Today’s passage: Psalm 85

Helpful thoughts:

• This psalm would have been written and sung after the return from captivity (Verse 1).
  • Their time of judgment had ended (Jeremiah 29:10-11).
• The prayer for revival in verse 6 is prophesied in Ezekiel 37.
• All of the hope in future grace in this psalm will take place when Christ returns.

Questions to consider:

1. How is verse 10 possible?  Who made it true? (Colossians 1:15-20)
2. Reading Jeremiah 29:11 in it’s context, what is the true meaning of the verse?  Who was it originally for?  How then does it actually apply to us?  Why is it wrong to use this verse as an expectation of temporary financial or physical blessing from God?  When will we truly see the completion of this promise from God?
3. Are people saved because they fear God, or do they fear God because they have been saved by Him?  How would verse 7 help you answer this question?  With that in mind, is verse 9 speaking of the salvation of an individual or of the nation? Or both?

Today’s passage: Psalm 84

Helpful thoughts:

• This is a psalm of ascents.  It was to be sung on the way to worship in Jerusalem at the Temple.
• There are three uses of being “blessed”:
  • Blessed are those who dwell in your house (Verse 4).
    • Why?  Because they get to sing praises continually.
  • Blessed are those whose strength is in you (Verse 5).
    • Why? God has put it in their hearts to draw near to Him.
  • Blessed is the one who trusts in You (Verse 12).
    • Why? Because God is the LORD of hosts.  He is over all.  He will never know defeat.  Trusting in anyone or anything else is folly.

Questions to consider:

1. How could these truths and blessings be applied to prayer and worship together with the church? (Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 10:19-25)
2. What things/distractions/values keep us from seeing things like prayer, Bible reading, church meetings as being better than a thousand days doing anything else?  Who is it that makes going to church a great thing?  Who is responsible for making it anything less than exhilarating (Your pastor included!)?
3. What actually makes relationship with God truly exhilarating?  If we think “bells and whistles” will make being with God more appealing, what are we missing? (Psalm 73:25-26)

Today’s passage: Psalm 83

Helpful thoughts:

• In a time of struggle and feeling helpless, the psalmist appeals to God’s work in the past to ask God to work in the present/future.
  • God’s actions recounted in verses 9-12 were acts of mercy.  Israel had not been following the Lord and had only cried out to Him in their distress.
  • Therefore, this psalm is a cry for mercy.
• Verse 16 parallels the beatitude of Matthew 5:3.  Until we are humbled, we will not cry out for saving.
• When things are hard and we cry out for mercy, we must remember that God may be using that “Hard” to purify us, to bring us to repentance.  It is better to go through hardship and grow then to have it easy all the time and remain in our sin.  We often desire “healing” (Physically) more than “healing” (Spiritually). (Hebrews 12:11, James 5:13-20)

Questions to consider:

1. Is God ever passive or sitting on the sidelines not ready to act?  What would be a good description of that the psalmist is doing in verse 1?  Whose perspective is being represented?  How can this encourage you when you pray?
2. Why did the psalmist want God to act against the enemies of Israel (Verse 16 & 18)?  Who also needed to be humbled, to seek God, and know that He alone is Lord?  Was it only Israel’s enemies who needed this wakeup call?  Why had God brought Israel’s enemies in the past (Look over Judges 2)?
3. Is God being silent today?  How has God spoken to the world and who does He speak to the world through? (Matthew 5:13-16, Romans 10:14-15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Today’s passage: Psalm 82

Helpful thoughts:

• Verse 1 sets the stage for this psalm.  God is set up as judge among all the world leaders (Little g “gods”).
  • Little g “gods” in Hebrew can be used to refer to false idols or to human leaders like governors, kings, presidents, etc.
• In verses 2-7, God gives rebuke and instruction to the political leaders of the world.
• Leaders who walk in darkness (Ignorance and injustice) create instability for the people they are called to serve. (Verse 5)

Questions to consider:

1. What is the God-given role of government (1 Peter 2:13-14)?  If God is commanding governments to give justice to the weak and the fatherless, to maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute, and to free them from the hand of the wicked, what would it be considered if leaders ignored the helpless and helped the wicked?
2. If everyone agreed with God on what “Justice” really is, we would be left to simply work on how best to help the helpless and provide justice for all.  How has sin and rebelliousness made governing so difficult? Why can’t people even seem to agree on what justice should look like?  Why is there instability in the world?
3. How would the phrase, “God helps those who help themselves” hold up against this psalm, or other passages like Romans 5:6, or Isaiah 25:4?  How would the mercy ministries of the church to the community be a picture of the Gospel to those who are in need, especially when their need is the result of their own sinful actions?

Today’s passage: Psalm 81

Helpful thoughts:

• This psalm was for the Feast of Tabernacles, the celebration of the exodus from Egypt.
• God showed His sovereign power in a foreign land.  The gods of Egypt could not compete with Him.  This was one of many reasons it made no sense for Israel to be worshiping false gods from foreign nations.
• When God allows man to do the wrong their sinful hearts desire, that in and of itself is judgment. (Verse 12)
  • Romans 1:18-32 echoes this idea.  Sin requires judgment and sin is judgment.

Questions to consider:

1. In what way can Israel’s freedom from Egypt (and then their turning back to Egypt years later for protection) picture for us the idea of a Christian, saved from our sin, turning back to sin?  Why doesn’t it make any sense for us to continue in sin?
2. Should the fact that we do still sin cause us to simply be OK with that?  Why should we continue to strive for righteousness as we live in the mercy and grace of God?
3. How can verse 10 be a key to successful repentance?  What is God calling His people to do?  Are we going to muscle through these struggles on our own?  Who is our champion against sin?

Today’s passage: Psalm 80

Helpful thoughts:

• It is believed this psalm was written in response to the captivity of the northern tribes.
• Asaph was confident in this, if God’s people could see Him, they would be changed (Verse 3, 7, 19).
  • Looking at all the problems and the cares of this world will never lead us to righteousness.
  • Look to Jesus!  Meditate on the glory of God!
• The Vine out of Egypt represents the people of Israel.

Questions to consider:

1. What happened with this illustration of the vine moving forward into the New Testament? (Matthew 21:33-40, John 15:1-11)  How might the correlation between this psalm’s verses 3, 7, and 19 correlate with Jesus’ command to “abide” in Him?
2. Why is it hard to focus our attention on Jesus in the midst of everything happening in our lives/in this world?  What do we often want God to do with all of these issues and problems?  What might God be using these issues and problems to do to you and for you?
3. Christ told us to take His yoke, that it is “easy” (Matthew 11:25-30).  If we are asking God to make our lives easy, what have we gotten backwards?  How would looking to Jesus, abiding in Him, beholding God’s glory revealed in the Scriptures cause us to reorient our view of all the events happening in and around our lives?  What would it take in our hearts/minds to make following Jesus “easy” in the midst of trouble or even persecution?

Today’s passage: Psalm 79

Helpful thoughts:

• This psalm was most likely written after Babylon conquered Judah and destroyed the Temple.
• Verses 5 and 6 are difficult to hold together:
  • The Lord’s anger and jealousy were against Judah.  They had rejected Him.  They had been unfaithful.
  • To ask God to pour out wrath against pagan nations, in a very real way, should have included Israel and Judah.
  • There was a remnant of the Jewish people who called on the name of the Lord.  They cried out for mercy.
• Asaph’s cry for mercy acknowledges:
  • They needed saving.  Not just internal reform.
    • Not just improvement, atonement.
    • If Jerusalem were to be restored it would be according to God’s power and mercy, not the power of any people.
  • God’s people exist for the glory of His name.

Questions to consider:

1. Nations who worshiped false gods (And probably also citizens of Judah) would believe that the false gods of the Babylonians were more powerful than Yahweh (Verse 10) after this defeat.  Why is that idea so foolish?  Why did Babylon win this “victory”?
2. With the history of Israel, how would the commitment of verse 13 feel like an empty promise?  In what way is it true?  When will God’s people give thanks to Him forever?
3. If God was not merciful, what would be the right answer to the questions of verse 5?  How does this make a verse like 1 John 1:9 so very special?  How can God’s abundant mercy and future gracious promises encourage you to walk in righteousness today…for the glory of His name?