Today’s passage: Psalm 130

Helpful thoughts:

• When we know we have sinned, we can cry out to and wait for the Lord with eager anticipation!
• God is merciful, forgiving, he loves us with a steadfast love, and He is our Redeemer.
• When rightly appreciated, these truths draw us to God and toward a pursuit of pleasing Him in righteousness.

Questions to consider:

1. How can this psalm encourage you to confess your sin to God and ask His forgiveness?  Why is it important we do that?
2. Why does the forgiveness of God cause us to fear Him more (Verse 4)?  The fact that God has to forgive us and is willing to forgive us teaches us what about Him, about us, and about our relationship with Him?
3. What was the cost which was paid so that we could enjoy this forgiveness and fellowship with our holy God?  How do we know to long for and hope in Christ as we read verses 7-8 from our perspective in the church age?

Today’s passage: Psalm 129

Helpful thoughts:

• In contrast to Psalm 128, this psalm speaks of the ill that would come from the Lord for the wicked, those who have afflicted Israel.
• The God-fearing farmer in Psalm 128 will eat the fruit of the labor of his hands.  The wicked in Psalm 129 will have empty hands and arms when he goes to gather the produce.
• God is seen as the one who is truly righteous and who was preserved Israel through her times of affliction (Verse 4).

Questions to consider:

1. Who is the “me” from verse 1?  Who does the second half of verse 1 imply the “me” is?  How does that help us think about who “I” am or who “we” are today?  How much of your perceived identity is connected with the church?  Is church a place people go, or is it who we are, or both?  Why?
2. How could verses 2-4 be compared with the life and work of Christ?  How was we afflicted and yet prevailed?  How did His righteous service and sacrifice cut the cords of the wicked to free His people?

Today’s passage: Psalm 128

Helpful thoughts:

• This psalm is written as a blessing for those who fear the Lord.
• The aspects of blessing that are desired for the god fearing man in Israel at the writing of this psalm are productive work, a faithful wife, and children in good fellowship with the family.
• These blessings are not just to be viewed as an individual, but as part of a larger community (Verses 5-6).
  • Whatever blessings we might receive from the Lord, they aren’t to be seen as simply a transaction or repayment for our good deeds.  Instead, we fear the Lord because He alone is God, and then we and our community joyfully benefit from the good gifts He gives.

Questions to consider:

1. If we were to read this psalm as a checklist for God to keep when we do right, what would go wrong?  What might our checklist look like?  What if our checklist of blessing was different than the blessings God had in mind?  If we think God owed something to us for our own righteousness, would we be fearing the Lord or understanding grace?
2. When a God-fearing man or woman does receive blessing from the Lord, what would their response probably be?  How would they view the blessing?
3. Though the blessings in verses 2-3 are truly special, why does it make sense to see them as examples and not something all should expect?  What are other blessings that God gives to people who fear Him?  What blessings can you be thankful for today?

Today’s passage: Psalm 127

Helpful thoughts:

• It is right for Christians to work hard and to work well.  And it is right for Christians to work in faith.
• Work that becomes motivated by fear/anxiety or greed is not a work of faith.  God is the one who gives the increase.  Therefore, we can also rest in the right time, trusting in Him.
• Children are a blessing, a reward and a joy.  They are gifts from God.

Questions to consider:

1. How do we see two aspects of the Lord “building the house” in this psalm?  What kind of house building is going on in verses 1-2, then 3-5?  How can this truth give us contentment and joy in whatever God has given us?
2. In what situations do people sometimes view children as a burden or extra trouble?  Is there a time when a child should be seen as a drag or inconvenience, or as a negative consequence?  Why not?
3. What does it mean to say a child would be like an “arrow” in the hand of a warrior?  What is our warfare?  How can parents be thinking about sharpening our arrows?  How could children be thinking about being sharpened and preparing to be launched?

Today’s passage: Psalm 126

Helpful thoughts:

• This psalm is written in a time for lament and hope for the mercies the nation of Israel had seen in past days.
• When God does great thing for His people and when His people remember to praise Him for it and follow hard after Him, the world notices.
• The Negeb is the dry desert southern region in Israel.  The psalmist declares God’s good fortunes toward Israel would be like streams of water running through the desert.

Questions to consider:

1. In what way do verses 5-6 make sense?  When is it right to “sow in tears?” (James 4:8-10)  How does godly grief over our sin result in joy?
2. How does a passage like Philippians 3:14 help us to discern the “fortunes” we are inclined to desire in this life?  What fortune did Israel often give up in order to chase after earthly fortunes when all the time, God was the giver of every good gift?
3. How can the good fortune that you have been given be used so that the nations can see your laughter and joy in Christ?

Today’s passage: Psalm 125

Helpful thoughts:

• There is in this psalm a request for the just protection of the Lord, which in turn calls on God’s people to pursue righteousness.
• “The scepter of wickedness” refers to any kings who would rule in sin.
• Though the truth of Israel’s history does not match this psalm, that doesn’t mean it should not have been an ideal to strive for.

Questions to consider:

1. Of all that the writer desires to be immovable, what alone in this psalm will truly never change and abides forever?
2. How then can we be challenged to grow by this psalm?  When are we truly eternally safe?
3. Though we cannot be entirely righteous in our own strength, why is it right to strive for righteousness in this life?  How does pursuing righteousness correlate with trusting in the Lord?

Today’s passage: Psalm 124

Helpful thoughts:

• In today’s psalm of ascent, the people acknowledge that if God was not protecting them, they would have been destroyed.
• They were to sing this song on the way to worship.  In that way what they are singing communicates the fact that there is a people who can worship God because God has rescued them.  God is their savior and worthy of their worship and thanksgiving.
• When God is our shield and champion, we have the One who made the heavens and the earth fighting for us.  The Creator can beat His creation any time.

Questions to consider:

1. Why are there people who can worship the Lord?  Why do we exist?  Why are we rescued from our sin?  How much credit and glory does God deserve?
2. How does meditating on the greatness and power of God help us to think rightly about the events of our day and the people with whom we interact?
3. How could this psalm be sung by you?  What has God brough you through?  How can you praise Him and thank Him today?

Today’s passage: Psalm 123

Helpful thoughts:

• God is on the throne “in the heavens.”  There is no one higher, no one above Him.  To look for help elsewhere is folly.
• When God is our Lord/Master, we have the greatest and highest Lord!
• The mercy being asked for is relief from the contempt and the scorn God’s people endure from those who do not follow Him.

Questions to consider:

1. Why is it sometimes easier to look to a person over us and put our hope in people over the Lord?  How does thinking on truth and faith keep our hope rooted in God?
2. How do we “lift our eyes” to God in our time of need?  How do we wait once we have “lifted our eyes?”  What does that look like in our lives today?
3. When we acknowledge God as our Lord, what does that also require we do with our expectation of results?  Who is the one who gets to decide how things will turn out?  What can we know is always true about what God decides (Romans 8:28-30)?

Today’s passage: Psalm 122

Helpful thoughts:

• The Psalmist was excited to go to Jerusalem and the Temple for worship, and in this psalm his eager expectation become reality.
• When we pray for peace in Jerusalem, ultimately we are praying for the return of Christ!
• When Jerusalem rested in peace, God’s people could freely go and worship.  When Christ returns, all will be made right.

Questions to consider:

1. How would these prayers and striving for peace have been seen and desired in before Christ came and the New Covenant was established?  What did the times when Jerusalem fell do to the worship of God’s people?
2. How does this psalm become a prayer for Christ’s return?  What do we look forward to when He rules and reigns from Jerusalem?
3. How can this eagerness to worship encourage you on Sundays as you prepare to go to worship with the body of Christ?

Today’s passage: Psalm 121

Helpful thoughts:

• As the pilgrim looked up in elevation toward Jerusalem, they could sing of the Lord our helper and keeper.
• The God who helps and keeps us is the God who created everything by His own power.
• The God who helps and keeps us is the God who never sleeps.  He knows all things at all times for all time, and His desire and will is to help and keep His children forever.

Questions to consider:

1. In what ways is this psalm humbling and also encouraging?
2. What are other things or other people whom we may seek for help and protection?  How do they compare to the Lord?  Why can we tend to look elsewhere?
3. How has God once and for all fulfilled the promise of verse 7?  How has God kept us from the evil of our own hearts and secured our eternal life?