Exegeting the Hymns #49 - 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

w/m - Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin

Bless the Lord oh my soul, Oh my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before, Oh my soul
I'll worship Your Holy name

The sun comes up
It's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes

You're rich in love
And You're slow to anger
Your name is great
And Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness
I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons
For my heart to find

And on that day
When my strength is failing
The end draws near
And my time has come
Still my soul will
Sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years
And then forevermore

This is one of the most recognized melodies in Christian music history. Just hum a few bars and most people who know Christian music will immediately start singing along. That is what a great melody does! This song, like Casting Crowns’ “Oh My Soul” is a conversation between the believer and his own soul. This is common in the Psalms (42, 43, 103, 104, 116, 146). This song is clearly drawn from David’s cry in Psalm 103:1 which begins, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.” Redman calls on his soul, like David to “Worship His Holy name, Sing like never before, Oh my soul. I’ll worship Your Holy name.”

The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning. It’s time to sing Your song again. Too many times, I forget to start the day, first, praising God for giving me another day, and second, focusing my mind on carrying out His will for my life. It’s those days that I usually become frustrated, impatient, angry, resentful, anxious, and basically controlled by the flesh. What a difference it makes on the whole day to start it with a two-way conversation with the Lord through prayer and Bible study. 

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes. When we start the day in communion with our Savior, the tribulations we face seem smaller, the temptations that come our way are far weaker, and the trials in general lack the intensity the would normally have. Each day, this should be our prayer, to remain faithful, one day at a time, and still be singing His praises from morning until night.

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger. Your name is great, and Your heart is kind. How true this is. God’s love for His children in incomprehensible to our minds. We fail Him every day, but instead of giving us the justice we deserve, He loves us and spreads His kindness all around us.  

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing. Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. If we exhausted the vocabulary of every known and unknown language, we could never find enough words to give God adequate praise. He blesses us in ways we aren’t even aware of, and may never be, this side of eternity.

And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come, still my soul will sing Your praise unending. Ten thousand years and then forevermore. One of the best lines in any hymn came from John Newton, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.” What a thought. Eternity never gets any shorter. That blows my mind, but so does the immensity and sovereignty of our God. May our final testimony be that we finished strong and persevered until the end.

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