1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. 3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, 4 Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. 5 You who laid the foundations of the earth, so that it should not be moved forever, 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled; at the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. 8 They went up over the mountains; they went down into the valleys, to the place which You founded for them. 9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they may not return to cover the earth.

10 He sends the springs into the valleys; they flow among the hills. 11 They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home; they sing among the branches. 13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. 14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth, 15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart. 16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted, 17 Where the birds make their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. 18 The high hills are for the wild goats; the cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19 He appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knows its going down. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they gather together and lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. 24 O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all.

The earth is full of Your possessions — 25 This great and wide sea, in which are innumerable teeming things, living things both small and great. 26 There the ships sail about; there is that Leviathan which You have made to play there. 27 These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. 28 What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. 29 You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works. 32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD. 35 May sinners be consumed from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Bible Study

Psalm 104 praises God for His mighty works in creation and speak of God’s design in creation as described in Genesis 1 and 2.

One thing which was a part of God’s design — either at creation or following the Genesis Flood — was to tilt the earth on its axis to give us the seasons of the year (cf. Gen. 1:14 and Gen. 8:20-22).

1. How different would the world be without seasons? How do the seasons flow together for our good and benefit?
2. How does the psalm describe God’s creation of the heavens and the earth (v. 1-9)? Compare this with Genesis 1:1-10. How are these accounts similar?
3. How does the psalm describe the angels? See v. 4. What does Hebrews 1:14 tell us of the angels? Compare Psalm 103:20-21.
4. Read verses 10-24. How does God’s design in creation, the seasons, the rains, the creation of day and night, work together to make God’s creation wonderful and work together for good? Compare Genesis 1:11-19.
5. Who waters the earth and feeds and nourishes all of creation? How?
6. Consider the spring plants and how they grow? Who brings all this about? And, how does it work together for our good?
7. Read verse 24. How is this true? Is God’s design in creation simple, or complex with interdependence and, of course, full dependence upon the Creator built in? Compare Neh. 9:6; Heb. 1:1-3.
8. What about the seas? Read v. 25-30. Do we depend on them? What do the seas tell us about the Creator?
9. What is the great Leviathan? Do we know for certain?
10. Read Genesis 1:20-25. Does this sound similar? How?
11. Who gives food to all the creatures? What happens when God withholds His hand? When He takes His spirit from His creatures? Compare Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 3:20-21; 12:1-7.
12. Who gave life in the beginning? Compare Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7 with Psalm 104:30.
13. What does the psalmist say of the Lord in v. 31-32?
14. What does the psalmist say he will do in v. 33-34? How long will he continue to do this? What about us?
15. How can our praises and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable to the LORD God who made us and redeemed us? Compare Psalm 51:14-15; 66:18; Psalm 32:1-11; Ephesians 1:6-7; 1 John 5:11-15.
16. What does the psalmist pray in v. 35? Is this a fitting prayer that we can pray? Do we ever pray the same thing? Why? Compare Matt. 6:10a; 2 Pet. 3:9-10; 2 Thess. 1:3-10; Rev. 22:20.

Sing LSB 804: “O Worship the King.” How does it reflect the words of Psalm 104?

The sermon was on “Telling the Truth” and based on Luke 22:63-71.

The sermon was “Will you die in your sins?” and was based on John 8:21-24

Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” John 8:21-24

What a terrible thing to die in your sins — to die and stand before the holy Judge of all still bearing the uncleanness and guilt of your sins! Yet, this is what was soon to happen to a great many of the Jews in Jesus’ day. Jesus warned them, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come” (John 8:21).

Because so many of His Jewish hearers saw no need to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior, they would die in their sins and face the eternal wrath and condemnation of God. Where Jesus was going — to the right hand of God the Father in heaven (cf. John 14:1ff.; Eph. 2:20f.) — they would not be able to come! Instead, they faced a Christless eternity and the everlasting torments of hell!

Again, Jesus warned them, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).

Jesus’ words still ring out today! Many are headed to an eternity of everlasting punishment for their sins. Unless people repent and turn to God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who was lifted up on the cross to suffer and die there for us and bear the full punishment for our sins and the sins of the whole world, they will die in their sins and face the holy God in their own uncleanness and guilt!

What about you? Will you die in the guilt of your sins and face the eternal wrath of an angry God? Or, will you, by the grace of God, turn to Jesus and receive His full and complete forgiveness for your sins and enjoy the everlasting blessings of life in heaven with Him?

The Bible tells us: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Jesus has already died and paid in full for your sins. His resurrection on the third day is proof that God accepted His death as full payment for the sins of the world (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3,4; Rom. 4:23-25)! Why die in your sins and be condemned of God? Turn in faith to Jesus and His shed blood and be forgiven and saved (Cf. 2 Cor. 5:19-6:2)!

O dearest Jesus, have mercy upon our wayward hearts and draw us to You that we might not enter into eternity bearing the guilt and condemnation for our sins, but have, instead, the assurance of forgiveness and life everlasting for the sake of Your holy and precious blood, shed for us upon the cross. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20

Some in Jesus’ day misunderstood and thought that Jesus was trying to throw out all that is taught in the Old Testament Scriptures because He offered forgiveness and life through faith in His name. Unfortunately, some today assume that Jesus’ teaching does away with the Old Testament and makes these Scriptures obsolete and unnecessary for Christians. Many even believe and teach that one can be a Christian and disregard some or all of what the Bible teaches. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

It is as Jesus said: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Jesus, the long-promised Messiah and Savior, came to fulfill all that is taught in the Old Testament, not to destroy it. Not the smallest letter (jot) of the Law or the smallest part of a letter (tittle) in the Scriptures will pass away until all is fulfilled.

Thus, Jesus went on to say: “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Thus, it is a grave offense to break even the smallest commandment in the Scriptures and teach others so. Those who do so will be excluded from God’s kingdom. And, as a study of the Scriptures will reveal, the righteousness which God demands is far greater than the outward righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. It far exceeds the righteousness of the churchgoers of our day who depend on their own righteous works and deeds.

The Scriptures demand perfect righteousness of heart, soul and mind (cf. Lev. 19:2; Matt. 5:48). The Scriptures demand a holy life in thought, word and deed — righteousness which we do not have and cannot attain by our own attempts to keep God’s Law (cf. Rom. 3:19-20).

But Jesus came to keep every commandment of the Scriptures perfectly for us. He regarded the Scriptures as the very Word of God and was obedient to every teaching of the Law and the Prophets! He fulfilled all and regarded all as absolute truth. He fulfilled the righteous demands of the Scriptures for us.

Jesus also, as prophesied by the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament Scriptures), took our place under God’s Law and took the guilt and punishment of our sins upon Himself, that we might have forgiveness and life through faith in Him and His blood shed for us upon the cross (cf. Isa. 53:6).

And these same Scriptures declare to us Christ’s full atonement for our sins and the acceptance and pardon of a merciful God for Jesus’ sake (Cf. 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 3:21-28; 4:3-8; 5:18ff.)! They offer to us the imputed, perfect righteousness of Christ Jesus that we might stand in God’s judgment through faith in Jesus’ name.

Dear LORD Jesus, holy Son of God and true man, our Savior, thank You for fulfilling for us the perfect righteousness taught and demanded in the Holy Scriptures, and thank You for bearing upon the cross the full and just punishment for all our sins and then rising again to grant us forgiveness and life — perfect righteousness — through faith in Your name. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]