SECTION ONE Blessings in the Psalms The concept of blessing occurs throughout the Psalms. Often the word "blessed" is found; more often the concept and content of blessedness appears. The person who is blessed is in a very rich condition as one who reveres the Lord and tries to be obedient to him. Sometimes the Psalms proclaim this blessedness. That is, they tell us that we have it whether we happen to feel it at the time or not! At other times the Psalms actually extend or pronounce the blessing to us. In this case, it is more than a wish, a hope or a prayer. It is an actual pronouncement in which a gift from God is given and we should receive it with open hands and hearts. The Psalmists clearly see God as someone who desires to give wholeness and peace to his children. And God's children are to see themselves as "blessed people". Please read these selections from the Psalms slowly, carefully, and with reflection. We encourage you to take a small number of them at a time and muse on them. Aim to take each blessing into your heart. Remind yourself of the rich gifts God has made available to you. Then pause and give thanks to God for such gifts.

Psalm 1:1 "Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers." Psalm 2:12 "Happy are all who take refuge in him." Psalm 3:8 "Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people!" Psalm 4:7-8 "You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety." Psalm 5:12 "For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield." 1

Psalm 16:5-6 "The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage." Psalm 16:11 "You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long." Psalm 24:5 "They will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their salvation." Psalm 29:11 "May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!" Psalm 32:1-2 "Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." Psalm 33:12 "Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage." Psalm 33:22 "Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you." Psalm 34:8 "O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him."

Psalm 40:4 "Happy are those 2

who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods." Psalm 41:1-3 "Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities." Psalm 52:8 "But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever." Psalm 65:4 "Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple." Psalm 67:6-7 "The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us. May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him." Psalm 72:1-4 "Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor." Psalm 72:17 "May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy." Psalm 81:10 "I am the Lord your God, 3

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it."

Psalm 84:4-5 "Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion." Psalm 84:12 "O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you." Psalm 89:15 "Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance." Psalm 90:17 "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands— O prosper the work of our hands!" Psalm 91:14-16 "Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation." Psalm 92:12-15 "The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." Psalm 103:17-18 "But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant 4

and remember to do his commandments." Psalm 112:1 "Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments." Psalm 115:12-15 "The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; he will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great. May the Lord give you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 118:26 "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord." Psalm 119:1-2 "Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart." Psalm 119:165 "Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble." Psalm 128:1-4 "Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. This is the man blessed who fears the Lord." Psalm 128:5-6 "The Lord bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children’s children. 5

Peace be upon Israel!" Psalm 133:1-3 "How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore" Psalm 134:3 "May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion." Psalm 144:12-15 "May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace. May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields, and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets. Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the Lord."

Psalm 146:5-6 "Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever." Psalm 147:12-14 "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. He grants peace within your borders; he fills you with the finest of wheat." The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright, 1989, from the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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