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Clarity Publishers I Birmingham, AL
Editorial and Design Staff Margie Williamson
Jason Odom
Katie Beth Shirley
Copyright © 2010 + Clarity Publishers No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations within critical articles and reviews. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Life Bible Study P. O. Box 36040 Birmingham, AL 35236 To order additional copies of this resource, call the publisher at 877.265.1605 or order online at www.lifebiblestudy.com.
Margie Williamson Margie has served as a writer, editor, seminary professor, associational worker, and minister’s wife. Since 1982, she has written Bible studies and devotions, Christian magazine articles, a training book for teachers of teenagers, academic articles, textbook chapters, and a dissertation. She joined the staff of Clarity Publishing in 2007 as the executive editor of LifeBible Study. Margie met her husband Bob while they were students at the University of Georgia. She was studying journalism and social work; he was studying forestry. Neither used their degrees in their careers; both have drawn upon them continually in their lives. They have two adult children: Scott, who is a certified firefighter and E.M.T. and is married to Wendy; and Jenna, who is a student at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary wither her husband Benjie. She has only one grandchild—something that she continues to complain about. Margie has traveled extensively through Israel, Greece, Rome, and parts of Turkey in order to visit the places in which God has revealed His plan. She continues to be awestruck at God’s providence in her life.
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f o e abl Introduction Session 1: Desiring God page 1 Session 2: Depending on God page 7 Session 3: Living for His Name’s Sake page 13 Session 4: Receiving His Restoration page 19 Session 5: Walking in His Ways page 25 Session 6: Worshipping Him page 31
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This study has been designed to help you prepare for a group Bible study experience, to use during a group Bible study experience, or to use as an individual Bible study guide. Each lesson is divided into four or five sections; each section concludes with a devotional suggestion and journaling directions. To get the most from this study, consider the following suggestions:
1. G et your favorite Bible, a pen or pencil, a highlighter, and a journal or notebook together before you begin. As you study the lesson, read the assigned passage first. Then dig deeper into some of the verses within each section. 2. Use the learner commentary to guide your personal Bible study. 3. Complete each day’s study with the devotional suggestions and journaling assignments at the end of each section. Allow God to transform you through your study and your time with Him.
Be prepared to consider, examine, and evaluate God’s Word as you move through this study. Our prayer is that this study will give you the opportunity to come awestruck into the presence of God.
Awestruck:
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respect or awe inspired by the dignity, wisdom, dedication, or talent of a person; an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime Studying Psalms can be overwhelming. There are 150 songs, letters, prayers, and poems within the book. Each reveals some element of man’s relationship with God. That sounds like an easy explanation, but the collection of Psalms is so much more. The collection includes cries of fear and anxiety, anger and disappointment, and even distress. These cries go to the very core of man’s shortcomings before God. The collection includes prayers— petitions, really—that request God’s forgiveness and God’s deliverance from enemies. The collection also includes praises to God—of who He is and what He is about, and of His power and presence in our lives. It even includes celebrations of His involvement in the world and with us. These are passionate and honest, moving and convicting, transparent and complex. It could take years to study them all. In this study, we’ll look at only six, each of which will help us to focus on our relationship with God. Each allows both the Psalmist and the reader to stand awestruck in God’s presence.
GOD IS
Only one true and living God exists. He is the Creator of the universe, eternally existing in three Persons—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each equally deserving of humanity’s worship and obedience. He is infinite and perfect in all His attributes.
THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD
The Bible is God’s written revelation to people, divinely given through human authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is entirely true. The Bible is totally sufficient and completely authoritative for matters of life and faith. The goal of God’s Word is the restoration of humanity into His image.
PEOPLE ARE GOD’S TREASURE
God created people in His image for His glory. They are the crowning work of His creation. Yet every person has willfully disobeyed God—an act known as sin—thus inheriting both physical and spiritual death and the need for salvation. All human beings are born with a sin-nature and into an environment inclined toward sin. Only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ can they experience salvation.
JESUS IS GOD AND SAVIOR
Jesus is both fully God and fully human. He is Christ, the Son of God. Born of a virgin, He lived a sinless life and performed many miracles. He died on the cross to provide people forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. Jesus rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return in power and glory.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD & EMPOWERER
The Holy Spirit is supernatural and sovereign, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ. He lives within all Christians beginning at the moment of salvation and then empowers them for bold witness and effective service as they yield to Him. The Holy Spirit convicts individuals of sin, uses God’s Word to mature believers into Christ-likeness, and secures them until Christ returns.
SALVATION IS BY FAITH ALONE
All human beings are born with a sin nature, separated from God, and in need of a Savior. That salvation comes only through a faith relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior, as a person repents of sin and receives Christ’s forgiveness and eternal life. Salvation is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. This salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and not on the basis of human works. All the redeemed are secure in Christ forever.
THE CHURCH IS GOD’S PLAN
The Holy Spirit immediately places all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ into one united spiritual body, the Church, of which Christ is the head. The primary expression of the Church on earth is in autonomous local congregations of baptized believers. The purpose of the Church is to glorify God by taking the gospel to the entire world and by building its members up in Christlikeness through the instruction of God’s Word, fellowship, service, worship, and prayer.
THE FUTURE IS IN GOD’S HANDS
God is actively involved in our lives and our future. Through His prophets, God announced His plans for the future redemption of His people through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. With the call of the disciples, God prepared the way for the future of His Church. In Scripture, God promised that Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth to resurrect and judge the saved and unsaved. As the all-knowing and all-powerful Creator and Judge, God can and should be trusted today, and with our future.
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Biblical Passage: Psalm 1
Supporting Passage: Psalm 2
Memory Verse: Psalm 1:1
Biblical Truth: Believers are called to pursue righteousness as part of their desire for God.
Desire . . . to wish for . . . to crave . . . to want something that is beyond your own ability. It’s easy to throw around the word desire with different emphases. We desire relationships, things, even foods. But what does it mean to desire God, to achingly pursue Him in all things? The Psalmist who wrote Psalm 1 desired God. He wanted God in his life in all things and wanted that relationship to help him become righteous before God. He also understood that those who desired God received benefits and that those who didn’t faced consequences. As you study these verses, seek the answer to these questions: What does it mean to truly desire God above all other things? What is His righteousness? What are the benefits of desiring God?
desie blessed A hunger for approval.
A deep contentment based on God’s favor. It is NOT a sense of happiness drawn from good luck or pleasant conditions. As a result, the person who is blessed experiences the fullness of God’s presence in his or her life, which leads to contentment in all circumstances.
“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’” C.S. Lewis What drives these people? Which are you most like?
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God’s Blessings (Psalm 1:1–3) Those who seek God and follow His teachings will experience blessings, prosperity, and protection.
The Psalmist began by describing the blessed who chose to follow God’s laws rather than follow the wicked. First, the one who chose God would be blessed by experiencing the true joy and contentment that is only available through God (v. 1). Those who chose the way of the wicked spent their time chasing after things that seemed desirable but that would actually leave them unsatisfied. Only God’s ways would produce true satisfaction. Respond: Psalm 1:1 describes the progressive nature of turning from God: • listening to the counsel of the wicked, • standing (keeping company and adopting the beliefs and habits) in the way of sinners, and • sitting with those who mock or ridicule God and sacred things. How are these progressive? What actions are involved in each step? Respond below.
meditation
The Hebrew word encompasses silent actions such as thinking about, pondering, studying, and imagining, as well as audible actions such as moaning, muttering, speaking, and even growling or roaring.
Second, the blessed would achieve this level of satisfaction by spending their time meditating on God and His laws (v. 2). The act of meditating on God’s laws was not about setting time aside to think quietly about them but was more about thinking about God’s laws while going about the day’s work (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 55). The act of meditating permeated every moment of the life of the blessed. Third, by being planted in God’s Word, the blessed would have a never-ending supply of what they needed to live and thrive—God’s living water (v. 3). As a result of this supply, the blessed would produce fruit, and their outward appearance would also be healthy and strong. And because they were blessed, God would watch over them (v. 6a). Because The Bible is God’s Word, it provides wisdom and direction for life and living. The Psalmist used the picture of sowing (what is planted) and reaping (what is harvested) to show that actions have consequences—inevitable consequences—that are beyond our control. When we obey God and His Word, we will reap the blessings from doing so; if our character and conduct are shaped by the wickedness of sin, we will reap punishment.
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3 Respond: In today’s society, where would you find “the counsel of the wicked”?
respond: Chaff was the unusable, worthless part of the grain. It had no value to the farmer and was thrown away. How are the wicked found worthless?
How difficult is it to recognize that counsel?
Living By The Water Read Jeremiah 17:7–8. Like the Psalmist, the prophet Jeremiah also used the image of a tree planted beside the water that must be able to withstand both heat and drought to remain healthy. As you journal, consider: What attacks you? What represents “heat” or “drought” in your life? How can being firmly planted in God’s Word help you withstand these attacks?
Pause to Pray: Ask God to help you learn to remain planted deep in His Word to help you withstand attacks on your relationship with Him. God’s Judgment (Psalm 1:4–5)
Scattered Before God Read Isaiah 17:13. The prophet Isaiah described the enemies of God, those who roared against Him and then ran away, using the same image of the chaff being blown away. While the Psalmist emphasized that the chaff had no value, the prophet highlighted the great distance that the chaff would be removed from God. As you journal, consider: What does it mean to move away from God? How far can we be away from God? What does it take to move back to God?
Those who reject God and His teachings will suffer consequences and judgment. The Psalmist next described the wicked person by using phrases like “chaff that the wind blows away” and “will not stand in the judgment.” He used these to contrast the wicked with the blessed described in the first three verses. First, the wicked, like chaff blown about in the wind, had no stability in their lives (v. 4). The Psalmist used an image from farming that his readers understood instantly. Wheat was cut in the fields and then beaten against a hard surface (called threshing) to knock off the kernels from the grain. Then the leftovers—the useless chaff—were thrown into the wind to be blown away. The chaff had no value once the kernels had been harvested. The Psalmist showed that the wicked would be separated from the righteous. Second, the wicked would face God’s ultimate judgment. They had spent their lives pursuing things that were not Godly and would therefore not be included with the righteous.
Pause to Pray: Pray that God will help you see the areas in your life that cause distance between you and God. God’s Focus (Psalm 1:6) The phrase “watches over” can best be understood as “knows.” The Psalmist recognized that God has a personal, intimate relationship with the righteous. God knows them. He knows their actions. He knows their thoughts. He knows them intimately. God also knows the wicked—He knows how they allow their lives to be controlled by sin and desires for things that are not of God. He knows that they have no relationship with Him because their lives are built around sin.
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5 Respond: What do parents see when they watch over small children? How does that help you understand what God sees as He watches over you?
Respond: Reread the opening paragraph of this lesson. God desires us. What does it mean for us to truly desire God above all else?
The Wicked and The Righteous
God Knows Us
Read Psalm 37:1–4 and 37:32–34. David, the writer of Psalm 37, also compared the wicked to the righteous. Underline the words and phrases that David used in these verses to describe what would happen to the wicked. Circle the words that David used to describe the actions of the righteous. As you journal, consider: What is the primary difference between the wicked and the righteous? What does it mean to you to know that God knows you personally and intimately?
Read Matthew 7:21–23. Jesus also described how God knows us. Underline what we are to know (v. 21). How did Jesus describe those He did not know in verse 23? As you journal, consider: What does God know about you? Does He know you as one of His righteous? Why?
Pause to Pray: Ask God to help you focus on His righteousness in your life. Thank Him for watching over you.
Pause to Pray: Thank God for caring about you so much that He personally and intimately knows you.
God’s Desire
for further thought:
God is the righteous Judge of all creation. His desire is for us to be righteous in our pursuit of Him—to love Him and to become more like Him. God is our righteous Judge. He knows us personally and intimately. He knows our victories and our defeats, our strengths and our weaknesses, our successes and our failures. He knows our hearts and our thoughts, our actions, and our mistakes. He knows us.
“Of late God has been pleased to keep my soul hungry almost continually, so that I have been filled with a kind of pleasing pain. When I really enjoy God, I feel my desires of Him the more insatiable and my thirstings after holiness more unquenchable.” —David Brainerd
: k c t r u lms
a s s p e n A w dy i a stu
The collection of Psalms includes cries of fear, anxiety, anger, disappointment, and even distress. They record the journey of humanity’s relationship with God and its shortcomings before God. Even more so, they are a record of man’s praises to God––of who God is and what He has done for humanity. This six-session study allows adults to stand awestruck in God’s presence through: • • • • • •
desiring God above all other things, depending on God in order to be victorious for Him, living for His Name’s Sake in order to reveal His glory to all nations, receiving His Restoration when we seek His forgiveness, walking in His Ways according to His standards, worshipping Him in all things.