Hebrew Words for Praise: Barak


Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will ever be in my mouth. 

Psalm 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is in me bless His holy Name.


How do you bless God—God who has everything and made everything, who always was and always will be the highest, holiest, most glorified? Is it even possible? What could we possibly bless God with that He doesn’t already have? 


For the longest time, I couldn’t find an answer to those questions. I couldn’t find anything I could bless God with that was “enough.” And in my more cynical days, I thought it seemed kind of self-serving for God to tell us to bless Him anyway. 


Of course, God is much smarter than I am, and in His kindness—by letting me geek out on language—I started to understand what I could offer. I am amazed at the ways that He was (and is) so intentional and specific in what He says. Of the multiple Hebrew words that describe praise or blessing, these verses use the word barak, which means to bless, to kneel


Barak is a about honor. When we barak the Lord, it is often a physical act of submission, that bestows honor on God and implies adoration of Him. We have the great joy of being able to bless the Lord by intentionally kneeling and submitting to Him; the honor of ordering our lives under His authority. 


Barak also appears several times in the Old Testament between people (for example, Genesis 47:10), and occasionally you see God barak people (Psalm 115:12-13). When it’s between people, barak is an act of honor and submission to the authority of another—in Genesis 47, Jacob honors Pharaoh’s authority. When barak is initiated by God, it is God bestowing honor on His faithful children. He is not kneeling to them nor is He placing Himself beneath them; rather He is giving them a place of honor and recognition, not unlike the father of the prodigal son who honors his returned child with a celebration.


We are called to barak the Lord always. It’s not so different from the command Jesus gives to take up your cross, to lay down your life. It is an intentional action to submit yourself to the glory and purpose of God, who is the holy authority, worthy of adoration. So what Psalm 34 and 103 are saying is “I will kneel before God always” and that all that is in us, all that we are and every part of our lives, “submit to and adore His Name.” God is not being selfish in commanding barak; it is for our good that we do (Psalm 92:1). Isn’t it amazing that even when God commands us to honor Him, we are blessed?!


I can’t give God gold or mansions or anything with significant material value. But what I can do—and what I am commanded to do—is to submit myself under His authority, to honor Him as King and Savior, to yield and lay at His feet all of my life so that He can use it for His glory. What I can give Him is a life lived in adoration and submission to Him, a life that brings recognition to His lordship and love. In a world that champions self-indulgence and self-determination, to barak the Lord is a testimony to the holiness and worth of the One True King. 


Much Love,


Amanda

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