Sunday, February 11, 2018

Psalms: A Guide To Prayer And Praise - Session 4 - Psalms 42 And 43 - A Personal Cry



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. You can also hear the audio of each session of the study by clicking on the YouTube Thumbnail

When the going gets tough, the tough get going, we’re told. But often tough times stop us in our tracks, raising doubts and questions. How good it is to know that we can bring our questions to God and trust in his unfailing love.

These psalms were written by the sons of Korah who served as temple musicians. Most scholars think that Psalms 42 and 43 were originally one psalm, as they contain several repeated choruses and thoughts. This is an example of a lament, a personal cry to God in time of trouble.
     
 1. When you are depressed or lonely, do you turn to God or away from him? Why?

Now I turn to God.  I used to turn away but getting mad at God and trying things my way didn't work.  They may have seemed to work temporarily but not completely or permanently.  I learned through reading and experience that only God has the complete and permanent solution.  It may not be or have been what I thought was best but the greatest thing that I got or get when I turn to God is peace. 

In my blog I have a section that I call FTE Psalm of the Week, where I highlight a different Psalm each week Psalm 42 was my Psalm of the Week last August 7th.  (Psalm 43 FTE Psalm Of The Week - Longing For God)

Here’s what I wrote

In this psalm the psalmist is despondent because he can’t go to the Temple as he has been able to in the past.  He’s hounded by enemies who are keeping him from making the trip. 

Even when we pray we wonder if God has forgotten us, does He hear us, does He care?  All the time our enemies are taunting us.  Pointing and saying if God loves so much why are you sick, broke, alone, sad, and discouraged? Even in the face of those taunts we can say that our hope and trust is in God. 

Our longing for God’s presence is overwhelming until we remember who God is. And He loves us.  We remember that He said that He would never leave us.

1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)9  God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.10  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT)6  So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

While we search for God’s presence we remember the times when when we felt His presence in our lives without the trials and tribulations of this word.  We then remember Jesus’ promise

 John 16:33 (NLT)33  I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Like the psalmist we conclude that even in times of trouble we are not alone and we can say with him; “I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!”

Psalm 42


Psalm 42:1-11 NIV As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?  My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”  These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.  Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.  Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.  By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.  I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”  My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”  Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.


2. What vivid picture did the psalmist use to express his longing for God?

Our longing for God’s presence just like a deer racing to water to quench its thirst.  Like a child longing for their mother.  Like a man or woman longing for their spouse.

Have you ever experienced this thirst for God?  Explain.

3. Why was the psalmist downcast?

The psalmist is despondent because he can’t go to the Temple as he has been able to in the past.  He’s hounded by enemies who are keeping him from making the trip.

4. Faced with depression and the mocking of his enemies, what did the psalmist do?

He praised God and put His trust in Him.  He encouraged himself in the Lord.

1 Samuel 30:1-6 NIV David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.  When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

What encouraging memories of worship or other religious experience can you recall?

When I was between jobs and I didn't panic where at previous times I did because I looked at the situation and didn't delight myself in the Lord.

5. When the writer felt depressed and overwhelmed by life, what did he remember (verses 6–8)? How constant was God’s care?

Psalm 42:6-8 NIV My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.  Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.  By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

 First, will I remember the land Jordan; that is, I will remember the great goodness of God in drying up the river Jordan, that so the tribes of Israel might pass over to the promised land:

  Joshua 3:14-17 NIV So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Then, I will remember the land of the Hermonites; in that land were Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan,

 Joshua 12:1-5 NIV These are the kings of the land whom the Israelites had defeated and whose territory they took over east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern side of the Arabah:  Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge—from the middle of the gorge—to the Jabbok River, which is the border of the Ammonites. This included half of Gilead. He also ruled over the eastern Arabah from the Sea of Galilee to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea), to Beth Jeshimoth, and then southward below the slopes of Pisgah.  And the territory of Og king of Bashan, one of the last of the Rephaites, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei.  He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salekah, all of Bashan to the border of the people of Geshur and Maakah, and half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

Deep calleth unto deep. What's that?  The psalmist is falling to deeper and deeper into despair.  Even so he knows that God will catch because He loves him.  That love is never ending hence the references of both day and night 

Affliction may put out our candle, but if it cannot silence our song we will soon light the candle again. And my prayer unto the God of my life. Prayer is yoked with praise. He who is the living God, is the God of our life, from him we derive it, with him in prayer and praise we spend it, to him we devote it, in him we shall prefect it.
  
6. What range of feelings do you sense in the psalmist’s intense questions in verses 9–11?

 Psalm 42:9-11 NIV  I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”  My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”  Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

He feels that God may have forgotten him   He's depressed, he wants to know why this is happening.  Yet there is hope.

7. What was the basis of his hope?

Go back to our answers to question 5 he remembered and then praised God.

Psalm 43


Psalm 43:1-5 NIV Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.  You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?  Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.  Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.  Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.


8. List the three things the psalmist asked God to do for him in verse. What is the meaning of the word vindicate?

Vindicate means to clear of accusation or blame; to justify and support.

He is still depressed in this Psalm too.  He’s being hounded by enemies like in Psalm 42.

     Vindicate him -We who are saved have been justified, or vindicated by or through faith   Romans 5:1-2 NIV. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

     Plead his cause -  Jesus is our advocate 1 John 2:1-2 NIV My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

     Rescue him - Jesus redeems or rescues us from the curse of sin.   Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.!

9. The psalmist repeated some questions in verse 2. How do you think God feels about our asking questions like these?

Psalm 43:2 NIV You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

God wants us to be real with Him.  Remember our stuy Prayer Begins With Relationship?  We had a Session Stop Faking It.

No more faking feeling fine.   When we become convinced that God is really our friend, which is what we talked about last week we really know how He feels about us and the we can talk to Him about anything.   Well we can look to Jesus as our example of being open with our friends.  He permitted Himself to express a full range of emotions, positive ones like joy, love, and compassion and some we would consider negative like, anger, indignation, and impatience.

This is the prayer of a man who is not afraid to let his friend know what he is feeling. 

Psalm 5:1-12 NIV Listen to my words, Lord , consider my lament.  Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.  In the morning, Lord , you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.  For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.  The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong;  you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord , detest.  But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.  Lead me, Lord , in your righteousness because of my enemies— make your way straight before me.  Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.  Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.  But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  Surely, Lord , you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

10. The writer expressed two needs in verse 3. Why were these important to him?

Psalm 43:3 NIV Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

The needs are for God to care for him and to lead him to God’s presence.  He was depressed as in Psalm 42 so He needed God’s presence.

11. What evidence do you see that the writer’s attitude changed during the psalm?

When he got to the temple, into God’s presence he started to praise Him.

Psalm 43:4 NIV  Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

12. What practical suggestions for handling feelings of depression are offered in these psalms?

     Desperately seek to get into God’s presence.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 42:1-2 NIV

     Remember

Psalm 42:4 NIV These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

Psalm 42:6-8 NIV My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.  Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.  By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.


     Place your hope

Psalm 42:5 NIV  Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:11 NIV Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 43:5 NIV Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

     Praise

Psalm 42:5 NIV Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.


Psalm 43:4 NIV Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

13. Why does God sometimes seem to be far from us?
        
 How can we experience more fully the presence of God?



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