Bible Truth Daily Devotion

July 22, 2010

July 23, 2010 Friday Night Fellowship Study Guide

Filed under: Uncategorized — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 12:35 pm

Psalm 36 (Saturday 7/17/10) What Does an Atheist Think About?

  1. What difference do you see in the thoughts of the “wicked” and the “righteous”?  David’s thoughts about the wicked suddenly move him to reflect upon God’s character, why is that?
  2. In the Psalms the “righteous” seem to be those who may do evil but are generally seeking to please God.  The “wicked” are those who, despite good they may do, are generally rejecting God’s way.  What aspects of each do you see in your own life?

Psalm 37: 1-19 (Sunday 7/18/10) The Specific Actions of Faith

  1. Instead of worrying about the short-lived success of evil, what qualities should shape their lives (vv.3-8):  What is meant by “be still…and wait patiently for the Lord (v.7)?
  2. The “wicked” being “cut off” is mentioned five times.  What other images portray how they will be frustrated eventually in their plans?
  3. What proverbial wisdom do you see here with regard to money matters (vv.16-21, 25-26)?  How is generosity with money an indicator of trust and waiting on the Lord to uphold?

Psalm 37:20-40 (Monday 7/19/10) The Righteous and the Wicked

  1. Give an example of how you are postponing an immediate good for a greater, future gain?  Does society encourage delayed gratification”?
  2. Is verse 25 always true?  Or was this just David’s experience, for which there are many exceptions?
  3. Are you currently frustrated because “evil” people are getting their way?  How can you apply verse 3-8 this week?  Which of those biblical qualities would a best friend tell you to work on?

Psalm 38 (Tuesday 7/20/10) Sin and Its Effect

  1. How has God’s hand come down on David (vv.1-8)?  What did people believe caused illness in David’s day (v.3)?
  2. What adds insult to injury for David (v.9-12)?  In light of his compounded suffering, how do you account for David’s continued trust in God?
  3. When have you felt punished by God?  What happened at that time of crisis?  How did you related to God then?
  4. What part of David’s faith can you relate to from your own experience?

Psalm 39 (Wednesday 7/21/10) The Momentary Life

  1. Would you want to know the exact date you’ll die?  If you had only two weeks to live, what is one thing you must do?
  2. Why does David ask to know the “number of my days”?  What does this say about his mood?  Why does David ask God to “look away from me” (v.13)
  3. Does life sometimes seem short and empty?  How does that awareness affect your priorities?
  4. Compare verse 13 with Job 7:16-20.  When have you felt God was demanding “too much” from you?

The New Song

Filed under: Devotion in Psalm — Tags: , , , , — Pastor Brian Cheung @ 8:00 am

Psalm 40

 

 

Some churches may have an emphasis to sing “new” songs in worship.  What exactly is a new song?  If there are criteria to new songs, what are they?  Read the psalm today and check out the commentary for the answers.

 

Commentary:

Psalm 40:1.  Prayers can have three answers.  God can tell us “yes” or “no, but I have something better for you.”  God may also want us to wait.  The psalmist was surely aware of that and waited patiently for an answer to his prayer.

Psalm 40:3. The phrase “new song” appears six times in the book of Psalm (33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 96:1, 144:9, and 149:1).  Four of them are written in the imperative voice.  One other is the action that the psalmist will take (144:9).  The one here alone describes what God has done to give the palmist a new song. 

The new song was a result of the blessings that David received from the Lord.  His prayer was answered, and He was reestablished in the Lord (vv. 1-2).  David experienced anew the grace of God in his life, so he sung a new song.

A new song is also a testimony of the grace of God.  It aims to evangelize people.  The verse emphasizes this effect; people hearing the new song will be touched to trust, in future tense, in the Lord.   The future tense implies that these people did not believe before they hear the song, but the testimony changes them.  Hence, a new song should tell a story to lead others to believe in the Lord.  An example of a song giving a powerful testimony is “It is Well in My Soul.”  (See the background of the song in http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/t/i/itiswell.htm.)  

Therefore, this verse tells us that a new song has the dual purpose of giving praise to God and to tell a testimony to convince others to faith.  This dual purpose is a good benchmark in evaluating the tremendous amount of new Christian songs appearing in the marketplace daily.  Christian music has been commercialized in the end of the twentieth century.  Song writing is a career that many seek after.  Christian singers become a popular profession instead of a mere calling.  Songs are written to make money.  Sometimes, this has driven the writers and singers to produce records to sustain their income instead of to tell the powerful work of God in their life.  The substance of faith is delineated from the Christian new songs.  (The subject of errant theology is another comment.) This benchmark to evaluate new songs to use or to listen to is needed now more so than ever before.  Christians, especially worship leaders, should examine the background of the song to see if there is a substantial testimony for the praise words contained within.   Without that powerful testimony, the new songs are just mere intellectual exercise of human minds.  It will not transform the hearts of man. 

Psalm 40:6-8.  David was intimate with what God desires in a man.  He had the privilege to witness the downfall of his predecessor, King Saul.   He heard the word of Prophet Samuel uttered to Saul and paraphrased them here (1Sam. 15:22).  David knew that God desires His people to love His precept instead of merely going through the motion. 

 

Meditation:

Praise the Lord that giving a new song is not an exclusive domain of song writers and singers.  Every Christian should have an experience that fulfills the dual purpose of a new song.  We all have a testimony that powerfully tells of the wondrous work of God in our life, and every Christians should be able to give praise to God.   Every Christian is fit to write a new song.  In fact, it is the calling of everyone to give the testimony (1Pe 3:15). 

Let’s put forth the grace of God in our life to change life.  Rather in selecting a new song composed by others or giving one of our own, we should emphasize the part of the testimony, so others can hear and believe. 

 

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that that you have given us a new song.  We pray that we contemplate your work and give our testimony to others.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

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