Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Read Psalm 80. How are God’s people portrayed in this psalm, and what great hope do they plead for? Israel is portrayed as a vineyard that God uprooted from Egypt, the land of oppression, and transported to the Promised Land of abundance. The image of a vineyard conveys God’s election of Israel and His providential care (read also Gen. 49:11, 12, 22; and Deut. 7:7-11).However, in Psalm 80, God’s v...

Read Psalm 106. What historical events and their lessons are highlighted in this psalm? Psalm 106 also evokes the major events in Israel’s history, including the Exodus, sojourn in the wilderness, and life in Canaan. It stresses the heinous sins of the fathers that culminated in the generation that was carried into exile. Thus, the psalm almost certainly was written when the nation was in Babylon,...

Read Psalm 105. What historical events and their lessons are highlighted in this psalm? Psalm 105 recalls key events that shaped the covenantal relationship between the Lord and His people Israel. It focuses on God’s covenant with Abraham to give the Promised Land to him and his descendants, and how this promise, confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, was providentially fulfilled through Joseph, Moses, and...

Read Psalm 78. What three key historical epochs are highlighted in this psalm? What recurring lessons does Asaph draw from each period? The reviews of Israel’s past highlight God’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness. They also should teach coming generations not to repeat their ancestors’ mistakes but to trust God and to remain faithful to His covenant. The psalmist uses history as a parable...

Read for This Week’s StudyPsalm 78, Psalm 105, Gal. 3:29, Psalm 106, Psalm 80, Num. 6:22-27, Psalm 135.Memory Text:“Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done” (Psalm 78:3, 4, NKJV).In numerous psalms, praise takes the for...

Read Ellen G. White, “God With Us,” pp. 19-26, in The Desire of Ages. Being both Christ’s prayers and prayers about Christ, the Psalms provide a unique revelation of Christ’s person and redeeming ministry as the One who is “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). Jesus is “God with us” in the battling prayers of forsakenness and suffering. He is “God with us” in the cries for justice and deliverance. Jesus is...

Read Psalm 110:4-7. How is Christ’s priesthood unique, and what great hope can we find in Christ’s heavenly priesthood? God endows the Messiah with an everlasting kingship (Ps. 110:1-3) and a priesthood of a superior rank, the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4-7). The Lord seals His word with a solemn promise (Heb. 6:18). God’s oath not to relent from giving us a perfect Priest is a sign of His grac...

Read Psalm 2; Psalm 110:1-3; Psalm 89:4, 13-17; and Psalm 110:5, 6. What do these texts teach us about Christ as King? The portrayal of God as the Messiah’s Father points to the coronation of the king when the king was adopted into God’s covenant (Ps. 2:7, Ps. 89:26-28). Psalm 2:7 foresees Christ’s resurrection and exaltation as the dawn of the new everlasting covenant and Christ’s royal priesthoo...

Read Psalm 89:27-32, 38-46 and Psalm 132:10-12. What is the Davidic covenant about? What seems to have endangered it? The Davidic covenant contains God’s promise of everlasting support of David’s line and prosperity of God’s people (1 Sam. 7:5-16; Ps. 89:1-4, 19-37; Ps. 132:12-18). The permanence of the covenant was established on God’s solemn oath and the king’s faithfulness to God. However, even...

Read Psalm 22 and Psalm 118:22. How was the Messiah treated by those He had come to save? Many psalms express the agonizing feelings of utmost forsakenness of the suffering Messiah (e.g. Psalm 42, Psalm 88, and Psalm 102). Psalm 22 is a direct Messianic prophecy because many details in this psalm cannot be historically connected to King David but perfectly fit the circumstances of Christ’s death....

Read Psalm 23; Psalm 28:9; Psalm 80:1; Psalm 78:52, 53; Psalm 79:13; and Psalm 100:3. How is the relationship between the Lord and His people portrayed in these texts? The image of the Lord as Shepherd and God’s people as the sheep of His pasture highlights God’s guidance and sustaining care of His people and the people’s dependence on God to meet all their needs. The image conveys the notion of c...

Read for This Week’s StudyPsalm 23, John 10:11-15, Psalm 22, Ps. 89:27-32, Col. 1:16, Psalm 2, Heb. 7:20-28.Memory Text:“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:22, 23, NKJV).The Psalms testify about Christ’s person and ministry. Almost all aspects of His work in the plan of salvation are seen in the...

In these modern times, obtaining wisdom seems not to be so desirable as achieving happiness. People would rather be happy than wise. However, can we truly be happy and live a fulfilled life without godly wisdom? The Psalms clearly say that we cannot. The good news is that we are not asked to choose between wisdom and happiness. Godly wisdom brings genuine happiness. A simple example from the Hebre...

Read Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 112:1-9, and Psalm 128. What blessings are promised for those who revere the Lord? Of the many blessings promised to those who revere the Lord, peace is perhaps one of the greatest. Psalm 1 depicts the righteous by a simile of a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruits in season and whose leaf does not wither (Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:7, 8; Ezek. 47:12). This simil...

Read Psalm 141. What does the psalmist pray for? Psalm 141 is a prayer for protection from temptations from within and from without. The psalmist is not only endangered by the schemes of the wicked (Ps. 141:9, 10) but also is tempted to act like the wicked. The first weak point is self-control in speech, and the psalmist prays that the Lord will keep watch over the door of his lips (Ps. 141:3). Th...

Read Psalm 81:7, 8; Psalm 95:7-11; and Psalm 105:17-22. What does divine testing involve in these texts? Meribah is the place where Israel tested God by challenging His faithfulness and power to provide for their needs (Exod. 17:1-7; Ps. 95:8, 9). Psalm 81 makes an intriguing reversal and interprets the same event as the time when God tested Israel (Ps. 81:7). And, by their disobedience and lack o...

Read Psalm 90, Psalm 102:11, and Psalm 103:14-16. What is the human predicament? Fallen human existence is but a vapor in the light of eternity. A thousand years in God’s sight is “like a watch in the night,” which lasted three or four hours (Ps. 90:4, NKJV). Compared to divine time, a human lifetime flies away (Ps. 90:10). The strongest among humans are analogous to the weakest among plants (Ps....

Read Psalm 119:1-16, 161-168. How should we keep God’s commandments, and what are the blessings that come from doing that? The Bible depicts a daily life of faith as a pilgrimage (“walk”) with God in His path of righteousness. The life of faith is maintained by walking “in the law of the Lord” (Ps. 119:1, NKJV) and by walking “in the light of Your countenance” (Ps. 89:15, NKJV). These are by no me...

Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 119:1-16, Psalm 90, John 3:16, Ps. 95:7-11, Psalm 141, Psalm 128.Memory Text:“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12, NKJV).As we have seen, God’s grace provides for the forgiveness of sin, and it creates a new heart in the repentant sinner, who now lives by faith. God’s Word also provides instructions for righteous living (Ps...

Read Ellen G. White, “The Sinner’s Need of Christ,” pp. 17-22, in Steps to Christ. In the Psalms, the voices of God’s people join as one in repeating the chorus “His mercy endures forever” in celebration of God’s eternal love (Ps. 106:1, NKJV; Ps. 107:1, NKJV; Ps. 118:1-4, 29, NKJV; Psalm 136, NKJV). “Not to praise God would mean to forget all His benefits, not to appreciate God’s gifts. Only thos...

Read Psalms 103. How is God’s mercy portrayed here? Psalm 103 enumerates the Lord’s manifold blessings. The blessings include “all his benefits” (Ps. 103:2) for a flourishing life (Ps. 103:3-6). These blessings are grounded in God’s gracious character and in His faithfulness to His covenant with Israel (Ps. 103:7-18). The Lord “remembers” human frailty and transience and has compassion on His peop...

Read Psalms 113 and 123. What two different aspects of God’s character are depicted in these psalms? Psalms 113 and 123 praise both the majesty and mercy of the Lord. The Lord’s majesty is revealed in the greatness of His name and in the exalted place of His throne, which is above all nations and above the heavens (Ps. 113:4, 5; Ps. 123:1). “Who is like the Lord our God” (Ps. 113:5, NKJV) is a sta...

Read Psalm 130. How are the gravity of sin and hope for sinners portrayed? The psalmist’s great affliction is related to his own and his people’s sins (Ps. 130:3, 8). The people’s sins are so grave that they threaten to separate the people from God forever (Ps. 130:3). Scripture speaks of the records of sins that are being kept for the Judgment Day (Dan. 7:10, Rev. 20:12) and of sinners’ names bei...

Read Psalm 51:1-5. Why does the psalmist appeal to God’s mercy? King David pours out his heart before the Lord, asking for the forgiveness of sin during the spiritually darkest moments in his life (2 Samuel 12). Forgiveness is God’s extraordinary gift of grace, the result of the “multitude of Your tender mercies” (Ps. 51:1, NKJV). King David appeals to God to deal with him not in accordance with w...

Read Psalm 136. What thought predominates in this psalm? Where does the psalmist find evidence for his prevalent claim? Psalm 136 summons God’s people to praise the Lord for His mercy as revealed in creation (Ps. 136:4-9) and in Israel’s history (Ps. 136:10-22). “Mercy” (Hebrew khesed, “steadfast love”) conveys God’s goodness and loyalty to His creation and to His covenant with Israel. The psalm s...