Psalm 15 - Who Shall Dwell in God’s Presence? (A Liturgical Decalogue)

Psalm 15 was recognized early as a catechetical psalm of the Decalogue, and as a liturgical psalm, it was frequently repeated throughout the week by monks.

Here are some notes from Steven W. Lawson in his commentary on Psalms.

MAIN IDEA: David describes the moral integrity and personal holiness of the person who worships God.

TEACHING OUTLINE

A. The Searching Question (1)

1. WHO may approach God? (1a)

2. WHO may abide with God? (1b)

B. The Spiritual Qualifications (2-5b)

1. His character must be holy (2a-5)

2. His conversations must be holy (2c-3a)

3. His contacts must be holy (3b-c)

4. His company must be holy (4a-b)

5. His commitments must be holy (4c-d)

6. His commerce must be holy (5a-b)

C. The Strong Assurance (5c)

1. He will be intimate with God

2. He will be immovable in God

QUESTIONS for discussion:

Do you examine yourself before you come into the presence of God?

Are you living a blameless and righteous life?

In which one of these areas are you struggling in you Christian life?

What is our basis for righteousness?

Psalm 14: The Fool Says, There is No God

[] Square brackets are used in place of footnotes/endnotes.

This is a community prayer [Note: It is not a community lament (as ESV), because there is no such thing. I think Kraus is correct when he says: “the concept of LAMENT must be abandoned. The petitioners of the psalms do not lament, neither do they complain. They openly declare their DISTRESS before YHWH and PRAY for His intervention. This is justly called a PRAYER.] in which the people of God mourn the fact that humans do not seek after God and oppress God’s people. It is almost identical to Psalm 53.

Here is the outline of the psalm as given by ESV! [I haven’t studied this psalm in depth yet, so I am relying on ESV for this post]. It has 3 major parts.

Ps. 14:1-4 – The Godless Devour God’s People

Ps. 5-6 – The Lord is the Refuge for the Poor

Ps. 7 – Community Prayer for SALVATION

Think about the following as you study and meditate on this psalm:

1) How do you understand the ‘fool’ [Hebrew naval (not nabal, but the connection with Nabal remains)] in this Psalter? See also Psalm 10. [Note that there are three Hebrew words for fool, and all speak of moral orientation rather than intellectual ability.]

2) Is there a connection between “not knowing the Lord” and oppression?

3) When you look around you and see injustice and godlessness, how should you proceed in light of this Psalm?

For excellent resources on the Psalter I always recommend Spurgeon’s The Treasury of David and Matthew Henry. More info will appear toward the end of the week as I continue in my study of this passage!

Many blessings and joy, Cristian

When Distress Seems Endless

We are continuing this year our preaching through the Psalter. Since I do not plan to preach through all the psalms (it would take too long) I have to be selective. I find that one of the most difficult issues is choosing which psalms to skip - as all of them can teach us some very important truths about God and ourselves.

After much thinking and praying I decided that this Sunday (January 29, 2012) we will be looking at Psalm 13. The plan is to continue with psalms 14, 15, and 16 - all of them very important for teaching and living.

I am posting here a Teaching Outline from Steve Lawson's Holman Old Testament Commentary on the Psalms. While I probably will not follow it closely in my message, it is useful to visualize the tripartite structure of the psalm (recognized by most commentators).

TEACHING OUTLINE

A. David's Sorrow (1-2)

1. How long will God forget? (1a)

2. How long will God hide? (1b)

3. How long must I be discouraged? (2a)

4. How long must I be defeated? (2b)

B. David's Supplication (3-4)

1. Remember me, God (3a)

2. Rescue me, God (3b-4)

C. David's Singing (5-6)

1. I will rely upon God (5)

2. I will rejoice in God (6)

QUESTIONS for discussion:

1) How does this psalm resonate with you? Have you ever felt this way?

2) How can a believer remain steadfast through difficult times?

3) How do you understand/define the ‘steadfast love’ (ESV)/ ‘mercy’ [Hebrew – chesed] of God in verse 5?

Here is a great quote from Spurgeon:

“Whenever you look into David’s Psalms, you will somewhere or other see yourself. You never get into a corner, but you find David in that corner. I think that I was never so low that I could not find that David was lower; and I never climbed so high that I could not find David was up above me.”

Thank you for your prayers and for your daily living of the Psalter!

Your teaching pastor, Cristian

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Sermon: July 12, 2009

So, Love the Lord Your God

Joshua 23:1-13

1. Joshua's reminder for Israel

• Remember how God has fought for you
• Remember how God has given this land to you

2. Joshua's charge for Israel

• Be strong and careful to obey all the words of God
• Love your God in response to His love to you

3. Joshua's warning for Israel

• Do not intermarry with the world
• You will be cut off from the all the blessings

Discussion

1. Do you something by some reason realize how God has given you the life you have? What was the occasion? Can you share?
2. When you do that, what was the after-thought? For example, were you not scared of the thought that God might take all away if you are not faithful to Him?
3. What is it like to love God? And compare it with the meaning of love between man and woman?
4. What would you do this week or near future as a way to express your love to God?

Sermon: June 28, 2009

Consecrate Yourselves in Preparation for Tomorrow
Joshua 7:10-13

1. Israel sinned against God

• Israel failed the mission
• Embarrassment to the Lord's name

2. Consecrate yourselves

• Find out the sin
• Remove it from yourselves

3. The covenant confirmed before Israel

• Israel completed the mission: Israel destroyed Ai
• Joshua read the words of the law

Discussion

1. It is important for athletes to take hard trainings during the off season in order to prepare for the following season. Do you have any experience that your lack of preparation caused failure in your performances, like exams, interviews and so on?
2. It took a long procedure for Israel to find out the cause of their failure, Achan. Why is it normally difficult to find out the sin that may cause the failure in our lives? Share them.
3. How should we consecrate ourselves as we prepare for Thai mission? Share your thoughts on it.

Sermon: June 14, 2009

To Enjoy What You Already Have

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

1. The Word is very near you

• Not too difficult or beyond for your reach
• In your mouth and in your heart

2. Blessings or curses in the land you are entering?

• Life of abundance in the land you are entering
• Death and destruction in the land you are entering

3. Many years in the land of your forefathers

• Choose the Lord for you and your children
• You may have many tears in the you enter