Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
March 4, 2004
Psalm 101
:1-8 Choosing Godly Companions
:1 I will sing of mercy and judgment
mercy – checed – goodness,
kindness, faithfulness
judgment – mishpat –
judgment, justice, ordinance
:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes
wicked – b@liya‘al –
worthlessness; worthless, good for nothing, unprofitable, base fellow; wicked;
literally “without + worth”; “vile and vulgar” (NLT)
The word eventually became another name for Satan:
(2 Cor 6:15 KJV)
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that
believeth with an infidel?
:4 A froward heart shall depart from me
froward – ‘iqqesh – twisted, distorted, crooked,
perverse, perverted
:5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour…him that hath an high look
privily – cether –
covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy
slandereth – lashan – to
use the tongue, slander
This is the person who talks bad about other people behind their back. We call it gossip.
high – gabahh – high,
proud
:6 Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land
faithful – ‘aman – (Niphal) to be established, be faithful, be carried,
make firm; reliable, faithful, trusty
This is the person you can count on.
This is the person who does what they say.
:7 He that worketh deceit
deceit – r@miyah –
laxness, slackness, deceit, treachery
:8 I will early destroy all the wicked of the land
Lesson
Don’t stop reaching out
If you’re not careful, you can take this psalm the wrong way.
This psalm is not saying that we can never come into contact with sinners.
This doesn’t mean that we should somehow move away and join a monastery on
a hill somewhere.
We are to be salt and light in a world that needs Jesus.
Jesus had a reputation of hanging out with “sinners”
(Mark 2:16-17 KJV) And when
the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said
unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and
sinners? {17} When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have
no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance.
But we need to be careful about seeing how our relationships affect us.
Some people in our lives have impact on who we are and what we do.
These should be the believers in our lives.
Yet there are people that we ought to be having an affect on as well.
We ought to have an affect on other believers.
We need to be cultivating our relationships with
unbelievers.
Lesson
The right friends
The main lesson of this psalm is about having the right kinds of friends.
(1 Cor 15:33 NASB)
Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."
(1 Cor 5:6 KJV) Your
glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole
lump?
(Prov 13:20 KJV)
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools
shall be destroyed.
What kinds of influence do those closest to you have?
Are your closest relationships those that help you grow closer to God, or
take you away from Him?
Qualities to look for in friends:
No wickedness (vs. 3)
No perversity (vs. 4)
No gossip (vs. 5)
No pride (vs. 5)
Faithful (vs. 6)
No deceit (vs. 7)
Psalm 102
A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his
complaint before the LORD.
afflicted – ‘aniy – poor, afflicted, humble, wretched
overwhelmed – ‘ataph – to be feeble, be faint, grow weak
complaint – siyach –
meditation, complaint, musing
How’s this for a title to get your attention?
Anyone ever feel like this?
:1-11 My sad condition
:6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
(Ps 102:6 NIV) {6} I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the
ruins.
(Ps 102:6 The Message) {6} I’m like a buzzard in the desert, a crow
perched on the rubble.
It seems that the idea is of a lonely bird out in the middle of nowhere. Extreme loneliness.
:8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day
This seems to be the only clue to the actual troubles the writer may have
been having, something to do with people, with enemies.
:11 My days are like a shadow that declineth
Lesson
Trouble is common to all
We have this notion that if we follow the Lord we won’t have any more
troubles in life.
Wrong.
Sometimes when we go through difficulty, we think there must be something
wrong with us. Not necessarily. It could be that you’re just normal.
From time to time I will share with you that I too get depressed. To me, it seems I get depressed a lot. Whether or not I’m depressed more than
others, I couldn’t tell. My purpose in
sharing is simply to let you know that I get depressed just like some of
you. But I’ve had one person in the
church come up to me and tell me that they’re praying for me, that God would
heal me of my depression. I have to tell
you that I really appreciate that this person is praying for me – I can
certainly take all the prayer I can get.
But I’m not sure that my depression is something that God is necessarily
going to take away from me. It is a part
of the human condition. It is not
something that is sinful, though I imagine it may be a result of Adam and Eve’s
sin. Keep in mind that even Jesus tasted
depression:
(Isa 53:3 KJV) He is
despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief
We all go through trouble. That’s
why we can relate to this psalm.
You will find some people thinking that there must be something wrong with
you when you go through troubles.
I guess that sometimes there are things wrong in us that cause trouble.
But sometimes it’s just a part of being human.
:12-22 God hears our prayer
:17-22 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their
prayer.
Lesson
The answer to trouble is prayer
It seems like I’m always getting overwhelmed with troubles and
problems. And it always seems to catch
me off guard. I can wallow is fear,
discouragement, defeat, or hopelessness.
I sit around and wonder what I’m supposed to do.
The answer is simple. The answer is
to pray.
(James 5:13-18 KJV) Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is
any merry? let him sing psalms. {14} Is any sick among you? let him call for
the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in
the name of the Lord: {15} And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the
Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven
him. {16} Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye
may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
{17} Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly
that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three
years and six months. {18} And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and
the earth brought forth her fruit.
If you find yourself in a time of trouble or despair, you need to pray.
Pour out your heart to the Lord.
Pour out your “complaint” to Him.
:23-28 We perish, God goes on
:23 He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
(Psa 102:23 NLT) He has cut
me down in midlife, shortening my days.
:26-28 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure
Lesson
Cling to the one that never changes
- God
Everything around us is going to change.
God isn’t.
If you’re looking for stability by being in a job you can count on, you’ll
be disappointed.
If you’re looking for stability by counting on the people around you,
you’ll be disappointed. Even those
around you who are good companions, those who are faithful, can change. They can move away. They can die.
They can fall away.
Illustration
We visited our old church last weekend.
Our former pastor’s wife passed away and we attended her service. We grew up in the Baptist church. That’s where Deb and I came to the Lord. It’s where we were married. It’s where we received our call to the
ministry. We saw lots of people that we
have many fond memories with. Some
people commented about how good it was to get everyone back together. Many have moved away, some have switched
churches, things change.
We want things to stay the same. We
like to have stability and a feeling of security.
But things change. The only place
you’ll find stability and security is by clinging to Jesus.
(Heb 13:8 KJV) Jesus Christ
the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Psalm 103 Blessing God
A Psalm of David.
We’ll look at this on Sunday morning.
Psalm 104
:1-9 Bless the Creator
:2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment
God is light.
(1 John 1:5 KJV) This then
is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is
light, and in him is no darkness at all.
(1 Tim 6:16 KJV)
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can
approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power
everlasting. Amen.
:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
angels – mal’ak –
messenger, representative; angel
spirits – ruwach – wind,
breath, mind, spirit
ministers – sharath – (Piel) to minister, serve, minister to
flaming fire –
When Samson’s parents were visited by the Angel of the Lord, they were told
about the son that would be born to them…
(Judg 13:20 KJV)
For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the
altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And
Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
When Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind to heaven …
(2 Ki 2:11 KJV)
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold,
there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both
asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
When Elisha was surrounded by Syrians, he wasn’t afraid like his servant
was …
(2 Ki 6:17 KJV)
And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he
may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and,
behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about
Elisha.
The angels are part of God’s creation.
They are God’s servants.
(Heb 1:14
KJV) Are they not all ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
They minister to us.
:6 the waters stood above the mountains.
I think the writer is talking about the flood of Noah, when the water
covered the mountains.
:9 that they turn not again to cover the earth.
The earth would never again be flooded as in the days of Noah.
:10-18 God maintains creation
:10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
Now the author is going to talk about how God takes care of His creation.
:19-30 God’s wisdom in creation
:24-35 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them
all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Lesson
Open your eyes and praise Him
I think the whole point of the Psalm is simply that the psalmist is looking
at the awesome complexity of creation and is in awe of God.
Where does it all come from? What
keeps it all going?
Too often all we see is our own little world with our own four walls and we
forget just how huge and complex this universe is.
I’m fascinated at the reports coming from these rovers on Mars. It appears
that they’ve found evidence of water once being on Mars. And we’re getting these reports from a place
millions of miles away.
Now when you look at the complexity of the operation to design, build,
send, and operate these rovers to Mars, that itself is pretty amazing. Yet I don’t think anyone looking at the
reports of what these things are accomplishing would think that the rovers just
happened by accident. They are clearly
an evidence of design. It took
intelligence to put these things together.
Yet somehow when we look at our own bodies, we conclude that we are just
some sort of cosmic accident. Yet if you
look close enough at the immense complexity of the human body, how could it
just be an accident? Evolutionists tell
us that our eyes started out as some sort of a mole or perhaps a bruise, that
eventually developed into an eye. Yet
when you think of how complex the human eye is, how could that be so?
Molecular biologist Michael Denton is a non-creationist who questions
Darwinian evolution:
Perhaps in no other area of modem biology is the challenge posed by the
extreme complexity and ingenuity of biological adaptations more apparent than
in the fascinating new molecular world of the cell. . . . To grasp the reality
of life as it has been revealed by molecular biology, we must magnify a cell a
thousand million times until it is twenty kilometers in diameter and resembles
a giant airship large enough to cover a great city like London
or New York. What we would then
see would be an object of unparalleled complexity and adaptive design. On the
surface of the cell we would see millions of openings, like the port holes of
a vast space ship, opening and closing to allow a continual stream of materials
to flow in and out. If we were to enter one of these openings we would find
ourselves in a world of supreme technology and bewildering complexity.
Is it really credible that random processes could have constructed a
reality, the smallest element of which - a functional protein or gene - is
complex beyond our own creative capacities, a reality which is the very antithesis
of chance, which excels in every sense anything produced by the intelligence of
man? Alongside the level of ingenuity and complexity exhibited by the
molecular machinery of life, even our most advanced artifacts appear clumsy....
It would be an illusion to think that what we are aware of at present is
any more than a fraction of the full extent of biological design. In
practically every field of fundamental biological research ever-increasing
levels of design and complexity are being revealed at an ever-accelerating
rate.
- M. Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis (Chevy
Chase, MD: Adler and Adler Publishers, Inc., 1986), p. 328, 342.
Open your eyes to see the wonders of creation. We have a wonderful God.
:31-35 Bless the awesome God
Psalm 105
This was written by David as well at the time that the Ark
was successfully brought to Jerusalem.
David had tried at first unsuccessfully to move the ark by putting it on an
oxcart. The first attempt ended in
tragedy as one of the priests reached out to touch the ark and was killed.
When David figured out what had gone wrong and realized that the ark was
supposed to be carried by the priests instead of being on an oxcart, the ark
was then moved successfully to Jerusalem.
(1 Chr 16:7-8 KJV) Then on
that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of
Asaph and his brethren. {8} Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make
known his deeds among the people.
The Psalm that David gives to Asaph to sing is found in the book of Psalms
in parts of three different Psalms. 1Chr. 16:8-22 are the same as Psalm
105:1-15. Verses 23-33 are basically the same as Psalm 96, and vs. 34-36 are found
in Psalm 106:1,47-48.
:1-7 Give thanks to God for what He’s done
:6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
The writer is reminding the readers that they are children of Abraham. This is going to play into the contents of
the Psalm.
:8-15 Faithfulness to Abraham
:9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
God had made some promises to Abraham, promises about the land and his
descendants.
:12 When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in
it.
Abraham was promised the land, but it was a pretty big promise considering
the size of his family.
:15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
anointed – mashiyach –
anointed, anointed one; of the Messiah, Messianic prince; of the king of Israel;
of the high priest of Israel;
of the patriarchs as anointed kings
God protected Abraham from various rulers (Abimelech, Pharaoh)
Some people have used this as a way of saying that you can’t say anything
bad about a pastor (or evangelist). But
this is misusing the Scripture.
God did not allow Abimelech or Pharaoh to hurt Abraham.
David used this principle when he refused to kill Saul when he had the
chance –
(1 Sam 26:23 KJV) The LORD
render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered
thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the
LORD'S anointed.
But that didn’t keep David from rebuking Saul. He just didn’t kill him.
God has a way of protecting His kids.
:16-24 Faithfulness to Joseph
:16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land
We now move from Abraham to Joseph
:19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
(Psa 105:19 NLT) Until the
time came to fulfill his word, the LORD tested Joseph's character.
Lesson
Tested until your “time”
For Joseph, God had spoken some things about Joseph’s future. God had hinted that there would be a day when
his brothers would be bowing down to him.
But until that happened, God tested Joseph.
He was sold as a slave by his brothers.
He was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison.
Perhaps God has planted some dreams in your life.
Sometimes dreams don’t come to pass overnight.
Sometimes God makes us wait as a way of developing our faith, our learning
to trust Him.
(Heb 11:6 KJV) But without
faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
:25-45 Faithfulness from Egypt
to Promised Land
:25 He turned their heart to hate his people
There arose a king that didn’t know Joseph … and the Israelites became
slaves of the Egyptians.
Lesson
God uses tough circumstances
The Psalmist is saying the God was responsible for turning the hearts of
the Egyptians against the Israelites.
Why would they ever leave Egypt
if they were so comfortable?
Yet God wanted Israel
in the Promised Land.
Sometimes God makes us uncomfortable to get us moving.
:27 They showed his signs among them
We’ll see the story of the Exodus …
:44 And gave them the lands of the heathen …
Lesson
Learn from history
God wants to do the same thing for you as He’s done for others.
This isn’t just “their” story. It’s
your story.
(1 Cor 10:11 KJV)
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
We ought to learn from what they went through.
There’s a reason we read the Bible and learn the historical stories.
What did they learn?
Lesson
God is faithful
You can depend on Him.
God kept His promise to Abraham concerning the land – through Abraham’s
life – through Joseph’s life – with the deliverance out of Egypt.
Israel
inherited the land. Just like God
promised.