Sunday Scripture

  

It's time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from Psalm 145:1-9.  

S= "I will extol Thee, my God, O King: and I will bless Thy name forever and ever.
"Every day will I bless Thee, and I will praise Thy name forever and ever.
"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.
"One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts.
"I will speak of the glorious honor of Thy majesty, and of Thy wondrous works.
"And men shall speak of the might of Thy awe-inspiring acts; and I will declare Thy greatness.
"They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness, and shall sing of Thy righteousness.
"The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy.
"The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works."  (Psalm 145:1-9)

O= The Bible titles Psalm 145 "David's psalm of praise".

C.I. Scofield gives this psalm the title "Praise to the gracious God."

Here in these verses 1-9 David seems to alternate between speaking TO God (v.1-2, 4-6) and speaking ABOUT God (v. 3, 8-9).

TO God he says:
* I will extol Thee, my God, O King
* Every day I will bless Thee
* I will praise Thy name forever and ever
* One generation shall praise Thy works, and declare Thy mighty acts, to another
* I will speak:
    • of the glorious honor of Thy majesty
    • of Thy wondrous works
* I will declare Thy greatness.

*Men shall speak:
     • of the might of Thy awe-inspiring acts
    • of the memory of Thy great goodness.
* Men shall sing of Thy righteousness.

ABOUT God he says:
* Great is the LORD
* The LORD is greatly to be praised
* His greatness is unsearchable
* The LORD is gracious
* The LORD is full of compassion
* He is slow to anger
* He is of great mercy
* The LORD is good to all
* His tender mercies are over all His works.

Cross-reference for "great is the LORD" (v.3) -- "For the LORD  is great, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods."  (Psalm 96:4)

Cross-references for "greatness is unsearchable" (v.3) -- "I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause, Who doeth great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number."  (Job 5:8-9)

Who doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number."  (Job 9:10)

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out."  (Romans 11:33)

Cross-references for "gracious" (v.8) -- "And The LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty."  (Exodus 34:6-7)

"The LORD is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation."  (Numbers 14:18)

"For Thou, Lord, art good; and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all those who call upon Thee ... But Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth."  (Psalm 86:5, 15)

Lovely graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy."  (Psalm 103:8)

Cross-references for "good" (v.9) -- "For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endureth to all generations."  (Psalm 100:5)

"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth those who trust in Him."  (Nahum 1:7)

A= For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"When I think about the Lord's wondrous works, beauty shows up." -- Rachel Wojo

My thoughts about this: Psalm 145:5 says, "I will speak of the glorious honor of Thy majesty, and of Thy wondrous works."

 
Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "meditate". 

 

When we meditate on God's wondrous works, His mighty acts, and His glorious character as David has done in this psalm, we can't help but see His beauty.

The question was asked: What season or circumstance in life challenges me to see God's gifts of beauty?

My response in 2018: With me it is very often not feeling well physically that challenges me in this way.  If tired or troubled, I can usually still see and appreciate God's gifts of beauty.  Physical pain or illness is much more challenging.

Answering this same question in 2024: Challenging circumstances or seasons of difficulty or uncertainty in life.  Things seem very uncertain in our world right now.  Probably the most certain thing is that it seems the forces of evil are working very hard to try and control all of us.  It can be challenging to see God's gifts of beauty -- but if we can do it, it will be a great reminder of His sovereignty and power. and will help us to point others to Him.

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the music I hear; the food I eat;  the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 for the music I hear,  I recalled singing around a campfire on a recent Wednesday night.

For the words I read, I commented on how all the verses in this psalm that speak of God's character and work are so beautiful.

For the food I eat, I mentioned colorful roasted vegetables.

For the people I encounter, I noted our recent trip to the Canadian Maritimes and its gorgeous scenery.

For the weather I experience, I noticed that we're beginning to feel the crispness of fall approaching.

A journaling prompt was this:  List one or more ideas to remind myself to intentionally look for God's beauty throughout the day.

My response in 2018: Get out in the brilliant sunshine and breathe deeply.  Take a short walk if possible.  Take time to notice the progress of spring bulbs.  Notice the color and texture in everyday objects.

For my response in 2024, I added: Pay attention to the signs of fall approaching.  Look at the night sky and observe the moon and stars.  Really listen to people when they talk!

P= "Lord, like the Psalmist, my intent is to praise and bless you every day.  You are gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger, of great mercy, righteous, great, good to all -- just to name a few of Your majestic qualities.  Help me to see and appreciate Your beauty even when my circumstances are less than ideal.  I thank You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.