Psalm 105:16-25 “He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies. He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons, until the time that his word happened, and the LORD’s word proved him true. The king sent and freed him, even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions, to discipline his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom. Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham. He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries. He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.”

The history lesson continues. Even in their hardship, God was with Joseph and Israel. Everything happened for a reason and with a purpose: “until the time that His Word happened.” Joseph ended up a ruler and Israel grew and prospered, so much so that the inhabitants ended up hating them!

God is with us in hardship as well. And even though we are warned that others may hate us, we should be joyful that the reason they hate us is because God is with us!

Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Luke 6:22-23 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.”

For additional worship: Be Still My Soul (Emu Music)

Psalm 105:12-15 “when they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it. They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, ‘Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!’ “

This passage remembers when God led Abraham to Canaan and protected him during his missteps (Genesis 20). Abraham is even called a prophet (20:7)!

There is a point here that is made throughout Scripture. God chose His people. They weren’t powerful, numerous, or righteous, and so they were totally dependent on His mercy and grace. As are we!

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 “The LORD didn’t set his love on you nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved.”

For additional worship: I am His and He is Mine (Wayne Watson)

Psalm 105:7-11 “He is the LORD, our God. His judgements are in all the earth. He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,”

God is faithful. He remembers His promises and does what He says He will do, which means we can trust His promises to us.

John 5:24-29 “Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgement, but has passed out of death into life. Most certainly I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. He also gave him authority to execute judgement, because he is a son of man. Don’t marvel at this, for the hour comes in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement.”

John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

Hebrews 13:5 “Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, ‘I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.’ ”

For additional worship: Faithful (Chris Tomlin)

Psalm 105:1-6 “Give thanks to the LORD! Call on his name! Make his doings known amongst the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works. Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Seek the LORD and his strength. Seek his face forever more. Remember his marvelous works that he has done: his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth…”

Four words: Seek, Remember, Rejoice, Testify!

For additional worship: Great are you Lord (Casting Crowns)

Psalm 104:33-35 “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have any being. Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in the LORD. Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD!”

Did you catch that? “Let my meditation be sweet to Him.” Shouldn’t that be the desire of all our hearts?!?!?!?

It may seem strange to jump from worship to wrath, but I think it’s actually a very simple connection. The wicked don’t praise. The wicked don’t acknowledge. The wicked mock and ridicule. The wicked disrupt the worship of the saints. Worship is sweeter and more meaningful when everyone is unified. We even see that within the congregation:

1 Corinthians 11:17-18 “But in giving you this command I don’t praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist amongst you, and I partly believe it.”

So, it’s only natural that we should want those who disrupt worship to be dealt with!

For additional worship: My Meditation of Him Shall Be Sweet

My Meditation of Him Shall Be Sweet (Helen Maria Williams)

While Thee I seek, protecting Power,
Be my vain wishes stilled;
And may this consecrated hour
With better hopes be filled.

In each event of life, how clear
Thy ruling hand I see;
Each blessing to my soul more dear
Because conferred by Thee.

In every joy that crowns my days,
In every pain I bear,
My heart shall find delight in praise,
Or seek relief in prayer.

Psalm 104:27-32 “These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good. You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust. You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground. Let the LORD’s glory endure forever. Let the LORD rejoice in his works. He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.”

God’s absolute authority and sovereignty are on display. “These” refers to the sea animals that are completely dependent on God for their lives and their food. We see another allusion to the creation account with, “you send out your Spirit and they are created.”

Genesis 1:1-2 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

Creation is something that gives God pleasure and speaks to His glory, and it should move us in such a way that we experience awe and want to praise His name!

For additional worship: Let us With a Gladsome Mind (Lor)

Psalm 104:19-26 “He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set. You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening. LORD, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches. There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals. There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.”

God can make this world work and fit together because of His great wisdom.

Romans 8:33-36 “Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past tracing out! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?’ ‘Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?’ For of him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.”

And God, in His wisdom, has enabled man to work: “Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening.” We should rejoice that we have the opportunity to work! It is a command and a blessing, because when we work we are emulating and following God. But God also rested, and God shows that we too have the blessing of rest by establishing the Sabbath for the Israelites.

Exodus 20:8-10 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it.”

For additional worship: Perfect Wisdom of Our God (Keith & Kristyn Getty)

Psalm 104:10-18 “He sends springs into the valleys. They run amongst the mountains. They give drink to every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing amongst the branches. He waters the mountains from his rooms. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works. He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce food out of the earth: wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart. The LORD’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted, where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the cypress trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.”

Everything in creation has a purpose and a place. Everything in creation comes from the abundance that is God: “He waters the mountains from His rooms.” What a statement! And while we recognize that God has given us things not only for sustenance but also enjoyment, we also understand that overindulgence of anything is a serious problem. If we want to be controlled by anything, we should want to be controlled by God’s Spirit!

Ephesians 5:18 “Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”

For additional worship: Give to Our God Immortal Praise (Hymns of Grace)

Psalm 104:1-9 “Bless the LORD, my soul. The LORD, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty. He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain. He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind. He makes his messengers winds, and his servants flames of fire. He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever. You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them. You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.”

God is an awesome designer, and His majesty is shown throughout His creation! This Psalm seems to intentionally refer to the Genesis account of creation with its references to: light (2a); the separation between the sky and the earth (2b-4); the distinction between the land and water (5-13); the creation of vegetation and trees (14-18); light-bearers as time-keepers (19-24); sea creatures (25-26); land animals and man (21-24); and food for all creatures (27-30).

Psalm 136:3-9 “Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his loving kindness endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his loving kindness endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his loving kindness endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his loving kindness endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his loving kindness endures forever; the sun to rule by day, for his loving kindness endures forever; the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loving kindness endures forever.”

For additional worship: I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath (folksandhymns)