The Church of Divine Guidance Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study Group studying the book Psalms: A Guide to Prayer and Praise by Ron Klug. The Psalms are some of the most widely read and best-loved portions of the Bible. For thousands of years these songs of faith have spoken to the hearts and minds of people around the world. The Psalms are songs–music our spirits sing to the Creator. They are poems–full of vibrant imagery and strong rhythms. And they are prayers–our deepest emotions expressed to the Lord who feels with us. Most importantly, the Psalms are God’s Word to us, revealing the truth about him and our relationship with him. Study along with us by getting a copy of the book by clicking this LINK or the image of the book at the end of the study notes.
Some of the psalms are known as pilgrim songs.
It is believed that they were sung by groups of pilgrims traveling to the
temple in Jerusalem for one of the great religious festivals. This pilgrim song
is also a psalm of thanksgiving.
We are all familiar with desperate prayers:
God, if you’ll help me now, I promise I’ll … When a disaster or crisis strikes,
it’s natural to bargain with God and cry out for help. But when he answers our
prayers, we also need to offer a prayer of thanks, asdo the people in this
psalm who have been rescued.
1. Have you ever prayed a “foxhole” prayer?
A “foxhole prayer” is a prayer you pray when
things are difficult and pressing.
" You know, like a soldier in the middle of war (in a foxhole) who
says, "Lord, if you just get me through this, I'll never smoke/drink/swear
ever again! I'll go to church every week! Just get me out of here alive!"
A
terminal illness. The fear of an
unwanted pregnancy. A sudden job loss.
Financial pressures. It's a
tricky prayer.
On the one hand, you're showing God your
desperation. We're showing God that we can't do it ourselves. We need him.
On the other hand, you'll then be expected to follow through on whatever it is you promised to God in your hour of need. What if God said; "OK, I got you out of that, just like you asked—time to pay up.
On the other hand, you'll then be expected to follow through on whatever it is you promised to God in your hour of need. What if God said; "OK, I got you out of that, just like you asked—time to pay up.
What
happened that caused you to pray a foxhole prayer?
Did you
follow through after He answered?
PSALM 107
Psalm
107:1-43 (NKJV)1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand
of the enemy,3 And gathered
out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the
south.4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate
way; They found no city to dwell in.5 Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in
them.6 Then they cried out to
the LORD in their trouble, And He
delivered them out of their distresses.7 And He led them forth by the right way, That
they might go to a city for a dwelling place.8 Oh, that men
would give thanks to the LORD for His
goodness, And for His wonderful works
to the children of men!9 For
He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of
death, Bound in affliction and irons--11 Because they rebelled against the words of
God, And despised the counsel of the Most High,12 Therefore He brought down their heart with
labor; They fell down, and there was
none to help.13 Then they
cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And
He saved them out of their distresses.14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow
of death, And broke their chains in pieces.15 Oh, that men
would give thanks to the LORD for His
goodness, And for His wonderful works
to the children of men!16 For
He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two.17 Fools, because of their transgression, And
because of their iniquities, were afflicted.18 Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And
they drew near to the gates of death.19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their
trouble, And He saved them out of
their distresses.20 He sent
His word and healed them, And delivered them
from their destructions.21 Oh, that men
would give thanks to the LORD for His
goodness, And for His wonderful works
to the children of men!22 Let
them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with
rejoicing.23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do
business on great waters,24 They see the works of the LORD, And His
wonders in the deep.25 For He
commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea.26
They mount up to the heavens, They
go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble.27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a
drunken man, And are at their wits' end.28 Then they cry out to the LORD in their
trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses.29 He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.30
Then they are glad because they
are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.31 Oh, that men
would give thanks to the LORD for His
goodness, And for His wonderful works
to the children of men!32 Let
them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the
company of the elders.33 He turns rivers into a wilderness, And the
watersprings into dry ground;34 A fruitful land into barrenness, For the
wickedness of those who dwell in it.35 He turns a wilderness into pools of water, And
dry land into watersprings.36 There He makes the hungry dwell, That they may
establish a city for a dwelling place,37 And sow fields and plant vineyards, That they
may yield a fruitful harvest.38 He also blesses them, and they multiply
greatly; And He does not let their cattle decrease.39 When they are diminished and brought low
Through oppression, affliction and sorrow,40 He pours contempt on princes, And causes them
to wander in the wilderness where there
is no way;41 Yet He sets
the poor on high, far from affliction, And makes their families like a flock.42 The righteous see it and rejoice, And all iniquity stops its mouth.43 Whoever is
wise will observe these things, And
they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
2. To whom are verses 1–3 addressed? What did the psalmist urge them to do? Why?
The psalmist addresses the redeemed, and he
urges them to praise and thank God because He was good and merciful in bringing
them safely together to Jerusalem.
3. Each of the following four sections of the psalm describes a special group of pilgrims who were delivered by God from particular evils. What was the problem of the group spotlighted in verses 4–9?
Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no
way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their
trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where
they could settle. Let them give thanks
to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the
hungry with good things.
Psalm 107:4-9 NIV
Psalm 107:4-9 NIV
They had no permanent place to live no
home. They were poor and wandering from
place to place. This was not like the 40
years of wandering because then God was providing everything they needed. They
were not hungry or thirsty although they complained the whole time.
There are 14 instances of them
complaining.
What did they do in the face of their difficulty?
They cried out to the Lord. They were not
complaining they were desperate.
4. Note where verse 6 is repeated throughout the psalm.
Psalm
107:6 (NKJV)6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their
trouble, And He delivered them out of
their distresses.
Verses 6, 13, 19, 28
In each case, what follows the pilgrims’ cry?
They are delivered.
5. Why
have the people in verse 10 been imprisoned?
Psalm
107:10 (NKJV)10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of
death, Bound in affliction and irons--
The reference here is evidently to the
children of Israel, when in Babylon To "sit in darkness" is
significant of great affliction and trouble.
They were in Babylon because of their disobedience of God and idol
worship. Remember the prophets starting
with Moses told them that this would happen if they didn't obey.
Deuteronomy
28:1 (NKJV)1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you
diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His
commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you
high above all nations of the earth.
Deuteronomy
28:15 (NKJV)15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not
obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments
and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come
upon you and overtake you:
Deuteronomy
28:64 (NKJV)64 "Then the LORD will scatter you among all
peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve
other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known--wood and stone.
6. Describe bondages other than physical imprisonment.
Emotional bondage
Spiritual bondage
Financial bondage
What
is God’s goal for all who are bound?
Release or freedom.
Compare with the following passage from Isaiah 58:6
Is not this the kind of fasting I have
chosen:to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set
the oppressed free and break every yoke?
The comparison is to God setting the
oppressed free.
Psalm
107:13-14 NIV Then they cried to the Lord in their
trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away
their chains.
7. According to verse 17, what connection was there between their “rebellious ways” and their sickness?
Psalm
107:17 (NKJV)17 Fools, because of their transgression, And
because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
According to this verse their sicknesses were
directly caused by their sin. It goes
back to the curses of Deuteronomy 28.
The verb used in Psalm 107:17 for “suffered
affliction” is reflexive, possibly suggesting that they brought this affliction
on themselves. One present-day example of this interpretation might be a drug
addict.
Deuteronomy
28:58-61 NIV If you do not carefully follow all the words
of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious
and awesome name—the Lord your God— the Lord will send fearful plagues on you
and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering
illnesses. He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and
they will cling to you. The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness
and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.
Are sin and sickness always connected? Explain.
No.
Some people reap physical illness as a consequence of their sin and
rebellion against God, but certainly not all illness is caused by sin or given
as a judgment for sin.
Jesus said the man who was born blind was born
that way to bring glory to God, not because he had sinned (see John 9:1–3).
John
9:1-3 NIV As he went along, he saw a man blind from
birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?” “Neither this man
nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of
God might be displayed in him.
I wrote a blog post some time ago “Is Satan
The Cause Of All Sickness?”
Sickness and disease can be a result of a
number of things. It is, sometimes, an attack of demons. Sometimes, it is a
result of not taking proper care of the body.
8. How did God heal and rescue them (verse 20)?
Psalm
107:20 NIV He sent out his word and healed them; he
rescued them from the grave.
His word.
My son, pay attention to what I say; turn
your ear to my words. Do not let them
out of your sight, keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.
Proverbs 4:20-22 NIV
Proverbs 4:20-22 NIV
When, if ever, have you experienced this?
9. What vivid pictures come to your mind of the dangers the merchants faced (verses 23–32)?
Psalm
107:23-32 NIV Some went out on the sea in ships; they
were merchants on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the Lord , his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that
lifted high the waves. They mounted up
to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted
away. They reeled and staggered like
drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them
out of their distress. He stilled the
storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he
guided them to their desired haven. Let
them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for
mankind. Let them exalt him in the
assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
Israel at the Red Sea.
There was a movie several years ago called
The Perfect Storm.
Based on a true story, the film tells of the
courageous men and women who risk their lives every working day, pitting their
fishing boats and rescue vessels against the capricious forces of nature. Their
worst fears are realized at sea on Halloween of 1991, when they are confronted
by three raging weather fronts which unexpectedly collide to produce the
greatest, fiercest storm in modern history -- "The Perfect Storm."
Release date: June 30, 2000 (USA)
Release date: June 30, 2000 (USA)
Or the television documentary series The
Deadliest Catch.
What did God do for them?
He stilled the storm and delivered them. Like
when Jesus stilled the storm..
Matthew
8:23-27 NIV Then he got into the boat and his disciples
followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves
swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him,
saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up
and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of
man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
10. Read verses 33–43 again
He turned rivers into a desert, flowing
springs into thirsty ground, and
fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived
there. He turned the desert into pools
of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; there he brought the hungry to live, and they
founded a city where they could settle.
They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; he blessed them, and their numbers greatly
increased, and he did not let their herds diminish. Then their numbers decreased, and they were
humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. But he lifted the needy out of their
affliction and increased their families like flocks. The upright see and rejoice, but all the
wicked shut their mouths. Let the one
who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord .
Psalm 107:33-43 NIV
Psalm 107:33-43 NIV
How does God deal with the wicked?
He causes them to suffer lack. In the example
on this Psalm in an agrarian society water is necessary and God caused them to
not have it so they had no way to make money or to provide for themselves.
By contrast, what does he do for the upright?
He caused them to prosper by providing what
they needed to prosper.
11. What contributes to wisdom according to verse 43?
Psalm
107:43 NIV Let the one who is wise heed these things and
ponder the loving deeds of the Lord .
As Pastor likes to say those understand or
heed are wise. They understand what happens to the wicked and to the
upright.
12. With which of these groups of pilgrims—wanderers, the imprisoned, the sick, or the storm-tossed—do you most clearly identify? Why?
13. In what ways have you experienced God’s deliverance in situations like these?
In
what ways do you still need deliverance?
No comments:
Post a Comment