PSALM 49 Reading Guide. December 8-14, 2013

Transcription

1 PSALM 49 Reading Guide December 8-14, 2013

2 PSALM 49 2 PSALM 49 1 Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor together! 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. 5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit. 10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their homes forever,1 their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. 15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah

3 PSALM Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. 17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. 18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed and though you get praise when you do well for yourself 19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. 20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

4 PSALM 49 4 DAY 1 Read through Psalm 49 once writing down what you find interesting, what you find helpful, and what you don t fully understand. Psalm 49 is a psalm for everyone. It addresses a problem we all feel. According to the introductory notes in the ESV Study Bible, It addresses the perplexity that the pious often feel when they encounter trouble, while unfaithful people seem to get along so well... Those who sing this will want to continue living faithfully, and will be strengthened against the temptation either to despair or to give up and join the unfaithful. Read through the notes on Psalm 49 in the ESV Study Bible. Write at least one paragraph highlighting what you learned from the study notes. Reread Psalm 49, personalizing the Psalm as your own prayer. Write out that prayer. DAY 2 Read Psalm 49. Read verses Summarize those verses in one sentence. Contrast verses 7-9 with verse 15. What is being ransomed in each verse? What is being offered as the ransom in each verse? Which ransom succeeds? Which ransom fails? Spend some time thinking about the stark contrast brought out by verses 7-9 and verse 15. Write a paragraph or two that details your thoughts. The promise of verse 15 points to Jesus, who gave his life to ransom sinners from death. When he rose from the grave, Jesus proved he was greater than death. He is the only way you can be victorious over death (verse 15). The Sixth Century hymn Praise the Savior Now and Ever (by Venatius H. C. Fortunatus, translated by Augustus Nelson) celebrates Jesus victory over death. Praise the Savior now and ever; praise him, all beneath the skies; Prostrate lying, suff ring, dying on the cross, a sacrifice. Vict ry gaining, life obtaining, now in glory he doth rise. Man s work faileth, Christ s availeth; he is all our righteousness; He, our Savior, has forever set us free from dire distress. Through his merit we inherit light and peace and happiness. Sin s bond severed, we re delivered; Christ has bruised the serpent s head; Death no longer is the stronger; hell itself is captive led. Christ has risen from death s prison; o er the tomb he light has shed. For his favor, praise forever unto God the Father sing;

5 PSALM 49 5 Praise the Savior, praise him ever, Son of God our Lord and King. Praise the Sprit; through Christ s merit he doth us salvation bring. If Jesus is your savior, God will receive you, because Jesus is the only one who can ransom your soul from death (verse 15). Write out a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to Jesus, the only one who can ransom your soul from death. DAY 3 Read Psalm 49 again. Verses 5-6 present in the form of a question the struggle the Psalmist faces. Write out your understanding of his struggle. The rest of the Psalm gives false reasons to fear and true reasons not to fear. Read verses 7-20, noting the (false) reasons the Psalmist has to fear and the (true) reasons the Psalmist doesn t have to fear. Based on what you ve written, write out a prayer that starts with verses 5-6 and then lists the reasons you are tempted to fear and do actually fear. Confess your unbelief and ask Jesus to help you overcome your unbelief. Then list the reasons you do not fear based on what you ve read in Psalm 49. Ask Jesus to help you believe those things even more. DAY 4 Read Psalm 49 again. Verses 1-2 make it clear that the struggle to trust in wealth and all it offers more than God and all he promises is a universal struggle. All sorts of people both high and low, rich and poor struggle with this (verse 2). Without understanding (verse 20), all will perish who trust in riches to provide for them what God himself promises to provide. Your trust in God s true promises more than the false promises of money, is more than just something that will benefit you personally. When you demonstrate trust in God over money, you show those who don t the foolishness of their ways. When you tell them of your trust in God over money, you point them to the understanding they need to trust in God over money. Reflect on what you ve written over the last week. Where can you celebrate the work God has done in your life? Where do you need him to continue to work? Ask him to help you grow in your trust of him, for his glory, your good, and the good of others.

6 PSALM 49 6 DAY 5 Read through Psalm 49 twice. Write out at least two paragraphs reflecting on what you ve learned about God, yourself, and others from Psalm 49. Write out at least one thing you hope to apply to your life from Psalm 49. Spend at least 15 minutes sharing what you wrote with a trusted friend or family member. If they read Psalm 49 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

7 PSALM 49 7 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 Elliot Grudem.