Sunday Scripture

 

Just a reminder that I'm finishing up a One Chapter a Day study of Psalms 101-150 from Good Morning Girls.  Although I love working on more in-depth Bible studies, these simpler ones are also a blessing to do, and I think they've worked out quite well for my Sunday Scripture posts.  Only one more psalm to go, so I'm making plans for future Sunday scriptures.

 As I've noted before, I like to use the SOAP method of Bible study, and the journal from GMG uses a very similar method.  I find this method a real blessing especially when I am studying shorter passages, and I hope others will give it a try if you haven't ever done so. Just a reminder that the S is for Scripture -- just write it out -- and the O is for Observation, the A is for Application and the P is for prayer -- concerning how you'll apply this verse or praise for what it means to you.

This study also includes a reflection question for each passage.  Sometime I answer this in my study, and sometimes not.  Whenever I do answer it (and this week I did), I'll do so right after the SOAP part.

Today's study is from Psalm 149.  The verses to focus on were verses 3 and 4, but I chose to look closely at verses 1 through 4.  

S= "Praise ye the LORD.  Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints.
""Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
"Let them praise His name in the dance; let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp.
"For the LORD taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation."  (Psalm 149:1-4)

O= Speaking of this psalm in its entirety, Charles Spurgeon wrote: 

"The tone is exceedingly jubilant and exultant.  All through, one hears the beat of the feet of dancing maidens, keeping time to the timbrel and harp."

C.I. Scofield titles this psalm "God praised by the children of Zion."

I found it striking that this psalm both begins and ends with the directive, "Praise ye the LORD" (verses 1 and 9).

My Bible notes that a timbrel was likely a tambourine, while a harp was probably a lyre or zither.

The instructions here are to:
* praise the LORD
* sing to the LORD a new song
* sing God's praise in the congregation of saints

Specific instructions to Israel:
* rejoice in the One who made them
* be joyful in their King
* praise God's name in the dance
* sing praises to God with the timbrel and harp

Verse 4 ends with two statements about the LORD:

* He takes pleasure in His people
* He will beautify the meek with salvation.

Cross-references for "congregation" (v.1):

"Praise ye the LORD.  I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation." (Psalm 111:1)

"And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O LORD: Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints."  (Psalm 89:5)

Cross-reference for "rejoice" (verse 2)

"Wilt Thou not revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?" (Psalm 85:6)

Cross-reference for "Him that made him" (verse 2)

"O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our maker." (Psalm 95:6)

Cross-references for "King" (verse 2):

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon ... a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9)

"All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon ... a colt, the foal of a donkey."  (Matthew 21:4-5)

My Bible notes too that the phrase "in the dance" (verse 3) can also be read "with the pipes."

Spurgeon wrote: "Personal praise is sweet unto God, but congregated praise has a multiplicity of sweetnesses in it.  When holy ones meet, they adore the Holy One ... A congregation of saints is heaven upon earth: should not Jehovah, the Lord of saints, have all the praise that can come from such an assembly?"

A= I also am to worship and to praise God joyfully.  I'm to sing the new song He has put in my mouth, and to praise Him "among the congregation of saints" -- in the midst of other believers.  Like Israel, I can rejoice in my Creator and be joyful in my King.  I can praise His name in every way possible.  I'm not a fan of loud bands, today's worship dancing, etc. but I know that God does take pleasure in His people when they sincerely and genuinely praise Him with their worship.  And He alone is worthy of our praise!

P= "Lord, I praise You for who You are -- the Creator, the King of all the earth!  I thank and praise You that You made a way for humans to have a relationship with You through the death of Your own Son.  I praise You for the joyous new song that You have put in my mouth!  Help my worship always to be pleasing to You, I pray in Jesus' name, Amen."

Reflection question: Have you ever considered how much God loves it when you let loose and just praise Him with all of your heart and soul?  How does knowing that God takes pleasure in your praise, encourage you to enjoy worship more, despite what others might think?

My response: Of course God obviously does desire for us as His people to praise Him with all our heart and soul.  However, all glory needs to go to Him and the focus needs to be on Him.  I think that whenever we see worship as a "performance", anytime the attention goes to people and not to God, we are crossing a line from worshiping God to calling attention to people and doing what feels good to us.  We must always remember that worship is about God, and not about us.

And that's the Sunday Scripture for this week.  Just one more Psalm to go!