What does it mean to “bless” the Lord?

How does David bless the Lord in Psalm 103?     With ALL that is within me.

     By remembering personal benefits:

Forgives all our iniquity

Heals all your diseases

Redeems your life from the pit

Crowns you with steadfast love and mercy

Satisfies you with good

     By remembering community benefits:

Justice

Revelation

Covenant

Compassion

Eternal Commitment

Kingship

Who are the recipients of these benefits?

Who else blesses the Lord?

How does Psalm 104 relate to Psalm 103?

How does the psalmist of 104 bless the Lord?

By marveling at God’s greatness

By marveling at God’s creation

By marveling at God’s provision

By marveling at God’s judgment

By recognizing God’s delight in his own work

By celebrating God’s work

By asking God to delight in his (the poet’s) work

How should we respond to God’s works?

Forget not all his benefits!

Offer your work as praise to God.

Psalm 90 ... God’s steadfast love satisfies and fills our short, difficult lives with eternal significance.

Psalm 118 A Song of Steadfast Love

The command: give thanks

The reason: “for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

A song of steadfast love: “Thank You, God! for Your faithful, loyal love and salvation.”

1.  Praising God for His great mercy and deliverance (1–18)

The call (1–4)

The testimony (5–18)

Brief testimony and reflection on God’s steadfast love (5–9)

Longer, more specific report (10–14)

Joyful gratitude (15–18)

2. Corporate praise (19–29)

OUR GATE (19–21)

OUR CORNERSTONE (22–24)

OUR SALVATION (25–26)

OUR LIGHT (27; also Jn 8:12; Jn 1:4–5)

OUR SACRIFICE (27)

OUR THANKSGIVING (28–29)

A Song for the Doubting: "I Will Remember"

1. Context

2. Content

The First Complaint (1-3)

Second Complaint (4-9)

Resolution to Remember (10-15)

Meditation and Reflections (16-20)

Psalm 80, A Song of Restoration, “Restore us, O God!”

Stanza 1: The FLOCK Crying Out to the Shepherd (vv. 1-3)

This bold prayer is based on the PERSON and the PROMISES of God.

-He is our sovereign KING. (v1; Ps 2)

-He is our sovereign SHEPHERD. (v1; John 10; Heb 13:20-21)

-He is MIGHTY and able to SAVE. (v2)

Stanza 2: The intensity of their situation (vv. 4-7)

-1st question: HOW LONG? (v4 & Ps 30:5)

-more passionate, urgent 2nd chorus, v7, calling on O God of hosts

Stanza 3: The VINE Crying out to the vine-keeper (vv. 8-19)

Their prayer is based upon God’s PURPOSES for His people, who are like a vine.

-The image

-The planter

-Their history

-The 2nd question: WHY? (v12)

-The hedge -The keeper

-The cry: is also based on the faithfulness and compassion of God.

-The son -The contrast (smile v3 vs frown/rebuke v16)

-The giver of life (Rom 8:11; 10:13) … divine initiative and human responsibility (Romans 10:13; 8:11)

-The final, climactic chorus: appealing to O LORD, (God’s covenant name,Yahweh) God of hosts

Psalm 46 is a rallying cry for God’s people in times of trouble. It teaches us to boldly stare our troubles in the face and courageously sing, “We will not fear, [for] the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” 

Though the psalm describes cataclysmic trouble in both the natural and civilized world, it fills our hearts with confidence that if God can be our help and refuge in times such as those, he will surely come to our aid in our day to day troubles as well.

Psalm 40 … A Song for the Waiting

Because God’s faithfulness and steadfast love is rock solid, remember His past grace, praise Him and point others to trust in Him, and prayerfully wait with confident hope for more grace in the future.

Past grace 

Waited: God’s merciful rescue (1-3) (5 consecutive past actions)

Our responses (some present tense, some past)

Praising: A New Song (3)

Trusting: God’s multiplied blessings (4-5) 

Obeying: Our response to God (6-10)

Proclaiming and declaring: (9-10)

    3. Present plea/prayer (11-17)

Preserving: His appeal to God’s character. (11)

Admitting: His failure (12)

Pleading: His cries for God’s help (13-15)

The rock bottom foundation of our forgiveness and our fearlessness and our joy is the commitment that God has to his own great name. First, he is committed to act for his own name’s sake. And then, for that reason, he is committed to act for his people. (John Piper)

Future waiting with confident hope (16-17)

“God’s grace is ever cascading over the waterfall of the present from the inexhaustible river of grace coming to us from the future into the ever-increasing reservoir of grace in the past. In the next five minutes, you will receive sustaining grace flowing to you from the future, and you will accumulate another five minutes’ worth of grace in the reservoir of the past.” (John Piper)

Psalm 22 A Song for the Suffering

1. Context

2. Content

   a. Cries and Complaints (1-11)

   b. Depictions of Suffering (12-18)

   c. The Turn (21)

   d. The Vow (22)

   e. Fulfilling the Vow (23-26)

   f. Foretelling (27-31)

3. Three Story Structure

   a. Israel/David

   b. Jesus

   c. You

4. 8 Reflections

Psalm 8 is a song of praise that points us to Jesus. 

He is the Lord with the majestic name above all names that should be praised. 

He is the Baby, the Incarnate Son of God, the offspring of the woman who was promised back in Genesis 3.

He was praised by children, and those songs fueled the rage that ultimately led to the cross where he defeated God’s enemy, Satan. 

He used the foolishness and weakness of the cross to confound the wisdom of the wise and the strength of the strong.

He is the Second Adam that came and put everything under his feet.

One day all will be restored and His majestic name, the name above all names, will truly be honored and praised in ALL the earth!

Charisse introduces our study of selected Psalms, "A Song For Every Season," by teaching through Psalm 1 and 2. Her title, "Your Blessed Life Now" is a parody of Joel Osteen's book titled, "Your Best Life Now."