Lifeline

By Cory Slowik

What is your initial reaction to words like law, statutes, commands and precepts? Do you feel delight or dread? Have you ever considered God's Word to be a vast treasure? Have you ever experienced what it is to delight in the Lord? During this nine week study we will delve into Psalm 119 and discover a multitude of topics relevant to our lives today. We will study what the Psalmist found to be true as he held on to God and His Word amidst persecution and affliction. Come explore this Psalm with me and discover for yourself the wonder, the hope and the comfort of God in His Word. See for yourself that God's Word really can be a lifeline for us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635255058

Book preview

Introduction

I want to begin by thanking you for taking the time to study Psalm 119 with me. I am thrilled to be on this journey with you! I have had the privilege of participating in several different types of Bible studies by various authors. It always amazes me that God, the Maker of heaven and earth, longs to reveal Himself to us. He wants us to know Him intimately. Therefore, I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us as we begin to look deeply into His Word.

With that in mind, I have chosen to keep this study simple in content. My desire is that you would meet God in the pages of His Word. I believe that the best way for this to happen is by allowing you to look into the text yourself and prayerfully observe what it says. You can do this! How do I know? Because if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit inside you. He is the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13). In 1 Corinthians 2:10–12, Paul tells us that it is the Spirit of God who reveals and helps us to understand the Lord and the things that have been freely given to us by God.

In Jeremiah 33:3, God Himself says, Call to Me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (ESV) God keeps His Word, He means what He says, and He never dangles a carrot in our face only to snatch it away when we try to grab it. What do you say? Will you believe that God has the ability and willingness to help you as you delve into His Word?

I encourage you to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you. If you are wrestling to hear or understand, don’t give up! Keep asking; He will not let you down. Believe that the Lord is able to make Himself known to you. If you are struggling to believe, then follow the example from Mark 9:24 when a father cried out to Jesus, I believe; help my unbelief! and his son was delivered from a demon. Sometimes we need to be that honest and say, Lord, I want to believe you, but I need help!

So where do we begin? You will need a Bible and a notebook to journal your thoughts, responses, and prayers. Begin with prayer; don’t just jump into the assignment. As you begin reading the passage, if something catches your attention or resonates with you, write it down in your journal. Pray about it; listen to what the Lord is saying to you. As you proceed through the study, you may find that you do not have answers for some of the study questions. Give yourself permission to leave these blank. You may do this study on your own or in a group setting. It is up to you. The most important thing is that you are growing closer to the Lord as you study His Word.

Okay, let’s begin!

Week One

~Day One~

Did You Know?

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the entire book. This psalm has twenty-two stanzas, and each stanza has eight verses. There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and each stanza in this psalm corresponds to a letter from the Hebrew alphabet in sequence.

It is an acrostic poem, which indicates a pattern. The acrostic nature of this poem is that, Within a stanza, the first word of each verse begins with the same letter. (ESV Study Bible, pg. 1093) For example, the first stanza is entitled Aleph; therefore, the first word of each verse in this stanza begins with the letter "Aleph"; however, it may be difficult to fully appreciate this in the English translation.

Furthermore, the ESV commentary on Psalm 119 says it, Celebrates God’s Torah as a guide for life…and the goal…is to enable God’s people to admire his Word so strongly that they will work and pray hard to have it shape their character and conduct. (ESV Study Bible, pg. 1093) We see this emphasis clearly as almost every verse in this psalm has a reference to God’s Word. As we look into each stanza, pay attention to the different synonyms used for God’s Word or law. You may even want to create a list in your journal to record the different synonyms for God’s Word and the corresponding verses. You will be amazed at how few verses do not, in some way, refer to the Word.

Blessed

Psalm 119 begins with, Blessed are those. The Holman Christian Standard Bible has a different wording for this verse. It says, How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the Lord’s instruction! (Psalm 119:1, HCSB) Happy? What does happy have to do with anything? In this text the words blessed and happy are interchangeable. In our culture, a popular saying is, As long as it makes you happy. Let’s face it though, how often are we truly happy? Quite often, we find happiness to be elusive and at times unattainable. Is that true, or are we perhaps misunderstanding what happiness is and how to obtain it?

The world will tell you that happiness comes from a variety of sources: money, friends, appearance, achievements, children, good marriage, and so on. If we are honest and willing to admit it, the people or things that are supposed to bring happiness leave us feeling empty. Perhaps a good illustration is in Isaiah 28:20 (ESV), For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. Pursuing the world’s happiness leaves you feeling cramped and cold! Got the picture?

When the Bible talks of happiness or being blessed, we see a different pursuit entirely.

Read the following two passages and write down who is blessed and why.

Psalm 1:1–3

Psalm 119:1–2

God’s Word: A Closer Look

Before we go any further, please take a moment to pray. Anytime we enter into God’s Word, we should begin with prayer. After all, it is His Spirit who gives us the understanding and insight we need.

Now please read Psalm 19:7–11. Looking at this passage, along with the two passages mentioned above, answer the following questions.

What do you learn about God’s Word?

What else do you notice?

Looking through these three passages, from where does true happiness come?

Great work today! May the Lord bless you in the weeks ahead with fresh insight and understanding. May He amaze you by meeting you on the pages of His Word!

~Day Two~

The Blessing of Obedience

The purpose of reading the Bible is twofold. One reason is