nothing to complain of. We have everything for
which to praise Him and if we do not do so we deserve to be banished to
the Siberia of Despair. How can we complain? If we are not in Hell,
everything is mercy! If you, a pardoned sinner, had to spend the rest
of your days on earth in a stone cell with no food but bread and water,
performing the labor of a convict, yet, so long as you know that you
are pardoned and delivered from going down to Hell, you have a thousand
reasons why you should bless the Lord and you have no single reason to
complain! So long as you can say, "His mercy endures forever," you have
enough cause for unceasing praise.

But when the Lord gives you all things to enjoy. When He gives you food
to eat and raiment to put on. When He allows you to come up to His
house in peace and hear the Gospel–and have it sweetly applied to your
own heart–why, Beloved, you ought to speak well of the Lord who deals
so bountifully with you! Have you said anything to praise God today? "I
have had nobody to speak to," says one. Do you mean to say that you
have not said anything today to the Lord's praise? What? My dear
Brothers and Sisters, have you been silent all day? You are a rare sort
of people! How quiet your houses must be! You have said something, I am
sure. Do you not think that God ought to have a tithe of our words, at
the very least, and that somehow or other, to somebody or other, we
ought to speak well of His dear name every day?

"I have nothing to say," says one. Do not say it, then. But some of us
have a great deal to say and we dare not be silent about it! The wicked
speak loudly enough against God. You cannot quiet them. Why should we
be silent in any company? We have as much right to speak for God as
they have to speak against Him! If they ever complain of people singing
hymns in the street they have little cause to find fault–for they sing
in the street quite enough–and some of them at very unseemly hours. If
they say that we impose our religion–some of them impose their
blasphemies and assuredly we may take as much liberty as they take! We
shall not be muzzled like dogs either to please the world or its
master. "Bless the Lord, O my Soul!" Speak well of His name and let men
know that you have a God who is gracious to you in a wonderful manner.

Once more–be not satisfied with thinking well and wishing well, and
speaking well–but act well for God. "Bless the Lord, O my Soul," and
as He blesses you with real gifts–with gifts unspeakably
precious–bless His name by acts and deeds of holy service and
consecration. Sometimes indulge yourself with the delight of breaking
an alabaster box, very precious, and pouring its fragrance on your Lord
Jesus. Fetch out something rare and costly from your store and give to
His cause, and bless His name. Every now and then think to yourself, "I
must do something fresh for Jesus." Let your heart say–

"Oh, what shall I do my Sa vior to praise?" Invent for yourself some
little thing which may give pleasure to the Lord that He may not say to
you, "You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, neither have you
filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices." "Bless the Lord, O my
Soul," and do it with hand, purse, substance and sacrifice.

If you do truly bless Him, you will not be content with singing hymns
such as–

"Fly abroad, you mighty Gospel," but you will long to put a feather or
two into the wing of the Gospel to make it fly abroad! You will not
only say, "All hail the power of Jesus' name," but you will be wanting
to make that name known to others! You will endeavor to spread abroad
His praise by work in the Sunday school, or at the village station, or
on the tract district, or at the Dorcas Meeting! Bless the Lord not in
word only, but in deed and in truth, even as He blesses you! "Bless the
Lord, O my Soul."

I cannot enlarge farther. I have given you hints, bare hints, but they
may show you how you may bless the Lord after the manner in which He
blesses you, though the measure is far below what He does. As the whole
heavens may be reflected in a drop of water, so may infinite love be
mirrored in our affections.

II. And now, secondly, let us consider THE COMMENDABLE MANNER
mentioned. Half the virtue of a thing lies in the way in which it is
done. Indeed, there is usually a good deal more in the manner of an
action than in the action itself. One person would relieve a poor man
in such a way as to break his heart and another will give him nothing
and yet cheer him up. You can praise a man till he loathes you and
censure him till he loves you.

Now, in the service of God, it is not only what you bring but in what
spirit you bring it. The Lord loves adverbs as much as adjectives. How
is as important as What. So here it is, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul, and
all that is within me, bless His holy name." That mode of blessing God
to which we are called is very spiritual–a matter of soul and spirit.
I am not to bless God with my voice only, nor merely with the help of a
fine organ or a trained choir. But I am to do it after a far more
difficult manner. "Bless the Lord, O my Soul."

Soul music is the soul of music. The music of the soul is that which
pleases the ear of God–the great Spirit is delighted with that which
comes from our spirit. Why? Surely you do not think that even the music
of the best orchestra, majestic though it is, affords pleasure to God
in the sense in which sweet sounds are pleasing to us! As for all human
melody, it must seem so imperfect to the All-Glorious One that it is no
more to Him than the grating of an old saw to Mozart or Beethoven!

His idea of music is framed on a far higher and nobler platform of
taste than ever can be reached by mortal man. The songs of cherubim and
seraphim infinitely exceed all that we can ever raise, so far as mere
sound is concerned–and mere sound is as nothing to God. He could set
the winds to music, tune the roaring of the sea and harmonize the crash
of tempests! If He needed music, He would not ask of human lips and
mouths! A heart that loves Him makes music to Him! A heart that praises
Him has within itself all the harmonies that He delights in! The sigh
of love is to Him a lyric! The sob of repentance is melody! The inward
cries of His own children are an oratorio and their heart-songs are
true hallelujahs! "Bless the Lord, O my Soul."

The unheard of man is often best heard of God. Speechless praise–the
heart's deep meaning–this is what He loves. Spiritual worship!
Spiritual worship! Spiritual worship! And how often this is neglected!
You can go to a very fine Church where there is a very grand service
and there may be spiritual service there but, alas, it is more probable
that there will be no trace of it. You may go to a Quaker's room where
there are four bare whitewashed walls and a window with a Holland blind
drawn down and there may be spiritual worship there–but, on the other
hand, there may be stolid indifference and a formalism as fatal as the
gorgeous ceremonial.

It is neither the outward sumptuousness nor the plainness that will
ensure spirituality. And yet this is the life of all worship. Only the
conscious Presence of the Spirit of God will enable us to worship with
the soul–and that is the main thing–yes, the only important thing! I
do not greatly care whether a man wears a plain coat or a gown in
worship. I shall not make a fool of myself by putting on a gown, I
assure you! But I do not think that even if I did it would make much
difference so long as my heart was right in the sight of God.

If one man feels that he can worship God best in one way and another
feels that he can worship Him best in another way, it is not for his
brother to judge him–let each have his own way–only let each see to
it that he worships God, who is a Spirit, in spirit and in truth! This
is the vital point–the heart must be in every word–the spirit must go
with every

note. Everything which does not arise from a devout exercise of the
mental powers and even with the full occupation of the spiritual
faculties, falls short of that to which we exhort God at this time. The
right note is, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul." It is spiritual worship–it
is worship not from the teeth outwards, but from the heart that lies
deep within the man.

When we bless God, the sacred exercise should be intense. "All that is
within me, bless His holy name." We ought not to worship God in a
half-hearted sort of way as if it were our duty to bless God and we
felt it to be a weary business that needed to be taken care of as
quickly as we could and have done with it–and the sooner the better.
No, no! "All that is within me, bless His holy name." Come, my heart,
wake up and summon all the powers which wait upon you! Mechanical
worship is easy but worthless! Come, rouse yourself, my Brothers and
Sisters! Rouse yourself, O my Soul! "All that is within me, bless His
holy name."

What we need is a universal suffrage of praise from every member of our
manhood's commonwealth. Every faculty within our nature is to praise
God–our memory, our hope, our fear, our desire, our imagination–all
our capacities and all our Graces. There is not one part of a man's
constitution which is really a part of his manhood which should not
praise God. Yes, even the sense of humor should be sanctified to the
service of the Most High! Whatever faculty God has given you, O my
Soul, it has its place in the choir! Summon it to praise! If
Nebuchadnezzar praised his idol god with flute, harp, sackbut,
dulcimer, psaltery and all kinds of music, mind that you praise your
God with every faculty that you have within you so that there is no
part or power of your nature which is not used in Jehovah's praise.

What a difference there is between an unconcerned man and a man really
awakened! In your own case I can believe you to be bright and
intelligent–but your portrait–I will say nothing about it. When the
photographer fits that iron rest at the back of your head and keeps you
waiting 10 minutes while he gets his plates ready, why, your soul goes
out of town and nothing remains but that heavy look! When the work of
art is finished it is you and yet it is not you! You were driven out by
the touch of that iron! Another time, perhaps, your portrait is taken
instantaneously, while you are in an animated attitude–while your
whole soul is there–and your friends say, "Yes, that is your very
self!" I want you to bless the Lord with your soul at home as in that
last portrait!

I saw a book today where the writer says in the preface, "We have given
a portrait of our mother, but there was a kind of sacred twinkle about
her eyes which no photograph could reproduce." Now, it is my heart's
desire that you praise God with that sacred twinkle–with that feature
or faculty which is most characteristic of you. Let your eyes praise
Him! Let your brow praise Him! Let every part of your manhood be
aroused and so aroused as to be in fine form. I would have your soul
rise to the high-water mark! Give me a man on fire when God is to be
praised! Let "all that is within me bless His holy name."

God is not to be half praised. A whole God and a holy God should have
the whole of our powers engaged in blessing His holy name. Our blessing
of God must be intense–so intense that all our powers, faculties and
forces are unanimous in it. The text seems to remind me that we ought
to do this repeatedly, because in my text the word "bless" occurs
twice. "Bless the Lord, O my Soul, bless His holy name." And in the
next verse there is, "bless the Lord," again. He is a Triune
God–render Him triune praise! Bless Him! Bless Him! Bless Him–be
always blessing Him!

How you have looked at that dear child at times, you loving mothers!
You have pressed him to your bosom and you have said, "Bless him, and
bless him, and bless him again." Shall our children enjoy such
affectionate repetitions and will we not bless God and bless Him and
bless Him, and bless Him again? "Oh," you say, "it is a very little
thing to do!" I know it is little in itself, but take care that you do
not rob Him of it. If your gratitude can only render a small return,
this must not be a reason for withholding it. Thank Him! Praise Him!
Bless Him!

Begin your days with blessing Him. Begin your meals with blessing Him.
Go not to your beds without blessing Him. Wake not in the morning
without blessing Him. Even in the dead of night, if you lie sleepless,
still bless Him. Oh, what happy lives we should live if we were always
blessing Him! Let us resolve to institute a new era and from this hour
commence the age of praise–

I will praise Him in life; I will praise Him in death; And praise Him
as long as He lends me breath." May this be the holy resolution of
every blood-bought one in this assembly! We are all needed for this
work. Who among us would like to be excused from so honorable a
service?

Thus have I shown you the blessed occupation and the commendable manner
of it. May the Holy Spirit help us to love praise and live praise till
we perfect praise!

III. But I ask your attention earnestly for a minute to a third point
and that is THE SACRED OBJECT of this blessing. The text is, in the
original, "Bless Jehovah, O my Soul." In the reading of the Psalms, as
a rule, I frequently put the word, "Jehovah," before you instead of,
"the Lord," for you know that wherever we get, the "LORD," in capital
letters, it is "Jehovah" in the original–and why should we not know
that the sacred name is used by the inspired writer?

I am afraid that a great many so-called Christians do not worship
Jehovah at all. The god of the present period is a new god, newly
sprung up. The Old Testament is looked upon by some as if it were a
worn-out Book and the God of Israel is regarded as a deity of the olden
time and not the only living and true God. "Ah!" they say, "He is a
very imperfect Revelation" and then they go on to reverence their own
effeminate version of the Godhead.

For my own part I know nothing of a new god. I adore the God of
Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob–the God that made the heavens and the
earth. I worship the God that cut Rahab and wounded the crocodile at
the Red Sea–the God that led His people through the wilderness. I
worship the God that gave them the land of Canaan for a heritage. "This
God is our God forever and ever. He shall be our guide even unto
death." "Bless Jehovah, O my Soul." Let who will worship Baal or
Moloch–let who will turn to the gods of Greece or Rome. My Soul, bless
Jehovah and adore His sacred name! The gods of evolution and
agnosticism are none of mine!

These invented deities, or demons, I leave to those who dote on them.
Be it mine to lead this great congregation with such a Psalm as this–

"Before Jehovah's awful Throne,

You nations bow with sacred joy

Know that the Lord is God alone;

He can create, and He destroy."

But the text says, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul: and all that is within
me, bless His holy name." What is meant by

blessing His name? The name of God is that by which He reveals Himself,
so that the God we have to worship is the

Jehovah of Revelation. Here, again, we fall foul of many. They worship
the god of reason–the conception of the cultured

mind–the god whom they have invented for themselves by their great
wisdom. The god whom men find out for

themselves is not the true God. I think that this day it is true as in
Paul's day, "The world by wisdom knew not God."

"Can you, by searching, find God?" As well might you search for the
springs of the sea as expect to find God by science !

I often hear people say, "They go from Nature up to Nature's God." It
is a very long step–too far for human strength! Stand on the highest
Alp and you will perceive that you will never step into Heaven from
there. It is far easier to go from Nature's God to Nature and far safer
to believe in Him who stoops out of the heavens and reveals Himself to
you. However, let me say to all Believers–"Bless His holy name," that
is, bless the God who is revealed to us and bless Him as He is revealed
to us.

Do not look around you for another god. Begin with the God with whom
the Bible begins. Read its first word–"In the beginning God." Begin
with the God with whom the New Testament begins in the Gospel of
John–"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God." Keep to Revelation. There is God's name spelled out
in capitals! Believe the inspired Word, for it will never mislead you.
O Friends, if I did not believe in the Infallibility of Scripture–the
absolute Infallibility of it from cover to cover–I would never enter
this pulpit again! If it is left to me to discriminate and to judge how
much of this Book is true and how much false, then I must, myself,
become Infallible, or what guide do I have?

If my compass always points to the north I know how to use it–but if
it veers to other points of the compass, and I am to judge out of my
own mind whether it is correct or not–I am as well without the thing
as with it. If my Bible is always right, it will lead me right–and as
I believe it is so, I shall follow it, God helping me! I will not judge
the Book–the Book judges me–

"This is the Judge that ends the strife, Where wit and reason fail."

God has revealed Himself in different ways and manners through His
Prophets and Apostles, and as such let us bless Him tonight. We rejoice
in Him who, in the Person of the Lord Jesus and in the Scriptures of
Truth has graciously unveiled His face. "Bless His holy name."

But then notice that the Psalm dwells especially upon one point. "Bless
His holy name." Now, a babe in Divine Grace can bless God for His
goodness, but only a grown Believer will bless God for His holiness.
His holiness is an august attribute, an attribute which comprehends all
the rest, for it means His wholeness, His perfection, His holiness. It
is an attribute which looks darkly on sinful men. Apart from the Lord
Jesus Christ, it seems to thunder and lighten against the sinner. But
as for those of us who are reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
it smiles upon us!

These see holiness resplendent in the great Sacrifice of Calvary, for
they perceive how God would not ever pardon sin so as to violate His
justice, but in His infinite holiness would sooner die Himself upon the
Cross than that His Law should not be vindicated! Saints conspicuously
see God's holiness! Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, we worship
You! We bless You! Beloved, do you love a holy God? Do you bless a holy
God? While you bless Him for His mercy? Do you equally bless Him for
His holiness? You bless Him for His bounty, but do you feel that you
could not thus bless Him if you were not fully aware that He is
perfectly righteous? "Bless His holy name."

Yes, when that holiness burns like fire and threatens to devour the
guilty, let us still bless His holy name! When we see His holiness
consuming the great Sacrifice we bow before the Lord in deep dread of
soul, but we still bless His holy name. An unholy God? It were absurd
to think of such a Being! But a thrice-holy God–let us bless and
praise Him! When men or women can say, "We love and bless and praise a
holy God," there is something of holiness in them! God the Holy Spirit
has begun to make you holy–since to appreciate holiness you must
yourself be holy! No man can see the beauty of holiness until his eyes
have been washed in the river of the Water of Life–and if God has made
you pure so that you can praise His holiness–He has given you to be a
partaker of His holiness!

So I have put before you in a few words the Truth of God that the one
blessed Object of your praise is the God of Abraham–the God of the Old
and New Testaments–who has revealed His name, the God of perfect
holiness. "Bless Jehovah, O my Soul: and all that is within me, bless
His holy name."

IV. I have done when I add this fourth point. Let us remember THE
SUITABLE MONITOR. In the text a suitable monitor appears. A Christian
man who wants somebody to look after him is a very imperfect Christian
man, for he who has the love of God in his soul will look after
himself. Who is it that says to David, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul"?
Why, it is David talking to David. The man speaks to himself! Beloved,
may my voice be useful to you at this time–but the proof of it will be
that from now on your own voice will suffice and you will often give
yourself the exhortation–"Bless the Lord, O my Soul."

Some of you go out preaching or you teach a class in a Sunday school.
Keep on with that but do not forget to look after one pupil of yours
who needs your care very greatly. I mean, look to yourself and every
now and then say, "My Soul, bless the Lord." Where are you, now? You
have been grumbling of late. Wake up and say, "Bless the Lord, O my
Soul." You have been dull and cold-hearted of late. Chide yourself, for
this will not do. If you have this monitor, you will have one that is
always at home. You will not have to send across the road for a
minister. Here is a spiritual chaplain who will be resident with you
and always ready with his personal advice.

Will you not try to practice your ministry upon yourself and begin at
once to apply to yourself all that you would say to another whom you
would excite to bless the Lord? Ought you not to do it? Are you not
afraid of growing cold in this holy service? "No," you say, "I am not."
Then I am afraid that you are cold already! "No," you say, "I am full
of life." Will you always be so? Man's security is the devil's
opportunity. Whenever you say to yourself, "All is well with me," I
fear for you! A foul fiend is watching for your halting and he laughs
as he sees how you delude yourself! You are not all you think you are!
Stir yourself and praise the Lord!

Practice this praising of God when you are stimulated by the example of
others. If you hear others praising God, say to yourself, "Bless the
Lord, O my Soul." Do not let any man praise God more than you do. When
you see your Brothers and Sisters aglow with praising God, do not
grovel in the dust and moan, "Our souls can neither fly, nor go to
reach eternal joys," but stretch your wings and rise to hallelujahs!
Rest not till a gracious example has stimulated you!

But if you happen to be where there is nobody to stimulate you and
where everybody goes the other way, then praise God alone. Say to
yourself, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul. I dwell among lions. But none the
less for their roaring, bless the

Lord, O my Soul." That will stop the lions' mouths. What if you are in
prison, like Paul and Silas? Bless the Lord! Nothing shakes prison
walls and breaks jailers' hearts like the praises of the Lord! Here I
am where everybody doubts the holy God. Bless the Lord, O my Soul and
be all the firmer and all the bolder! If everybody sneers at Divine
Truth, bless the Lord, O my Soul. Let all men know that there is one in
the world who does not sneer at Revelation! Let opposition be like a
strong blast to make the furnace seven times hotter. "Bless the Lord, O
my Soul." What have I to do with whether other people bless God or not?
I must praise Him all the more if others are dumb before Him!

This, dear Friends, is how it ought to be from me personally. If I do
not praise the Lord the stones in the wall will cry out against me–and
it will complain of you, also, if you are silent. You owe Him more than
many. If all forget, yet you remember. This is pleasant as well as
profitable. Praise is not medicine–it is meat and drink. It is
salutary and it is also sweet. Is any other occupation comparable to
blessing the Lord? Is there anything that you can do which surpasses
the spending of your life in magnifying the Lord?

If you practice it, it will be profitable to you. It will make you grow
in Divine Grace. It will make your burden light. It will make your way
to Heaven seem short. It will make you fearlessly face the world. If
you have God within your heart and you are blessing His name, you will
not mind your outward circumstances. Whether God gives or takes, you
will continue to bless Him. This will be useful to you in saving
others. A praising heart is a soul-winning heart. If we bless God more
we shall bless our neighbors more. A happy Christian attracts others by
his joy.

Lastly, to bless God will prepare us for Heaven. Praise is the
rehearsal of our eternal song. By Grace we learn to sing and in Glory
we continue to sing. What will some of you do when you get to Heaven if
you go on grumbling all the way? Do not hope to get to Heaven in that
style! But now, begin to bless the name of the Lord! I have not spoken
thus to all of you. Some of you cannot bless the Lord as yet. Will you
try? Think how sad it is to be in a state of mind in which you cannot
render acceptable praise. You must be born-again before you can bless
the Lord. May the Lord convince you of the necessity that He should
bless you before you can bless Him!

May you receive His blessing in a moment by faith in the Lord Jesus!
The Lord grant it, for Jesus' sake! Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON– Psalm 103.