Bless The Lord

Theme: A Song of Praise

Scripture: Psalm 103

Objectives: (From the D6 Fusion Sunday School Lesson book)

Know: God deserves our continuous praise for all He does for us.

Think: Always be mindful of the blessings of God in my life.

Do: Praise God daily for the many blessing He gives.

B1 This deals with a lot of God’s attributes.

B2 Psalm 103:1-2,

C1 Introduction of David’s song

C2 Praising God

C3 Bless

D1 The Hebrew word is בָּרַךְ bârak (baw rhack).

D2 It means

E1 The greater to the lesser: a boon, blessing, etc. It is to confer something good on or to someone (source).

E2 The lesser to the greater: kneel, praise, etc. It is to glorify and to regard as sacred (source).

D3 Uses

E1 Genesis 1:22 (MEV) Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

E2 Psalm 16:7 (MEV) I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my affections also instruct me in the night seasons.

E3 Psalm 10:3 (MEV) For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire; he blesses the greedy and despises the Lord.

C4 All that is within me probably signifies the difference between mere outward worship and inward worship. Mark 7:6 (MEV) He answered, “Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.

B3 Psalm 103:3-5, Some benefits

C1 Forgives all

D1 What did the Psalmist know that many of his contemporaries did not? Hebrews 10:4 CSB - For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

D2 Hebrews 10:10 CSB - By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

C2 Heals all. Is this physical or spiritual or both?

C3 Redeems life from destruction.

D1 What destruction is he referring to?

D2 The word for redeems is גָּאַל gâʼal and refers to kinsman redeemer.

D3 What does this remind you of? Compare: Ruth 4:13-14 and Isaiah 44:6 (MEV) Thus says the Lord the King of Israel, and his Redeemer the Lord of Hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; besides Me there is no God.

C4 Crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies.

D1 It is understood that the crown is woven with lovingkindness and compassion. (Source)

D2 Matthew Henry comments: and what greater dignity is a poor soul capable of than to be advanced into the love and favour of God? (Source)

C5 Satisfies our mouths which renews our youth

D1 Is there anything that is more satisfying than God’s blessings?

D2 What blessing has He given you?

D3 1 Timothy 6:17 (MEV) Command those who are rich in this world that they not be conceited, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who richly gives us all things to enjoy.

B4 Psalm 103:6-8,

C1 Name one blessing from these verses that you have experienced.

C2 What is the balance between God’s justice (judgment) and mercy?

B5 Psalm 103:9-12,

C1 Has God ever been angry at you? How did you respond?

C2 Why is God’s mercy extended to those who fear Him?

C3 Is this an illustration of God’s mercy?

D1 A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. "But I don't ask for justice, the mother explained. "I plead for mercy. "But your son does not deserve mercy, Napoleon replied. "Sir, the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for. "Well, then, the emperor said, "I will have mercy. And he spared the woman's son. (Source)

D2 Or can God extend mercy because justice and God’s conditions were met?

E1 Hebrews 9:26 (MEV) For then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the world was created, but now He has appeared once at the end of the ages to put away sin by sacrificing Himself.

E2 Old Testament: Exodus 20:6 NKJV - but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

F1 All are required to love God and keep His law. If a person does love God, they will want to keep the law.

F2 No one can do this: Romans 3:20 NKJV - Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law [is] the knowledge of sin.

E3 New Testament:

F1 2 Thessalonians 1:8 NKJV - in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

F2 1 Peter 4:17 NKJV - For the time [has come] for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if [it begins] with us first, what will [be] the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

F3 Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV - For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

D3 Let’s say that when I was 10 years old, I was throwing rocks. Not paying attention, I hit my dad in the forehead. He has an injury that requires suturing. Someone has to pay. After confessing and acknowledging that I did it, I was stupid, and I was not paying attention, he can do a number of things. He can say, “Ok, I know you learned your lesson,” thus, showing mercy, but he pays the doctor’s bills. He might say though, “I forgive you, but you must do extra chores to pay for the doctor’s bills.” In the latter, I pay. Regarding sin, either I pay (hell) or God pays:

E1 1 Peter 1:18-19 CSB - For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.

E2 Ephesians 2:8-9 CSB - For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.

B6 Psalm 103:13-14,

C1 What does this teach us about fathers?

C2 How does God pity (show compassion to) us?

B7 Psalm 103:15-18,

C1 How long is life? If short or long, how should we prioritize? Isaiah 55:6 NKJV - Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

C2 Explain the difference between God’s rules in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

B8 Psalm 103:19-22,

C1 Where is God’s throne?

C2 What is the extent of God’s kingdom?

C3 Why don’t we see God’s rule on earth today?

B9 Questions

C1 How do we continually praise God?

C2 Is praising God only verbal or are there other ways?

C3 How can we remind ourselves of God’s blessings?

C4 How can we praise God in difficulties?

B10 Next week:

C1 When under attack

C2 Theme: A song for justice

C3 Scripture: Psalm 109

The weight off your shoulders

Theme: Freedom from guilt

Objectives:

Know: Forgiveness flows from God’s character and leads to joy and peace.

Think: Rest in the assurance that the Lord has forgiven me, taking away my sin and shame.

Do: Let go of guilt and shame, realizing I am forgiven by God’s grace.

Scriptures; Psalm 103:1-14

Notes and questions:

B1 Our passage

A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

1. Who forgives all your iniquities;
2. who heals all your diseases;
3. Who redeems your life from destruction;
4. who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5. Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6. The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all that are oppressed.
7. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy.
9. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever.
10. He has not dealt with us according to our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13. Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them that fear him.
14. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. Psalms 103:1-14

B2 Bless

• The Hebrew word is barak and means to kneel as in humbly acknowledging someone’s superiority used of the inferior to the superior (Genesis 1:22 and Psalm 29:11). When it is used with the superior being, it is a gift, boon, etc. to that person, family, or nation (Genesis 24:48 and Job 42:12) .
• Genesis 1:22: And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
• Psalm 29:11: The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
• Genesis 24:48: And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.
• Job 42:12: So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
• International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (ISBE) states
• “The context furnishes the key to its meaning, which is the bestowal of good, and in this particular place the pleasure and power of increase in kind [referring to Genesis 1:22--ed].”
• “In Genesis 24:48, for example, Abraham's servant says, "I bowed my head, and worshipped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham," where the word evidently means to worship God, to exalt and praise Him.”

B2 Soul

• In its basic sense the Hebrew word, nephesh, means breath.
• Citing ISBE again, it is mentioned
• “Soul, like spirit, has various shades of meaning in the Old Testament, which may be summarized as follows: "Soul," "living being," "life," "self," "person," "desire," "appetite," "emotion" and "passion."
• “By an easy transition the word comes to stand for the individual, personal life, the person, with two distinct shades of meaning which might best be indicated by the Latin anima and animus. As anima, "soul," the life inherent in the body, the animating principle in the blood is denoted (compare Deuteronomy 12:23,24, ‘Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the soul; and thou shalt not eat the soul with the flesh'). As animus, "mind," the center of our mental activities and passivities is indicated. Thus we read of ‘a hungry soul' (Psalm 107:9), ‘a weary soul' (Jeremiah 31:25), ‘a loathing soul' (Leviticus 26:11), ‘a thirsty soul' (Psalm 42:2), ‘a grieved soul' (Job 30:25), ‘a loving soul' (Song of Solomon 1:7), and many kindred expressions.”

B3 How has God blessed us? How have we blessed God?

B4 Note that God’s name is a holy name, that is, it represents a perfect being in light, love, goodness, justice, etc.

B5 Benefits

• The Hebrew word is gĕmuwl.
• It means any action or deed that is good or, on the other hand, bad.
• Examples:
• Punish them for what they have done,for the evil they have committed. Punish them for all their deeds; give them what they deserve! Psalm 28:4.
• When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back. Proverbs 19:17.

B6 Matthew Henry writes in his commentary on this passage: “It is the soul that is to be employed in blessing God, and all that is within us. We make nothing of our religious performances if we do not make heart-work of them, if that which is within us, nay, if all that is within us, be not engaged in them. The work requires the inward man, the whole man, and all little enough.”

B7 Where does good come from?

B8 Psalm 103:3,

• What are the two benefits listed in this verse?
• Who is the one who heals and forgives?
• Were these things seen in the ministry of the Lord Jesus?
• What do these benefits mean to you?

B9 Psalm 103:4,

• What contrast is with these two benefits?
• What kinds of destruction might the Psalmist refer to?
• Why would lovingkindness and tender mercies be described as a crown?
• What word might refer to the cost of these blessings? (redeemed)

B10 Psalm 103:5,

• What are the good things?
• How can our strength be renewed as an eagles?”

B11 Psalm 103:6,

• Who are the oppressed?
• What does God do for them?
• How does this happen?
• When does it happen?

B12 Psalm 103:7,

• What good thing is seen in this passage?
• Why would those things be good?
• How do those things bless people?
• How can we pass it on?

B13 Psalm 103:8,

• How can we be thankful for these things?
• Can we do these things to others?
• How has God’s blessing of being slow to anger helped you?

B14 Psalm 103:9,

• Does this apply to ALL people?
• Does it apply to people after they have died?
• Cross references:
• Psalm 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
• Micah 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

B15 Psalm 103:10,

• Do we deserve God’s blessings? Why?
• What reward do we deserve?
• Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Revelation 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

B16 Psalm 103:11-12,

• How much mercy does God have?
• Do we worry about our sins being so evil that God could not possibly forgive us? Are we correct thinking this?
• Why do we sometimes remember our sins? Are they forgiven? What can we do when the memory of our past sins plague us?

B17 Psalm 103:13,

• How can parents apply this verse to child raising?
• Can we take pity too far? Are there situations when there should be no pitying?
• Why would God want to pity us?

B18 Psalm 103:14,

• What good thing about God’s memory that helps us?
• Would this verse be an excuse for sin?
• Why is remembering what we are helpful?
• Since we are flesh, dust of the field, where is the role of pride?
• A quote from the Bible Illustrator, Old Testament on this passage: God's individual care:--The historian tells us that the great Duke of Wellington, who was known as the Iron Duke, before one of his earliest campaigns had a soldier with his full marching equipment accurately weighed. Knowing what one soldier of average strength had to carry, he could judge how far his army might be called to march without breaking down. Our Heavenly Father does not deal in averages. With infinite wisdom and love He cares individually for us. (L. A. Banks, D.D.)