I Bless Your Name

In prisoners’ chains
With bleeding stripes
Paul and Silas prayed that night
And in their pain began to sing
Their chains were loosed
And they were free

I bless Your Name
I bless Your Name
I give You honor, give You praise
You are the Life, the Truth, the Way
I bless Your Name
I bless Your Name

Some midnight hour
If you should find
You’re in a prison in your mind
Reach out and praise
Defy those chains
And they will fall
In Jesus’ Name

We bless Your Name
We bless Your Name
We give You honor, give You praise
You are the Life, the Truth, the Way
We bless Your Name
We bless Your Name

You are the Life, the Truth, the Way
We bless Your Name
We bless Your Name

This particular song is not an old hymn, but one that follows well in the hymn tradition because it is based upon a story from Scripture.  It is sung by the group Selah and I have attached a link to the song if you aren’t familiar with it.  The song has powerful words, sung by powerful singers, with a powerful message for each of us.  I hope you enjoy it.

In Acts Chapter 16, the Bible records a very familiar story which is the inspiration for this particular song.  Here’s that passage:

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 

The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.  And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.  And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,  And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,  And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.  And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.  And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:  Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.  And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

This particular story, although very familiar to all of us, is one where we tend to focus on the end of the story.  We get inspired by Paul and Silas praising God.  We think about the earthquake, the release from the chains, and the salvation of the Philippian jailor and his family.  What tends to get less of our focus is the beating that Paul and Silas took for preaching the Gospel and casting out the demon.  We sometimes believe that good things happen to godly people, and bad things happen to wicked people.  This passage challenges that theology because we see bad things happening to godly men who were doing the work of the Lord.  For me personally, this is not a passage to shy away from or be discouraged by, but one that should encourage us in the midst of battles and trials and tribulations.  We serve a God that sees us, knows what we are going through, and has a plan all along.  God was not surprised by the reaction of the multitude.  God was not shocked that Paul and Silas were beaten that night.  God was in control all along, and He went to great lengths to seek and save the lost – a jailor in the inner prison who did not know that he would encounter godly men and a Holy God that night, and that his life would be changed forever.  I also find it interesting that our God who is powerful enough to send an earthquake that shakes the prison walls, did not heal Paul and Silas from the stripes on their backs.  The Bible tells us that the jailor took them to his home, and washed Paul and Silas’ stripes.  How interesting.  God just performed a miracle.  Couldn’t He perform a miracle in Paul and Silas’ lives and heal them instantly?  Absolutely.  However, He had a different plan and I am grateful that I can trust His plans even in those times when I think I need a miracle, but one does not come.  This song reminds us that we can in the midst of various trials and tribulations, bless His name.  We can praise Him and give Him the honor and glory He deserves.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “And in their pain began to sing” – Probably the toughest lyric in this song in my opinion.  They didn’t sing after their chains were loosed.  The Bible doesn’t record them singing after the jailor asked how he could be saved.  They praised God smack dab in the middle of their pain.  As a fan of songs and hymns, this is one of the things I want to know when I get to Heaven.  I want to hear that song sung by Paul and Silas that night.  I want to know what words they were singing that came from the depths of their soul.  Praise that touched the very heart of God.  I know that there are a lot of great hymns I would hope I could sing (Great is thy faithfulness, My God can do anything, and many others), but I don’t know if I would have the faith to put those words in action.  I hope that in those difficult and painful and challenging times in my life that I can learn from the example of Paul and Silas and sing in the midst of my pain.

• “Reach out and praise, defy those chains” – I don’t think the author of this hymn is encouraging us to be fool-hearty or unrealistic about the chains and struggles in our lives.  I think he is reminding us to do what Paul and Silas did.  They didn’t focus on their chains, their circumstances, or their predicament.  They focused on the Lord.  Not a “Woe is me, Lord.  How did you let me get in this situation?” mindset. But a “God you are awesome no matter what my circumstances” mindset.  A “God you are worthy of praise whether I am on top of the mountain or in the midst of the valley” mindset.  A “God you deserve my praise and adoration whether I feel like it or not” mindset.  That is the defiance I think the author is talking about, and I think that is the right kind of mindset to have in those tough times.

One of the subtle changes in the lyrics to this song is found in the chorus.  You will see the author transition from “I bless your name” to “We bless your name.”  I think the story of Paul and Silas is ultimately a story about Christian brothers helping and supporting one another.  Paul could have gone to Phillipi on his own, but he chose Silas to go with him (Acts Ch. 15).  He knew that he needed a friend — a brother.  Someone to partner with him in ministry.  These men ministered together, and also endured the beating together.  But guess what.  The Bible tells us that Paul and Silas prayed together; that Paul and Silas sang praises unto God together.  They were in this together.

I hope that this song and these words encourage you to endure tough situations and not give up hope, but continue to bless His name. And I also hope that these words encourage you to find a friend, a co-laborer with Christ, that can support you, pray with you, cry with you, endure tough times with you, and sing God’s praises with you.  I hope that you can find someone to praise God and say together “We bless your name.”