Psalm 19 notes for midweek meeting Wed 29th April

If you'd like to get in to Psalm 19, which we'll be looking at in our mid-week meeting via Zoom at 7:30pm on Wednesday 29th (locals can email me for an invite), you might find some of these questions helpful:

Churches Mid-Week Meeting 29/4/20

Psalm 19

SOME STUDY QUESTIONS:

If you had to divide the Psalm into three main sections, how would you do it?

What is each section about? What’s going on in them?

Could you give them titles?

What do the heavens or skies tell us (vv1-2)? What does that mean?

When do they tell us (v2, vv4-6)?

Whom do they tell? Where does their message go? (vv3-6)

On what we can know about God from creation, you might also want to check out Romans 1:18-19.

Look at vv7-11. A number of these statements have the same sort of structure. What is it? What are these verses talking about?

What do they tell us about it?

According to these verses, what could God’s law do for us?

Which of these things in vv7-11 do you feel particularly in need of and why? (Don’t feel you have to say if you don’t want to!)

Do you have any kind of desire for God’s word like this? (Why / why not?)

How can you cultivate it?

How might these verses help us if we are tempted to neglect or undervalue God’s Word?

And how might you appropriate from and benefit from God’s Word more fully and effectively?

What’s the Psalmist’s response to all this in vv12-14?

Why do you think that is? How might vv12-14 follow from the rest of the Psalm?

What might vv12-13 teach us about our sin / our sinfulness?

Why is the last word of our Psalm good news?

How should we respond to the Psalm? Can you suggest anything specific and practical?

Theme sentence?

Aim sentence?

Prayer and praise in the light of this Psalm?

* * *

There’s a sermon from Jeremy on this Psalm on the church website: God Speaks – Our Response (20^th January 2019): https://www.warbletonchurch.org.uk/sermons-talks/?sermon_id=277

And by me: Two Ways God Reveals Himself (8^th March 2015): https://www.warbletonchurch.org.uk/sermons-talks/?sermon_id=88

* * *

AN OUTLINE / HANDOUT:

Two ways God reveal Himself and our response:

(1)   The partial revelation of God in the skies (vv1-6) – creation speaks to us of the glory of God

(a)   Continual (v2) / Unceasing

(b)   Universal (vv3-4a)

(c)    Unmissable (vv4b-5)

(2)   The perfect revelation of God in the Scriptures (vv7-11) – the Bible speaks to us more fully and better about God

(a)   TITLES of the Word of God: what IT IS – (nouns)

(i)               the law of the LORD (v7a)

(ii)              the statutes of the LORD (v7b)

(iii)            the precepts of the LORD (v8a)

(iv)            the commands of the LORD (v8b)

(v)              (the fear of the LORD (v9a))

(vi)            the ordinances of the LORD (v9b)

(b)   CHARACTERISTCS of the Word of God: what IT’S LIKE – (adjectives)

(i)               perfect (v7a)                             

(ii)              trustworthy (v7b)    

(iii)            right (v8a)                                 

(iv)            radiant (v8b)

(v)              pure (v9a)

(vi)            enduring (v9a)

(vii)           sure (v9b)

(viii)          righteous (v9b)

(ix)            precious (v10a)

(x)              sweet (v10b)

(c)    EFFECTS of the Word God: what it DOES – (verbs, participles mostly!)

(i)               reviving the soul (v7a)

(ii)             making wise the simple (v7b)

(iii)            giving joy to the heart (v8a)

(iv)            giving light to the eyes (v8b)

(v)              warns (v11a)

(vi)            rewarding (v11b)

(3)   The Psalmist’s response and ours (vv12-14) – how we should speak to God and to others in light of God’s revelation

(a) Repentance (v12)

(b)   Re-dedication (v13-14)