1422. I will bless them that bless thee. That this signifies all happiness to those who acknowledge the Lord from the heart, is evident from the signification of a "blessing," as involving all and each of the things that are from the Lord, as well those that are good as those that are true; thus celestial, spiritual, natural, worldly, and corporeal things; and because in the universal sense "blessing" embraces all these, it may be seen in each passage, from the connection, what is signified by "to bless;" for this adapts itself to the things of which it is predicated. From this it is evident that "I will bless them that bless thee," signifies all happiness to those who acknowledge the Lord from the heart; for in the internal sense, as already said, the Lord is here treated of.
[2] Among the ancients, "to bless Jehovah," or "the Lord," was a customary form of speech, as is evident from the Word. Thus in David:
Bless ye God in the congregations, the Lord from the fountain of Israel (Ps. 68:26).
Again:
Sing to Jehovah, bless His name, proclaim His salvation from day to day (Ps. 96:2).
In Daniel:
Then was the secret revealed in a vision of the night; therefore Daniel blessed the God of the heavens; he said, Blessed be the name of God Himself for ever and ever, for wisdom and power are His (Dan. 2:19-20).
Of Zacharias and Simeon we also read that they "blessed God" (Luke 1:64, 2:28). Here it is evident that "to bless the Lord" is to sing to Him, to proclaim the good tidings of His salvation, to preach His wisdom and power, and thus to confess and acknowledge the Lord from the heart. They who do this cannot but be blessed by the Lord, that is, be gifted with those things which belong to blessing, namely, with celestial, spiritual, natural, worldly, and corporeal good; these, when they follow each other in this order, are the goods in which there is happiness.
[3] As "to bless Jehovah," or "the Lord," and "to be blessed by Jehovah," or "the Lord," was a common form of speech, it was therefore common also to say "Blessed be Jehovah." As in David:
Blessed be Jehovah, because He hath heard the voice of my supplications (Ps. 28:6).
Again:
Blessed be Jehovah, for He hath made His mercy wonderful to me (Ps. 31:21).
Again:
Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayers, nor His mercy from me (Ps. 66:20).
Again:
Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things and blessed be His glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory (Ps. 72:18-19).
Again:
Blessed art Thou, O Jehovah teach me Thy statutes (Ps. 119:12).
Again:
Blessed be Jehovah, my Rock, that teacheth my hands (Ps. 144:1).
In Luke:
Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying, Blessed be the God of Israel, for He hath visited and wrought deliverance for His people (Luke 1:67-68).