PSALM 70 Reading Guide. May 4-10, 2014

Transcription

1 PSALM 70 Reading Guide May 4-10, 2014

2 PSALM 70 2 PSALM 70 1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me! 2 Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! 3 Let them turn back because of their shame who say, Aha, Aha! 4 May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, God is great! 5 But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!

3 PSALM 70 3 DAY 1 Read through Psalm 70 once writing down what you find interesting, what you find helpful, and what you don t fully understand. According to the introductory notes on Psalm 70 in the ESV Study Bible, This short Psalm is an individual lament, an urgent prayer for rescue from gloating enemies. Read through the notes on Psalm 70 in the ESV Study Bible. Write at least one paragraph highlighting what you learned from the study notes. Reread Psalm 70, personalizing the Psalm as your own prayer. Write out that prayer. DAY 2 Read Psalm 70 again. David s enemies are trying to kill him; Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! (verse 2). They also delight in his pain; Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! Let them turn back because of their shame who say, Aha, Aha! (verse 2-3). This is similar to what Jesus experienced on the cross: And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross! So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. (Mark 15:27, 29-32) Jesus suffered and died, trusting that God would rescue him from death. When we pray Psalm 70 today, we can do so with a similar trust. That kind of trust that God will rescue us even from death is expressed well in William Williams s hymn Guide Me, O Though Great Jehovah. Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but thou art mighty; Hold me with thy pow rful hand; Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more.

4 PSALM 70 4 Open now the crystal fountain, Whence the healing stream doth flow; Let the fire and cloudy pillar Lead me all my journey through; Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer, Be thou still my Strength and Shield. When I tread the verge of Jordan, Bid my anxious fears subside; Death of Death, and Hell's Destruction, Land me safe on Canaan's side; Songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever give to thee. Think of the reasons you have to trust that God will deliver you is Jesus, whom Williams called Death of Death and Hell s Destruction. Write out a prayer expressing your confidence in Jesus ability to protect and deliver you. DAY 3 Read Psalm 70 again. Psalm 70 is a lament. Paul Miller in his book A Loving Life writes, A lament grieves that the world is unbalanced. It grieves the gap between reality and God s promise. It believes in a God who is there, who can act in time and space. It doesn t drift into cynicism or unbelief, but engages God passionately with what s wrong. 1 Think about a situation in your life where there is a gap between your reality and God s promise. Write out a lament, passionately, honestly, and specifically telling God what s wrong and the reasons it is contrary to God s promises. DAY 4 Read Psalm 70 again, focusing on verse 4. In verse 4 David offers this prayer: May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, God is great! Think about someone you know who does not yet believe in Jesus or know his salvation. Personalize verse 4 as a prayer about them, asking God to give them saving faith in Jesus Christ. 1 P. E. Miller, A Loving Life. Wheaton: Ill.: Crossway, 2014, p. 31.

5 PSALM 70 5 DAY 5 Read through Psalm 70 twice. Write out at least two paragraphs reflecting on what you ve learned about God, yourself, and others from Psalm 70. Write out at least one thing you hope to apply to your life from Psalm 70. Spend at least 15 minutes sharing what you wrote with a trusted friend or family member. If they read Psalm 70 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.