LIVING HOPE (You Will Not Abandon My Soul)

Psalm 14 ended with a prayer of hope for salvation to come from Zion (later = the Church). Psalm 15 set down the conditions for entering into God's presence on Mt Zion. It called us to a life of integrity and sincerity deep in our heart. Only such a church can be attractive to the world and be the hope of the world.

Next Sunday we will look at Psalm 16. Please read and meditate on this wonderful psalm. Here are some guidelines (most are from ESV Study Bible) to help you think about this text.

WALTKE: Notes from TNIV that Psalms 15 and 24 frame a cluster of psalms that have been arranged in a CHIASTIC pattern with Psalm 19 as the hinge. Thus:

15 WHO has access to the temple? 24 WHO may ascend the holy hill?

16 Confession of TRUST in YHWH 23 Confession of TRUST in YHWH

17 Plea of DELIVERANCE from foes 22 Plea of DELIVERANCE from foes

18 ROYAL praise for deliverance 20-21 PRAYER and praise for KING’s victory

19 YHWH’s glory in Creation and Torah

When the faithful sing Psalm 16, they entrust themselves to the Lord and foster their confidence and contentment in his care. The psalm uses imagery from Israel’s allocation of the land (vv. 5–6) to express contentment in this life, and goes on to look forward to everlasting life in God’s presence (vv. 9–11). [ESV Study Bible]

Ps. 16:1–2 The Lord Is My Refuge. The Lord is the only one on whom the psalmist relies for well-being (no good apart from you, v. 2).

Ps. 16:3–4 My Preferred Company: The Godly.There is a contrast between “the saints,” in whom is all my delight (v. 3), and those who run after another god (v. 4; idolaters, among whom would be unfaithful Israelites), whose practices the faithful will shun.

Ps. 16:5–6 Contentment with My Chosen Portion. The psalm now describes the psalmist’s satisfaction with the Lord and his provision. The terms portion, lot, lines, and inheritance evoke the allocation of the land into family plots (perhaps with an allusion to the Lord as the Levites’ portion and inheritance; Num. 18:20); the song promotes contentment with the arrangements of one’s life, seeing them as providentially ordered.

Ps. 16:7–8 Delight in God’s Constant Presence. God’s presence, in which the psalmist delights, is seen in the moral instruction he receives (v. 7), and it results in his assurance of stability (v. 8). The psalmist’s heart instructs him during the night (v. 7), a result of deliberate reflection (cf. 1:2); likewise to set the Lordalways before me expresses intention.

Ps. 16:9–11 Hope of Everlasting Joy. As in49:15 and 73:24–26, here there is a clear affirmation that the human yearning to be near to God and to know the pleasure of his welcome forever, beyond the death of the body, finds its answer in the covenant. Peter cites 16:8–11 in his Pentecost speech (Acts 2:25–28), applying the verses to the resurrection of Jesus; Paul used Ps. 16:10 in his similar speech (Acts 13:35). If the apostles meant that David’s words were a straight prediction of the death and resurrection of Jesus, it is difficult to know what function the psalm could have played in ancient Israel: the congregation would have scratched their heads in puzzlement every time they sang it. This puzzlement goes away if the psalm is seen as cultivating the hope of everlasting glory for the faithful, with the resurrection of Jesus (the holy one par excellence) as the first step in bringing this hope to fruition (cf. Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:23).

Relevant questions and 'homework':

1) Try to jot down a few characteristics of the believer in this psalm.

2) How can this psalm apply to our Lord Jesus Christ?

3) MEMORIZE a few verses that you find especially powerful from this psalm.

Many blessings and joy,

Cristian

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.