Today’s passage: Psalm 120

Helpful thoughts:

• In stark contrast to the faith and joy we can have in God’s true words from chapter 119, today’s chapter speaks of falsehood.
• The Jews in exile (In places like Meshech and Kedar) had been encouraged to seek peace in the cities where they dwelt (Jeremiah 29:7), but the lying lips of the people were going to bring judgment (Verse 4).
• This psalm is a psalm of ascent (As are all of Psalms 120-134).  Meaning, it was intended to be sung on the journey to worship in Jerusalem.
  • This song was to be sung to remind the singer in his journey, peace and truth are to be found not in the nations, but in the worship of the Lord.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the deliverance that was given to the psalmist (And all who cry out to the Lord for deliverance)?  Was the deliverance a new home or new neighborhood to live in (Where the new neighbors wouldn’t lie as much)?  If this song of ascents was sung on the way to worship the Lord, whose words and whose presence is our deliverance?
2. How can remembering that being with God and hearing His Word is deliverance help us to view our circumstances in life wisely? (John 16:33)
3. In truth, from whose deceitful tongue do we need deliverance first?  Why/How have we been rescued from the judgment that comes against lying lips?

Today’s passage: Psalm 119:161-176

Helpful thoughts:

• Sin/Shin
  • Fear of man and fear of God are contrasted in these verses.
  • Verses 161 and 165 need to be understood together.  When we fear God and our ambition is to be pleasing to Him (2 Corinthians 5:9) we can have peace even when people are displeased with us.
• Taw
  • When we read the Bible, we must read it to understand it as God intends.
  • There is humility communicated in the final verse.  When we remember that we have gone astray and are God’s children by His grace, our love for His Word only increases.

Questions to consider:

1. Does the psalmist read the Bible seven times a day because he loves it so much, or does he love it so much because he reads it seven times a day (Verses 164 and 167)?  Or…both?  How can this encourage us?  (The number seven could be figurative, this number is not suggested as a new law but to encourage a fulness of praise and study of God’s Word.)
2. How does a humble approach to God’s Word help us to read and understand it better?  When we come to the Word in pride, how might we misinterpret?  How does the gospel message and the ministry of the Holy Spirit guide us into the truth?

Today’s passage: Psalm 119:145-160

Helpful thoughts:

• Qoph
  • It is helpful to remember the “heart” refers to the inner man or the mind.
  • Knowing God’s Word teaches us how to pray (Verse 149).
  • Knowing God’s Word teaches about the One to whom we pray (Verse 152).
• Resh
  • The Bible is true and God’s commands are worthy of our obedience (Not just Christians, but all people).
  • When we see sin it should be disgusting, both in ourselves and in others.
  • When we remember why we are not condemned, we also remember what sinners need to hear (Isaiah 53:5).

Questions to consider

1. How does pursuing God in His Word with our whole heart change our perspective on life, on prayer, on anything?
2. Why should verses 153-160 humble us as opposed to making us prideful?  Who is our rescuer?  How do we see sin and sinners rightly?  What had God called us to do?

Today’s passage: Psalm 119:121-144

Helpful thoughts:

• Ayin
  • The psalmist knows of God’s justice and desires to see it, knowing that he needs to learn God’s statutes in his own life.
    • When we call for God’s justice, we should do so with humility knowing we too are guilty and that justice has been served for our sin through the suffering of Christ on the cross.
• Pe
  • God’s words and a life lived under His teaching is a blessing of grace.
  • Verse 135 recalls the blessing of Numbers 6:24-26.
• Tsadhe
  • The psalmist experiences trouble and anguish, presumably from those who forget God’s words.
  • His way of escape is not against his foes, but toward God’s words.  God’s Word enlightens his path in the midst of adversity.
    • He knows how to respond because of God’s Word.

Questions to consider:

1. When will the final fulfilment of God’s promises to those whom He declares righteous come?  How does remembering that we are sinners who have been declared righteous by God’s grace give us perspective on how we view the world?  How does this give us a greater love for God and a greater appreciation of His Word?
2. How would the tears of verse 136 be tears of compassion and hurt as opposed to tears of anger?  What does the psalmist acknowledge he needs in verse 132?  How can this help us to obey the commands of Romans 12:14-21?
3. If we were to counsel someone going through persecution to just read the Bible, how would that counsel be incomplete?  What does God provide for us in the Bible that directs us in our steps in the midst of hardship?

Today’s passage: Psalm 119:97-120

Helpful thoughts:

• Mem
  • The psalmist has more wisdom than his contemporary enemies, his teachers, and those who were older (“The aged”) because he knew the word of God.
    • Age brings experience, but experience not discerned through the grid of the Word of God can misguide.  The Bible trumps all other forms of wisdom.
  • In order to have victory over sin, you must “put on” what is right (Verse 101 and Ephesians 4:20-24)
• Nun
  • The Bible shows us how to live.  When our hearts and consciences are not in agreement with the Word, follow the Word.
  • In order to incline our hearts to perform His statutes, we must delight in the Word.
    • Our thinking informs our desires, our desires inform our actions.
• Samekh
  • We think of “hate” as an emotion that we would not typically encourage.  The word is used here in the context of choosing one person over the other.  One is chosen, the other, “hated,” and in this case, they are hated because of their double-mindedness.
    • See James 4:1-10, especially verses 1-3 and 8.
  • Cunning does not make people grow spiritually, fear of the Lord does (Verses 118 & 120).

Questions to consider:

1. When the Word of God is sweet to our taste, what will the world’s values and sin “taste” like?  If we delight in the world’s thinking, what will the Word of God “taste” like?  How does this help us to know where the root of repentance is found?
2. How does God direct us where to go and how to live (Verse 105)?  Why would we sometimes prefer a sign or a “feeling” of peace instead?  How would knowing and submitting to God’s Word give us peace of mind in the decisions we make (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?
3. What would a person who is “cunning” but also “double-minded” result in?  How does the fear of the Lord result in a purification of our mind (Our thinking) and result in growth?

Today’s passage: Psalm 119:73-96

Helpful thoughts:

• Yodh
  • God is our Creator.  It is only right that we should follow Him.
  • God’s steadfast love, faithfulness and promises give us comfort in good times and bad.
  • When others wrong us, God is the judge (Verse 78). (Romans 12:17-19)
• Kaph
  • These verses include a prayer for rescue from suffering at the hands of the wicked.
  • When it seems everything around us is changing (And for the worst!) we can rest in knowing that God has not and will not change.
• Lamedh
  • God’s Word does not change.  It is “fixed forever in the heavens.”
  • Man’s pursuit of perfection always falls short, but God’s perfection is “exceedingly broad.”  It does not run out.  His streak of perfection will never end.

Questions to consider:

1. Why is the sovereignty of God important?  What authority does He have over all the world?  How does His sovereignty give us assurance of salvation through His revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Meaning, whose ability and authority guarantees our salvation?
2. What gave the psalmist hope and comfort to endure persecution and suffering?  What was the end result and goal of his rescue (Verse 88)?
3. Why is it so important to know that God does not change and His Word will not change?  If God could go back on His promises, what would that mean for our faith?  Why can we have utter confidence in the promises of the Gospel?

Today’s passage: Psalm 119:49-72

Helpful thoughts:

• Zayin
  • When a person hopes in God’s Word, it is a gift of God’s grace (Verse 49).
  • When a person obeys God’s Word, it is a gift of God’s grace (Verse 56).
  • The promises of the Bible give us the ability to take a big step back and receive comfort even during times of affliction.
• Heth
  • God is not just a giver of good gifts, He is the greatest gift.  The Lord is our portion.
  • When we view Him this way our hearts are inclined to know what He says and to follow Him.
  • We naturally spend time with those who love the same things we do (Verse 63).
• Teth
  • The psalmist has learned to be thankful for God’s providential use of affliction because it turned his heart to the Word.
  • The “unfeeling heart” could also be called a “seared conscience” (1 Timothy 4:2).  This is how they smear with lies without conviction.

Questions to consider:

1. What upsets the psalmist most in verse 53?  Why can it be easier to be more upset about personal calamity or affliction that we get upset about sin?  In what way is sin a far greater calamity than any other hardship we might endure in life?
2. How do verses 59, 61 and 63 contrast?  What is a major help to our walk with Christ?  How does being together with God’s people keep our minds fixed on the truth of God’s Word?
3. What was the benefit of having gone through affliction in verses 65-72?  In what ways has God used hardship in your life to be gracious and point you back to His Word and Himself?

Today’s passage: Psalm 119:25-48

Helpful thoughts:

• Daleth
  • Verses 25-28 describe our natural condition and then our confession of sin.
  • Verses 29-30 describe a change of desire.  Godly repentance is happening here.
  • Verses 31-32 describe our new condition as believers, running hard after God according to God’s Word.
• He (Pronounced, Hay)
  • Knowing God’s Word and obeying it (Verses 33-34) results in joy, love, purposeful living, reflecting God’s glory (displaying Christ-likeness), lack of guilt and shame (Verses 35-39).
• Waw (Pronounced, Wow or Vav)
  • The answer to the world’s opposition come from the Lord.  He is our savior, defender and refuge.
  • The “wide place” in verse 45 is another way to say that we would walk or live in liberty.
  • Lifting up hands (Verse 48) depicts an eagerness to receive the Word.

Questions to consider:

1. What does it mean for our hearts to be “enlarged?” (Verse 32)  Knowing that we can substitute the words “heart” and “mind,” what would we be talking about if we said, “enlarge my mind?”  Where should new and expanded thoughts come from for the child of God who is going to “run in the ways” of God’s commands?
2. How are the results listed for verses 35-39 written out?  Joy – Verse 35, Love – 36, Purpose – 37, Reflecting glory or showing Christ-likeness – 38, Lack of guilt or shame – 39?  How does knowing and following the Word provide these things?
3. How does obeying God’s commands compare to having liberty?  Wouldn’t people be prone to think that obeying someone else is the opposite of liberty?  When we have been granted salvation (Verse 41), what are we liberated from (Romans 6:5-14)?

Today’s passage: Psalm 119:1-24

Helpful thoughts:

• Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible (We will take eight days to get through it).
  • Each section is titled after letters of the Hebrew alphabet and each line in that section starts with the same letter as the title.
  • The theme of the entire psalm is the value and blessing of God’s word.
• Aleph
  • These verses set a goal for righteousness that will only be fully realized when God completes His sanctifying work in our lives.
  • We know the “Then” of verse 6 and the “When” of verse 7 are future promises.
  • BUT, these promises compel us to have our eyes fixed on all His commandments that we might continue to grow as we await that day (Verse 6).
• Beth
  • Verse 9 could be stated, “How can I know God’s will for my life? By living according to His Word.”
  • Much attention given to God’s Word corrects our thinking and shapes our conscience.  When God’s Word is “hidden in our heart” or, deeply rooted in our thinking, we will WANT to live in obedience to Him.
• Gimel
  • Verse 17 asks for a bountiful life and then defines what a bountiful life is, “That I may live according to Your Word.”
  • Insolent is a synonym of arrogant.  When we are overly self-assured, we are prone to not need outside information, preventing us from the treasure trove of God’s Word. (Verse 21)
  • The psalmist argues that it is better to have God’s Word than to be freed from the pressure of others plotting against him.

Questions to consider:

1. In what practical ways can we have our eyes “fixed” on the Bible?  What are some ways that you have found useful to keep Scripture in the forefront of your mind?  How might you be able to share these ideas with others?
2. When we want to know God’s “will” what are we often asking for?  What does it appear God is after in this passage MORE than informing us which car to buy, which house to live in, what college to attend, etc.?  How does the Word of God inform our decisions in these other areas?
3. What is the most “bountiful” life?  Why is knowing God and His Word and following Him so much better than having anything this world could offer?  How can this faith carry us through times of hardships and suffering?

Today’s passage: Psalm 118

Helpful thoughts:

• The truth that God is worthy of our trust and able to protect us better than any people could is supported by the psalmist’s personal testimony.
• It is a wonderful thing to be able to say, “The Lord is on my side.”
• Because the Lord is on our side, He also brings discipline (Verse 18 – See Hebrews 12:3-11)

Questions to consider:

1. How does reading verses 19-24 together in context help you to understand them better?  What (Who) is the “gate” of the Lord through whom all who are righteous have entered (John 10:9)?  What (Who) is the cornerstone upon which God’s building is built (Matthew 21:42-46, Acts 4:10-12, Ephesians 2:19-22)?
2. How then do we even better understand the significance of the people quoting verse 26 at Jesus’ triumphal entry (Matthew 21:9 – Where He would quote verses 22-23 to the Jewish leaders who rejected Him)?
3. What experiences in your life would fit with this psalm?  How has He loved you, been a refuge to you, and earned your thanks and praise?