PSALM 19 Reading Guide. May 12-18

Transcription

1 PSALM 19 Reading Guide May 12-18

2 PSALM 19 2 PSALM 19 1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

3 PSALM 19 3 DAY 1 Read through Psalm 19 once writing down what you find interesting, what you find helpful, and what you don t fully understand. C. S. Lewis said of Psalm 9, I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world. This Psalm celebrates the way God reveals himself to us: first in creation and second in Scripture. Creation praises its creator; Scripture points to our Savior. Read through the notes on Psalm 19 in the ESV Study Bible*. Write at least one paragraph highlighting what you learned from the study notes. Reread Psalm 19, personalizing the Psalm as your own prayer. Write out that prayer. DAY 2 Read Psalm 19 again. As you read through verses 1-6, write down one or two things that God s creation tells you about himself. As you read through verses 7-11, write down one or two things God s word tells you about himself. The humble self-reflection on v is not one that everyone naturally makes. It is the work of God s Spirit, revealing your sin to you and giving you a desire to live your life in line with God s commands, for in keeping them there is great reward (Ps. 19:11). Read verses again, writing down one or two ways that God has used this Psalm to help you discern sin in your own life. Read verse 14 again. After his confession of sin, David approaches God and finds him to be his rock and redeemer, not accuser and judge. Spend sometime thinking about the surprise of that verse. Write down your response to the grace David experiences and you, through Jesus, also experience. Take what you ve written and turn it into a prayer of praise and thanksgiving: Praising God for his work and revelation in both his creation and in Scripture and thanking him for the grace he s shown to you through Jesus Christ. DAY 3 Read Psalm 19 again. Read verse 10. Now, read verses 7-9 and write down the support you see for David s description of Scripture in verse 10. Write down your own thoughts on Scripture, as informed by these verses. Spend some time meditating on verse 11: Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. (There is an explanation on what it means to meditate on Scripture in the reading guide for Psalm 7, day 3.) As you do so, record your answers to these three questions: How does this show me something about God to praise? How does this show me something about myself to confess?

4 PSALM 19 4 How does this show me something I need to ask God for? Now, take your answers and write out a prayer to God. Write out verses as an end to your prayer. Read the prayer aloud to God. DAY 4 Read Psalm 19 again. In Romans 1:20 we read that God s invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Therefore, as the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:1), all the rest of creation should join in and sing praise to God. This idea is captured by St. Francis Assisi in his hymn, All Creatures of Our God and King: All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One! O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Yet, this doesn t always happen. There are people who, Paul explains, by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18) and refuse to worship God as they should. Think of someone you know who has not yet trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. Spend some time in prayer, asking God to reveal himself to them, not just as the king and creator of all things, but also as their rock and redeemer. Specifically pray that God, through the Holy Spirit, would: Convince them of their sin and misery. Help them understand what Jesus did for them on the cross. Renew their wills. Persuade and enable them to embrace Jesus as he s offered in the gospel. 1 1 Prayer outline based on Question 31 in the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

5 PSALM 19 5 In Romans 10:14 Paul writes: How are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? People believe in Jesus when they hear someone explain the gospel to them and God s Spirit works in them to cause them to believe in Jesus. Spend some time in prayer, asking God to allow you to be that someone preaching to your friend who is not yet a believer in Jesus. Let the words of Psalm 19 help direct your prayer, both for yourself and for your friend. DAY 5 Read through Psalm 19 twice. Write out at least two paragraphs reflecting on what you ve learned about God, yourself, and others from Psalm 19. Write out at least one thing you hope to apply to your life from Psalm 19. Spend at least 15 minutes sharing what you wrote with a trusted friend or family member. If they read Psalm 19 this week, ask them to do the same. End your time in prayer, thanking God for what he taught you this week. * Purchasing an ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2008.) will aid you in your understanding of the Psalms. The first day s reading each week assumes you will have access to the notes in the ESV Study Bible. The ESV Study Bible is the most comprehensive study Bible ever published. It will help you understand not just the Psalms, but also the rest of the Bible in a deeper way. You can either buy the Bible (amazon.com, search: ESV Study Bible) or purchase online access to the notes at Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

6 PSALM Elliot Grudem.