Search The Scriptures —Study 80 — Psalm 103

Study 80 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalm 103

1. List the spiritual blessings mentioned in this psalm. Are you enjoying them yourself? Are you a mindful of their source, and as grateful to God, as the psalmist was?
2. What is emphasized by the mention of God’s ‘steadfast love’(verses 4, 8, 11, 17)? How is it demonstrated? What corresponding activity is demanded of those who would enjoy it? See verses 11, 13, 17, 18.

Notes

1. Verse 5. ‘Like the eagle’s: better, as in rv, ‘like the eagle’. The meaning is ‘made strong as an eagle’. Cf. Is. 40:31.
2. Verses 11, 13, 17. The ‘fear of the Lord’ in the Bible does not refer to an abject, servile terror of the unknown or the terrifying. It is basically and consistently moral (see Ex. 20:18-20), based on knowledge (see Pr. 9:10), and means ‘due reverence and awe’.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 79 — Psalm 102

Study 79 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalms 102

This psalm probably written towards the close of the exile (see verse 13 and cf. Je. 29:10; Dn. 9:2). A description of the present distress (verses 1-11) is followed by a vision of a restored Zion (verses 12-22). The closing verses record the psalmist’s assurance of the changeless character of God (verses 23-28).

1. What does this psalm teach us to do in time of trouble? See the title, and cf. Ps. 62:8.
2. ‘For I… but thou’ (verses 9-12). Contrast with the extreme misery of verses 1-11 the vision of faith in verses 12-28. What has happened? Where is your gaze fixed—upon earth’s sorrows, or upon God? Cf. 2 Cor. 4:8, 9, 18.

Note. Verses 19, 20. Cf. Ex. 3:7, 8. As then, so now.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 78 — Psalm 101

Study 78  From the Book of Psalms is: Psalms 101

Luther called this psalm ‘David’s mirror of a monarch’. Though the themes of the psalm are general, 2 Sam.6:9 may provide the clue to the historical situation—at the beginning of David’s reign.

1. Verses 1-4. David could not sing to God without being aware that worship must have some effects upon his character and actions. Ponder the verbs of these verses. Is your Christian life as definite and decisive as this?
2. Verses 5:8. What company did David seek and shun? To what strenuous and sometimes violent action is the Christian similarly called? Cf. 2 Tim. 2: 14, 16, 19, 21-23.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 77 — Psalms 99 and 100

Study 77  From the Book of Psalms is: Psalms 99 and 100

1. 99. In what ways is the holiness or distinctive character of God here said to be demonstrated? What comfort and what warning can we take from the fact that God’s holiness is not abstract but active? Do you share the psalmist’s passion to see God publicly exalted in holiness? Cf. Rev. 15:3, 4. Do you know what it means to call on His Name and to find that He answers (verses 6-8)?
2. 100. What does this psalm declare that we know about the Lord? And what should this knowledge make us do? In what spirit do you ‘serve the Lord’ (verse 2)?

Note. 99:3. ‘Terrible’: i.e., awe-inspiring. The same word is used in Dt. 10:17;  Ps. 76:7, 12.
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Search The Scriptures —Study 76 — Psalms 97 and 98

Study   From the Book of Psalms is: Psalms 97 and 98

1. 97. What aspects of the Lord’s character are revealed here, and what are the several effects of this revelation? Do they characterize your reaction in the presence of God? E.g., note verse 10a, mg; cf. Rom. 12:9.
2. 98. What acts pf the Lord, past and future, cause the psalmist to praise Him? Does your worship begin and end with thoughts of God, and does it find similar vocal and audible expression? Cf. Eph. 5:19, 20.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 75 — Psalms 95 and 96

Study  75 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalms 95 and 96

These two psalms seem to have been associated with the new year festival. The renewal of the covenant was a special feature of this festival, and God was celebrated as Creator, King, and Judge. Ps. 95 summons God’s people to worship Him, a summons enforced by a grave warning against disobedience. Ps. 96 bids the whole creation join in worship of the Lord.

1. What is said in these two psalms to show that worship from all creation is the Lord’s due? List the reasons why He ought to be worshipped. How should such worship find expression?
2. What special reasons are given in Ps. 95 why ‘we’ should worship God? Who constitute the ‘we’? Of what danger are we warned to beware, and when, and why? Cf. Heb. 3:7-15

Notes

1. 95: 3; 96:4 (cf. 97:9 ). The monotheism of the Old Testament is on the whole practical (e.g., Ex. 20:3) rather than theoretical. But, 96:5 expresses the logical conclusion of Old Testament as well as New Testament belief-that ‘all the gods of the peoples are (literally) nothings’. Cf. 1 Cor. 8:4-6.
2. 95:6. ‘Our Maker’: i.e., the Maker of Israel as a nation-to be His people.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 74 — Psalm 94

Study  74  From the Book of Psalms is: Psalm 94

1. How does the psalmist find hope and comfort when oppressed by evil men? List carefully both the grounds and the content of his confidence.
2. What rebuke does the psalmist give to those in Israel who may have thought that evil men were right when they said (see verse 7) that God was indifferent to His people need? What purpose does he see in the nation’s present sufferings? See verses 8:15; cf. Pr. 3:11, 12; Is. 49:14-16.

Notes

1. Verses 1, 2. The fact that ‘God of vengeance’ is parallel to ‘judge of the earth’ shows that the former is not such and unpleasantly vindictive expression as the English might suggest. Both phrases indicate that God is concerned with the upholding of the moral order.

3. Verse 16. A court scene. ‘Who is my counsel for the defence?’ Asks the psalmist. Cf Rom. 8:31, 33.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 73 — Psalms 92 and 93

Study 73  From the Book of Psalms is: Psalms 92 and 93

1. 92. The psalmist’s eyes have been opened to discern the principles of God’s working, which are hidden from those who have no spiritual understanding. What are these principles? How are both the emotions and the mind stirred?
2. Consider the picture of the life of the godly, as described in 92:12-14. What is the secret of their vigour and beauty? Cf. Ps. 1:3; Je. 17:7, 8; Is. 40:29-31.
3. 93. Might alone did not distinguish Israel’s God from those of surrounding nation. What two unique features does this psalm mention? Cf. Ps. 90: 2c; Dt. 33:27 and Ex. 15:11b; Ps. 47:8.

Notes

1. 92:1. ‘To give thanks’ means much more than ‘to say ‘thank you’. It involves public acknowledgement of God’s grace by word, and probably with thank-offering.
2. 92:6. ‘This’ refers, as the colon shows, to the contest, of verses 7 and 8.
3. 92:10. Horns symbolized power. Cf. Zc. 1:18ff; Ps. 75:10. The figure is one of reinvigoration and reconsecration.
4. 92:12. ‘Flourish’: the same word as ‘sprout’ in verse 7.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 72 — Psalm 91

Study 72 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalm 91

The theme of this psalm is the security and blessedness of a life lived under God’s protection. The change of pronouns has been variously explained. In verses 2 and 9a (see mg). a solo voice declares its trust (in the first person singular), after which the choir respond with renewed assurance. Finally, in verses 14-16, God Himself speaks in words of gracious promise.

1. Life and health were insecure in ancient times. The world was haunted by unseen, malevolent powers. How does the psalmist’s faith in God transform the situation? What comfort does the psalm bring to (a) the sufferer, and (b) one who anticipates suffering? Cf. the fuller statement in Rom. 8:16-18, 28, 31, 35-37.
2. Verses 14-16. Note here seven gracious promises of God. Can you bear witness to heir truth from your own experience and from the experience of other believers? Cf. 2 Peter. 1:2-4.

Notes

1. The evils mentioned in verses 3, 5, 10, 13 refer to all kinds of adversity. Insidious and hidden, or open and visible, explicable or inexplicable. Verse 13 refers not to Tarzan-like exploits, but to deliverance from dangers, natural and supernatural, not by magic (as in Egypt), but by faith.
2. Verse 14. I will protect’: ‘literally. I will set him inaccessibly high’.

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Search The Scriptures —Study 71 — Psalm 90

Study 71 From the Book of Psalms is: Psalm 90 

1. In verses 2-11 what is said about (a) man and (b) God? In view of these facts, what should be man’s attitude (verses 11, 12)? What is meant by a heart of wisdom? Cf. Pr. 9: 10; Je. 9:23, 24; Jas. 4:12-16.
2. Set down in your own words the petitions of verses 13-17. What convictions do they reveal concerning God’s character and actions? Can the petitions be transposed into a Christian key?

Note. Verse 11. It is only those who truly reverence the Lord who consider the reality of God’s wrath against sin in all its intensity.

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