Tag: Online Bible Study

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Read Psalm 119:145-160

Recall the things from the introductory lesson that you wanted to keep in mind as you study the text of Psalm 119.

Don’t forget to read in complete sentences instead of stopping at the end of each verse.

Recall the themes you’ve been noticing in Psalm 119. Watch for those themes to be repeated in today’s and future passages. You may wish to make a list of those themes to refer to throughout this study.

Questions to Consider

1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson. Does that passage relate to this week’s passage? How? Do you notice any repeated words, thoughts, or themes?

2. Let’s look at a few themes in today’s passage.

The first is the theme of the psalmist’s imploring. Make a list of all the phrases in this section which indicate imploring (e.g. “Answer me, O Lord”). Who is he imploring, for what, and why? When we implore someone about something, what does our imploring indicate that we believe about that someone? What does the psalmist’s imploring God indicate he believes about God? Is his belief correct? How do we know this? Think of a time when you implored God about something. What did your imploring indicate you believed about God? Regardless of how He answered, was your belief correct? How do you know?

Our next theme is the theme of night. Which two verses in this passage contain this theme? What is “the watches of the night” (148), and what does the psalmist mean in this verse? (It may help to compare a few different translations.) What sort of picture do darkness and night paint in this passage? What is the antidote to darkness and night in this passage?

The third theme is the theme of far and near. Which verses explore this theme? In each instance, list what is far from or near to what. In what ways are far and near contrasted? In each instance of far or near, note whether the psalmist is indicating that far or near is a good thing or a bad thing. Have you experienced any of these instances in your own life? What does this teach us about salvation and the nature and character of God?

The final theme is the theme of hope. Which verse explicitly declares the psalmist’s hope? What does he hope in, and why? Make a list of other phrases in today’s passage which implicitly indicate the psalmist’s hope. Who or what does he hope in? How does this hope ease the tension of, and comfort him in his affliction? Do you have that same hope in Christ? Write out a few statements of your own hope in Christ and His Word modeled after the structure of verse 147 (e.g. “I [negative circumstance], but I hope in [characteristic of God / the Word].)

How do the themes of imploring, night, far and near, and hope relate to and inform one another in this passage?

Did you notice any other themes in today’s passage? Explore them using your cross references. How do they connect to the aforementioned themes?

3. Note the word “promise” in 148. In this context, does “promise” mean Scripture in general, a specific verse or promise, the nature and character of a God who keeps His promises, all of the above? Explain why. (Again, it may help to compare a few different translations.)

4. How many times, and in which verses, does the psalmist use the phrase “give me life according to Your…”? How does the first line of each verse inform or relate to the “give me life” part of the verse? What are the three “according to’s” in these verses?

Whenever God acts in any way, in any circumstance, explain how and why He always acts:

• according to His promise:

• according to His rules:

• according to His steadfast love:

Can you think of some examples from Scripture in which we see God acting according to His promise, according to His rules, and according to His steadfast love? What about some examples from your own life?

5. Make a list of each phrase in today’s passage in which the psalmist is basically saying, “I obey Your Word.”. Do you get the sense that the psalmist is saying to God, “I obey You, therefore, You owe me X,Y, and Z.”? That God should react to his obedience as a quid pro quo? Why or why not?

Remember that, unlike Christians today, the psalmist was living under the Mosaic covenant. Under this covenant, God promised to bless Israel’s families, fields, flocks, finances, and fighting men if they obeyed Him, and to curse them in all of these areas if they disobeyed him. This was the air the psalmist breathed that informed his view of God, his relationship to God, and how he expected or anticipated that God would act in his life. Knowing this background, why do we see this repeated refrain of “I keep Your commandments,” especially when the psalmist is suffering, in today’s passage and throughout Psalm 119? What is the psalmist reminding himself of – about himself and about God – by repeating this again and again? How does “holding God to His Word” demonstrate the psalmist’s trust in God to keep His promises? Explain how the psalmist’s constant cry of “I obey Your Word” calls upon God to be God – to act in accord with His nature and character, to keep the promises He made in the Covenant, and to act within the parameters of the Covenant.

How is the psalmist’s brand of “stake my life on it, total obedience, so much so that I don’t get why God hasn’t acted yet” faith and belief different from the easy, shallow, mental assent, untested “I love Jesus” brand of belief that requires nothing of, and demonstrates nothing about the “believer,” that we see in so many professing Christians today? Which type of belief is Jesus calling us to when He says “Repent and believe the gospel,” and Paul and Silas, when they said to the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”? How is this type of “stake my life on it” belief different from both the works righteousness, “quid pro quo” type of “belief” in God and the easy / shallow type of “belief” in Jesus? How is the posture of the psalmist’s heart, and the genuinely regenerated Believer’s heart different from the posture of heart of those who subscribe to these other two forms of “belief”?

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Praying Psalm 119

Have you ever tried praying the psalms? I want to encourage you to try praying part of Psalm 119 back to God each week of this study. (If you’re familiar with my other studies, this will take the place of the weekly “Homework” section.)

The psalms are uniquely suited for praying back to God, both verbatim and conceptually, because they are often written as prayers – as though the psalmist is talking to God. Did you notice that about today’s passage? In which verses?

What is a concept or thought for your own life that the Holy Spirit impressed on your heart or convicted you about from today’s passage? Is there a particular verse(s), or maybe the whole passage, that you would like to pray back to God verbatim? Whatever your “prayer point” from today’s lesson, pray it at least daily until we get to the next lesson.

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Suggested Memory Verse

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Read Psalm 119:129-144

Recall the things from the introductory lesson that you wanted to keep in mind as you study the text of Psalm 119.

Don’t forget to read in complete sentences instead of stopping at the end of each verse.

Recall the themes you’ve been noticing in Psalm 119. Watch for those themes to be repeated in today’s and future passages. You may wish to make a list of those themes to refer to throughout this study.

Questions to Consider

1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson. Does that passage relate to this week’s passage? How? Do you notice any repeated words, thoughts, or themes?

2. As you have been studying Psalm 119, have you noticed that everything in the psalmist’s life is oriented toward God and His Word? I illustrated his God-ward orientation like this in my own notes: “Let me eat my Wheaties so I’ll have the strength to obey Your Word.” “Even when I’m brushing my teeth, I long for Your statutes.” Explain the psalmist’s desire, reflected in today’s passage, to have everything in his life: his heart, his actions, his environment, and his relationships with others, align with, be saturated with, and be enthralled with God’s Word. Compare that desire to these passages. What does it mean to glorify God in whatever we do? To desire God’s will in every circumstance? Explain the friction and tension sin – our own sin, others’ sin, and living in a fallen world – creates as it works against that desire. When and how will this conflict between sin and God’s will and His glory be resolved?

3. How is Psalm 119 – as a whole, and today in verses 132-135 – a model for our prayer life? Compare the psalmist’s prayer in this passage to the Lord’s Prayer. Would it be a right handling of God’s Word to see the Lord’s Prayer as sort of a general, condensed version of the prayers we see in Psalms, especially Psalm 119? How does this similarity in prayer from the Old Testament to the New Testament to today reflect God’s immutability – His unchanging nature?

4. Read verses 136 and 139 together. Describe the two reactions the psalmist has to others’ sin. Why does he react to others’ sin this way? List some reasons. Do you react to others’ sin (and not only sin that directly affects you) in the same way as the psalmist, and for the same reasons? What is it about our new nature in Christ that moves our hearts to view and respond to sin this way?

5. How many times are the words right, righteous, and righteousness used in 137-144? Define righteousness. Explain in your own words what each of these occurrences of right/righteous/righteousness means in this passage. Describe how the concept of righteousness “bookends” (137 & 144) this passage. Who/what is righteous? How is He/it righteous? How are we to respond to that righteousness? How does the righteousness described here help us to have confidence in God and His Word? How does it lead us to trust God and His Word?

6. Compare and contrast the reaction to sin of #4 with the righteousness of #5. How are they connected? Is it possible to have one without the other? Why or why not?

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Praying Psalm 119

Have you ever tried praying the psalms? I want to encourage you to try praying part of Psalm 119 back to God each week of this study. (If you’re familiar with my other studies, this will take the place of the weekly “Homework” section.)

The psalms are uniquely suited for praying back to God, both verbatim and conceptually, because they are often written as prayers – as though the psalmist is talking to God. Did you notice that about today’s passage? In which verses?

What is a concept or thought for your own life that the Holy Spirit impressed on your heart or convicted you about from today’s passage? Is there a particular verse(s), or maybe the whole passage, that you would like to pray back to God verbatim? Whatever your “prayer point” from today’s lesson, pray it at least daily until we get to the next lesson.

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Suggested Memory Verse

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Read Psalm 119:113-128

Recall the things from the introductory lesson that you wanted to keep in mind as you study the text of Psalm 119.

Don’t forget to read in complete sentences instead of stopping at the end of each verse.

Recall the themes you’ve been noticing in Psalm 119. Watch for those themes to be repeated in today’s and future passages. You may wish to make a list of those themes to refer to throughout this study.

Questions to Consider

1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson. Does that passage relate to this week’s passage? How? Do you notice any repeated words, thoughts, or themes?

2. Describe the psalmist’s posture towards evildoers (113, 115, 118, 119, 126). When you think of people who live in unrepentant rebellion against God, do you tend to have the same posture toward them as the psalmist – righteous anger that they are enemies of God, and, consequently, your enemies as well? Or do you tend to have compassion and a “there, but for the grace of God, go I” posture toward them? Explain why both of these postures are biblical at their appropriate times. Why is it important – for our own hearts and when dealing with and witnessing to the lost – to have a biblically healthy, and appropriate to the situation and individual, balance between those two postures? What could be some of the negative results of having too much compassion for the lost? Of having too much of an “enemies of God” posture toward the lost? How would it impact a church that adopts an out of balance “compassion” posture or “enemies” posture toward sinners?

3. What does double-minded mean in 113? How does the psalmist contrast double-mindedness with God’s stable, secure, and sure law? How does the stability of God’s Word bring us hope? (114) What does the New Testament say about being double-minded? Sometimes we think of the full-throated atheist as the greatest danger to God’s people, but how might a double-minded “Christian” be even more of a threat to the church from within?

How can the double-minded and evildoers pull us away from our hope that’s a result of abiding in Christ and His Word (115-117), and how can they be a distraction and a discouragement from obedience?

4. In 118-120, how does the psalmist describe the way God will deal with evildoers? How does this create a healthy and biblically appropriate fear of God in the psalmist? What is the difference between being afraid of God as some sort of mean monster of indiscriminate wrath, and having a healthy and biblically appropriate fear of God? Considering everything you’ve studied in Psalm 119 so far, does the psalmist’s “obsession” with obeying God’s law seem to be motivated by love for God or being afraid of God? How does an appropriate fear and reverence for God’s power, holiness, wrath, etc., grow our love for Him?

5. Describe what is happening in the psalmist’s life in 121-125, and how he pleads with God. What does he ask God to do to help him? Why? Have you ever been in a situation like the psalmist’s in which you pled with God to intervene over a protracted period of time, and it seemed like He just wouldn’t budge? How does the psalmist’s statement in 126, “It is time for the Lord to act,” resonate with you? Why, in the second half of 126, does he say it is time for the Lord to act? Is it for selfish or personal reasons? Explain how the psalmist is reflecting God’s attribute of justice in this statement. When someone treats you unjustly (actual injustice, not just “I don’t like what you did”) are you more concerned with the pain or problems she is causing you, or the fact that she’s sinning against God by breaking His law?

How is the psalmist’s reflection of the justice of God a result of his loving, studying, and obeying God’s Word? Which godly character traits is God growing in you as you love, study, and obey God’s Word?

6. The psalmist has talked about suffering and being afflicted many times so far in Psalm 119. How is being the victim of injustice (121-125) another form of suffering? Name some godly character traits God grows us in as a result of suffering through injustice. How might growing us in those godly character traits be more important to God, and better for us, than rectifying the unjust situation right away?

7. What are the “therefores” in 127 and 128 “there for”? What do they refer back to? Explain 126-128 in your own words.

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Praying Psalm 119

Have you ever tried praying the psalms? I want to encourage you to try praying part of Psalm 119 back to God each week of this study. (If you’re familiar with my other studies, this will take the place of the weekly “Homework” section.)

The psalms are uniquely suited for praying back to God, both verbatim and conceptually, because they are often written as prayers – as though the psalmist is talking to God. Did you notice that about today’s passage? In which verses?

What is a concept or thought for your own life that the Holy Spirit impressed on your heart or convicted you about from today’s passage? Is there a particular verse(s), or maybe the whole passage, that you would like to pray back to God verbatim? Whatever your “prayer point” from today’s lesson, pray it at least daily until we get to the next lesson.

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Suggested Memory Verse

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Read Psalm 119:97-112

Recall the things from the introductory lesson that you wanted to keep in mind as you study the text of Psalm 119.

Don’t forget to read in complete sentences instead of stopping at the end of each verse.

Recall the themes you’ve been noticing in Psalm 119. Watch for those themes to be repeated in today’s and future passages. You may wish to make a list of those themes to refer to throughout this study.

Questions to Consider

1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson. Does that passage relate to this week’s passage? How? Do you notice any repeated words, thoughts, or themes?

2. Notice the two part pattern to each of the verses in 97-104. What is the impact God’s Word has on the psalmist in each of these verses?

3. Explain the concepts of wisdom (98) and understanding (99, 100, 104) as they relate to God’s Word. What is the difference between factual knowledge and biblical wisdom? How do we acquire biblical wisdom?

Verses 98, 99, and 100 each compare godly, biblical wisdom to a different form of worldly “wisdom”. Explain each form of worldly “wisdom”. How is biblical wisdom far superior to each?

4. Notice how the psalmist’s love for God’s Word feeds on itself. The more he feeds on God’s Word, the more he hungers for it. How does this prove out the truth of Matthew 5:6? Have you experienced this hunger for God’s Word in your life? How can we acquire this hunger for the Word?

Agree with, disagree with, or how would you tweak this statement: “Constant meditation on the Word leads to consistent obedience to the Word, which leads to an increasing love for the Word and the God of the Word.”?

5. We’ve seen previous sections “bookended” with a unified thought (e.g. “I love Your law” / “I love Your law”). Is 97-104 bookended with a unified thought or a contrasting thought? What are the bookend thoughts for this section, how do they complement each other, and how do they fittingly introduce and conclude this section?

6. Have you ever known someone who walked away from the faith due to suffering? How does the psalmist respond to suffering in 105-112? What can you learn from this passage about the biblical response to suffering? Compare the psalmist’s response to suffering to Paul’s response to suffering.

Imagine you’re the psalmist in 105-112. If a lost friend said to you, “All of this loving God’s Word and striving so hard to obey it, and you’re still suffering so much? It’s not working. Why bother?” how would you answer her from what you’ve learned so far in Psalm 119 about God, His Word, and suffering? What do we know about suffering that the world doesn’t know? What do we have during suffering that the world doesn’t have? How is God’s Word a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (105) during the darkness of suffering?

Explain why, for the psalmist and the Christian, obedience to God during times of suffering isn’t an added burden – it’s freeing and brings us joy.

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Praying Psalm 119

Have you ever tried praying the psalms? I want to encourage you to try praying part of Psalm 119 back to God each week of this study. (If you’re familiar with my other studies, this will take the place of the weekly “Homework” section.)

The psalms are uniquely suited for praying back to God, both verbatim and conceptually, because they are often written as prayers – as though the psalmist is talking to God. Did you notice that about today’s passage? In which verses?

What is a concept or thought for your own life that the Holy Spirit impressed on your heart or convicted you about from today’s passage? Is there a particular verse(s), or maybe the whole passage, that you would like to pray back to God verbatim? Whatever your “prayer point” from today’s lesson, pray it at least daily until we get to the next lesson.

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Suggested Memory Verse

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Read Psalm 119:81-96

Recall the things from the introductory lesson that you wanted to keep in mind as you study the text of Psalm 119.

Don’t forget to read in complete sentences instead of stopping at the end of each verse.

Recall the themes you’ve been noticing in Psalm 119. Watch for those themes to be repeated in today’s and future passages. You may wish to make a list of those themes to refer to throughout this study.

Questions to Consider

1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson. Does that passage relate to this week’s passage? How? Do you notice any repeated words, thoughts, or themes?

2. Notice the I/me/my >>> You/Your pattern in 81-83. Make a 2-column chart, and write all of the I/me/my’s on the left and all of the You/Your’s on the right. What does this teach us about how the psalmist regards God? How we should regard God? What does it teach us about God’s (and God’s Word’s) sufficiency and sovereignty in our suffering?

3. What is the overall theme of this section? Suffering can often be categorized in one of three ways: “deserved” suffering (suffering the direct consequences of your own sin), “undeserved” suffering (suffering as a result of someone else’s sin {abuse, being a victim of a crime, etc.} or as a result of living in a fallen world {illness, natural disasters, etc.}), and persecution (suffering as a direct result of your testimony of Christ). Which kind of suffering is the psalmist experiencing here? How does the psalmist characterize those persecuting him in 85-87, 95?

As Christians, Scripture teaches us to expect persecution for our testimony. Compare what the New Testament teaches us to expect regarding persecution with what the psalmist is describing here. How are the two similar or different?

Sometimes Christians equate “persecution” with martyrdom, physical torture, or imprisonment. Is that how the psalmist is describing his persecution? Second Timothy 3:12 says, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”. Over the last 2000 years, have all Christians who lived godly lives been martyred, tortured, or imprisoned? If not, is this verse of Scripture untrue, or is it possible that we’re defining “persecution” incorrectly? If persecution is more of a spectrum, with martyrdom, torture, and imprisonment at the “most difficult” end, what kinds of things would be at the “easiest to endure” end? In the middle? Where, on the spectrum, would you say the psalmist’s persecution fell? Have you ever experienced persecution? Where, on the spectrum, did your persecution fall? (You may wish to read my article 4 Things You Need to Understand About Christian Persecution.)

4. How would you characterize the urgency of the psalmist’s plea in 84-86? Is our posture toward suffering that we are OK with God “taking His time” to alleviate it, or do we, like the psalmist, cry out, “How long must your servant endure?…Help me!” (84,86) when we’re suffering, do our minds go to the “How long, O Lord?” passages of Scripture, like this one, or are passages where God seems to help immediately and miraculously (e.g. parting the Red Sea, the provision of manna, raising the dead, etc.) our go to? Do we ever stop to think about how much “How long, O Lord?” went on prior to some of those seemingly immediate miracles? Why does God often seem to wait so long before alleviating our suffering?

In previous lessons we have seen the psalmist say that affliction taught him obedience to God and His Word, a concept that’s reiterated for Christians in the New Testament. What are some other aspects of godly character God grows us in when suffering lasts a long time? How, and in which verses, does the psalmist demonstrate in this passage that long and drawn out suffering teaches us endurance and dependence on God? What does the New Testament teach us about this?

What does today’s passage teach us about where our focus should be when we are being persecuted? How does keeping our focus on Christ help us in times of persecution?

5. Notice the structure of 89-96. The psalmist moves from the “macro” of God, His Word, and His work, to the “micro,” and back again to the “macro”. How does he do this in:

• 89-91:

• 92-95:

• 96:

How do verses 89 and 96 “bookend” this section with the concepts that God’s Word is eternal, transcending the bounds of time (89), permanent, transcending the ravages of time (89), and limitless, transcending all temporal barriers and situations (96)? How are these characteristics rooted in the nature of God, Himself?

Explain how, even though – or maybe, because – God’s Word is eternal, permanent, and limitless, on the macro level, it is able to work within the framework or containment of the temporal on a micro level – human history, the bounds of the earth and the laws of nature, our circumstances, our human frailty, etc. How can something so vast be “contained” by our tiny little lives and circumstances? How does this characteristic of God’s Word help the psalmist, and us, during times of persecution?

Spend some time meditating on this characteristic of God and His Word, and let it lead you to worship Him.

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Praying Psalm 119

Have you ever tried praying the psalms? I want to encourage you to try praying part of Psalm 119 back to God each week of this study. (If you’re familiar with my other studies, this will take the place of the weekly “Homework” section.)

The psalms are uniquely suited for praying back to God, both verbatim and conceptually, because they are often written as prayers – as though the psalmist is talking to God. Did you notice that about today’s passage? In which verses?

What is a concept or thought for your own life that the Holy Spirit impressed on your heart or convicted you about from today’s passage? Is there a particular verse(s), or maybe the whole passage, that you would like to pray back to God verbatim? Whatever your “prayer point” from today’s lesson, pray it at least daily until we get to the next lesson.

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Suggested Memory Verse