Two of my daughters are expecting babies this week. Anne, we think, is first. Here she is — 9 months and four days pregnant. She is praying labor happens naturally, but if it doesn’t, she will be induced this Thursday. Beth is due next Monday. I am going to start driving to be near them (Nebraska and Iowa) tomorrow. The psalm we “happen” to be on, certainly is timely for our family, but it is enormously timely for each of us.
This week will conclude A Woman of Worship, but we will be doing some interesting passages until we begin a new study in the fall.
Before we begin the study, I’ve a question for you to ponder:
What are the strengths of an internet study? How could we better use this gift to make this study better? What are the weaknesses? What could be done to overcome the weaknesses?
BIBLE STUDE — TAKE A QUESTION OR TWO A DAY, OR ALL AT ONCE IF YOU PREFER
READ PSALM 139 IN ITS ENTIRETY, ASKING GOD TO GIVE YOU THE BIG PICTURE
1. Contemplate THE WONDER of Psalm 139:1-6
A. List the ways God knows you — find as many as you can.
B. Compare verse 6 with Job 42:3. In what context did Job speak these words?
c. CHALLENGE QUESTION FOR THIS AMAZING GROUP: What link do you see between God’s intimate knowledge of your every move, thought, and word and the suffering He allows in your life?
2. Meditate on Psalm 139:7-12.
A. What mood shift do you see here — and why do you think it happened?
B. Why is God’s omniscience and omnipresence both wonderful and terrible?
C. 
Imagine (since I don’t have the tech savvy to do this) that on the top line you would write “God’s holiness” and on the bottom line “My sinfulness.” As you grow in Christ, God’s holiness will grow greater to you, and you will simultaneously see the depth of your sinfulness more clearly. This is part of what is happening in this psalm, what happened to Job, and what happens to each of us as we contemplate the greatness of God. What dark parts of your heart do you see today that you were not able to see a few years back?
4. 
This is my daughter Beth and her husband Seth. (We wouldn’t have done a picture like this in my generation, but I realize pregnancy is nothing to be ashamed of — it’s beautiful. I think that the change in maternity clothes to revealing instead of hiding is healthy, so, I’m posting this picture of my beautiful pregnant daughter.)
Meditate on Psalm 139:13-18.
A. What causes the Psalmist to be filled with wonder? Be as specific as you can be.
B. In A Woman of Worship, if you have the song, “I was made to praise You,” comment on it.
C. What thoughts does verse 16 bring to you — especially those of you who have lost loved ones?
D. Compare this passage with Ecclesiastes 11:5. What do you see?
E. If you have had the privilege of becoming a mother by biological birth or adoption, what wonder do you remember?
5. Meditate on Psalm 139:19-22. Why do you think the abrupt mood change? Is it logical? Explain.
6. Make Psalm 139:23-34 your own prayer. You may want to write it out here.
7. What do you think would happen in your life if you made the above prayer a regular part of your life when you faced problems, decisions, or the end of the day?
Love to each of you — on to a new exciting adventure next week! Please come!
170 comments
#7. I think it would keep me humble and keep me clinging to Him. It would also keep me from allowing my flesh to instruct me because God would bring to mind the things that are deep that He needs to change in me and then instruct me on how He wants me to live in that area.
Gals, I want to share a recent praise in our lives.
Isaac is 10 and usually doesn’t get invited over to anyone’s house to swim or play and on his last birthday party only one showed up which was our next door neighbor. It was a really sad day for him.
Two nights ago he was invited over to a classmates house to swim! There were several boys from his school there. Patrick, my husband, went with him because Isaac isn’t that great at swimming yet. He told me the boys went out of their way to include Isaac and even slowed down one of their games a bit so he could do it with them. They also helped him when he veered off to the part of the pool that changed from shallow to deep.
I have seen God’s care for Isaac in so many ways, and I wanted to share how God has taken care of most every concern I have had. There have been bumps in the road but God is using that as part of how he is caring for Isaac.
Rebecca, I am so happy to hear that! I’m praying for Isaac & your whole family.
Joyce, Thanks and I am praying for you all too! I covet your prayer sister!!
This so wonderful Rebecca! I pray that Issac will grow into every good work that God has ordained for him. I am sorry for the pain he has endured but grateful for his beautiful heart. Thank You Lord for his wonderful new friends. Bless them as they open their hearts to appreciate Isaac in his differences. Thank You for this encouragement for Rebecca, her husband, Isaac and all of us. Amen
Anne, He indeed has a beautiful heart! One of my fears after he was diagnosed was that he wouldn’t understand the gospel. God took care of that one. He prayed once all by himself in his bed three years ago.. I was hesitant and he said, no mom,I believe. I am ready and he just started praying. I asked him questions earlier and he understood, but I wanted him to wait. He didn’t want to wait and put his little hands together and started praying and the prayer melted my heart.. it was humble and obvious to me he was desiring to follow Jesus. The evidence of that fruit is his sensitive heart toward his sin and when he prays his prayers are pretty deep for a ten year old child.
Thanks so much for praying!
That makes me so happy to hear!! I’m glad he had found friends who have good hearts. 🙂
I am so glad God is supplying friends for Isaac. That is very important. Wonderful how God can meet all your needs.
Liz, yes! As his older brother kind of breaks off from him a bit and is developing his own friendships I grew concerned that Isaac would be somewhat left alone, but God is taking care of him. He has made it obvious to us throughout Isaac’s life that his hand has been on him.
So many challenges for mothers of special needs children and the children themselves — so good to see God coming to the rescue. Thanks for this story.
Dee, I love what you said, “God coming to the rescue” because that is exactly what he has done in Isaac’s life!
5. Meditate on Psalm 139:19-22. Why do you think the abrupt mood change? Is it logical? Explain.
Wow, and I think MY thought processes don’t make sense?? He goes from saying how wonderful God’s thoughts are to begging him to kill the wicked. I don’t understand at all, actually, how he got from point A to point, like Z. I can track my own rabbit trails, but not his one. I mean, I understand his feelings, but not how he got there.
6. Make Psalm 139:23-34 your own prayer. You may want to write it out here.
Father, you know my heart and mind better than I do, help me to understand them. Show me if there is something that I’m doing wrong, even if I don’t realize it’s wrong. Like, should my favorite shows not be my favorite shows? Show me a way to live that’s higher than my current life and will mean something years from now.
7. What do you think would happen in your life if you made the above prayer a regular part of your life when you faced problems, decisions, or the end of the day?
I would think a lot more about what I do, I wouldn’t just make decisions. If I’d thinking about how a decision would affect me years from now, I wouldn’t have made SO many of the decisions I made this past semester. My life would really start to matter to me, I think. I think I’d find a purpose finally.
Liz, I think what has happened is that in the previous verses his love for God was so stoked that he experienced anger toward God’s enemies in verses 19-22. I have frequently felt the same toward people who use God for their own purposes which is what I think he is describing here. Then I realized that I do it myself. That was an eye opener.
I know that God has a wonderful purpose for your life and that you are moving toward it. Look how far you have come.
I am praying for your friends and their father. How devastating. I pray that they will each find hope and healing in the Lord.
Liz — love your honesty. Your answer to 5 made me smile.
Liz, I love your answer in #7, “I would think a lot more about what I do, I wouldn’t just make decisions.” I can see how God is really giving you a heart for Him!
Hey, ladies, I have a prayer request. Two of my friends, Ciera and Essence, just lost their mother last Saturday. Today they are having the funeral. They are both having a really hard time, so if you could pray for strength for them and for their dad, that would be awesome. Thanks, guys. 🙂
Lord, I do lift up Ciera and Essence and their dad to You. A mom is irreplaceable in their hearts. Lord, You promise to be close to the brokenhearted and I pray that You comfort them, giving them courage to face this and walk with them through this journey of grief. Lord, show them Your compassionate love for them and draw them near to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Tammy, this morning I said to myself, “Tammy’s at church praying for my family.” Thank you so much! I feel better today than I did earlier this week; I think prayer nite on Tues. helped lift alot of the burden off. Next hurdle to clear will be his birthday August 10. He would have been 23. I’m so glad God sent you an honest car mechanic, too!
Joyce, I will be praying for Kendra Monday for her surgery.
Thank you, Susan
Susan
Thank you for letting me know your next hurdle. The word celebration has been coming to mind alot and I wonder what your family would think of choosing to celebrate Thomas’ birthday as a way of remembering the joy he brought to each one of your lives. I know the first year is really tough and ya’ll may not be up to doing that but maybe ya’ll could consider it for the future. This idea is something that came to mind and I felt I should share it with you. Have a blessed week!
The closer you get to contemplating God’s Holiness the more you see your own sinfulness. I look back and see that I felt quite prideful about simply doing what God wanted me to do and help people but than I realized that God was simply letting me help Him much as I used to let the children cook. I could have done it simply and more effortlessly but I wanted them to learn and I also wanted them to have the experience of working with me to help develop our relationship. Contemplating this pretty much took pride out of the picture. I simply said,” Thank you Lord for letting me help with your work and please don’t let me mess up too much.”
I like this Judy.
The Gospel at once humbles us, for we are so bad He had to die, yet exalts us, for we are so loved He did.
Have a great Sunday.
I’m excited to take you on a new journey starting tomorrow! Finish up your contemplations on this psalm journey.
I would also be thankful if you would pray that Mia, my new grand-daughter, would be touched by God’s healing hand. Her billirubin count is high and they are having trouble lowering it and are taking her to newborn intensive care. She also has exhausted new parents. Thanks so much.
Will be praying for Mia and her parents today.
I will be also
Will be praying also.
4.C/D My thoughts and insights on Ps 139:16 and Eccl. 11:5
I’ve been pondering these questions for a few days now and I confess I have had a hard time coming to grips with this truth. It’s easy for me to understand when someone lives beyond 70 or 80 that they have lived their ordained days but when someone close to you dies in their youth it’s hard to comprehend they have lived their ordained days. On the other hand, because I know my loved ones are with Christ, I do not have to weep as those who have no hope.
When I moved on to the verse in Eccl. 11 I immediately saw the truth. Just as we can never see the wind or a baby being formed in the womb we will never know or see God’s hidden works. I’ve come to accept that there are things we just can’t know while we are on this earth. If we did know everything we would be as God. I think sometimes the enemy wants to keep us focused on trying to figure out the hidden things of God so we actually stay away from the true purposes of God. By doing so he’s still perpetuating the original lie ‘you can be like God’.
Because of who You are I give You glory.
Because of who You are I give You praise.
Because of who You are I will lift my voice and say,
Lord I worship You because of who You are.
Jehovah-Jireh, my Provider.
Jehovah-Nissi, Lord You reign in victory.
Jehovah-Shalom, my Prince of Peace.
And I worship You because of You are.
Tammy, So true and such a beautiful post.
Rebecca
The words at the end of my post are from a new song our choir is learning. It’s been flowing through my mind ever since I’ve first heard it. It’s one of those songs that keeps me focused on WHO is really to be my focus. I hope ya’ll had a blessed time of worship this morning.
Ladies, could you pray for us today as we go and visit a new church plant in our area. They are having an informational meeting and are opening the doors in September. I am hoping, if it is God’s plan, to help out on their worship team as it is just forming. From what we have read about this church it seems to be really solid.
We are hoping we find one before the Fall so our boys can get their roots in as well, so pray we would be sensitive to God’s leading today and the rest of this month as we go to their worship and planning meetings.
Father
Rebecca and her husband are seeking your wisdom as they search for a new church family to share worship with. Give them confirmation that the up and coming church is where you would have them be. Rebecca desires for her boys to grow in the teaching of your word. Lead them Lord for its obvious they seek to follow you. Also, thank you Lord for bringing laughter to Isaac through the kindness of his peers. Amen.
5. I see the mood shift to anger and frustration. David and the nation of Israel are surrounded by pagan nations who make gods of wood and stone and worship with such abandonment from all that is decent biblical scholars won’t even describe their worship practices. I’m sure David thought, as he was writing the words ‘for they speak against you wickedly’, of the day he slew Goliath who, as we know, taunted the army of Israel for forty days before David entered the fray and showed the enemies of Israel the mighty power of God.
I appreciate the words of Anne for I often think the same thing. People claim to know Christ and then turn around and criticize someone who is in a terrible situation instead of coming along side the person and letting them know someone cares. I hear too often human reasoning being spouted instead of biblical wisdom. Sometimes, when I hear someone say well this is what I think and they begin to spout worldly wisdom, I just want to scream ‘I don’t want to know what you think. I want to know what God says’. All we have to do is turn on the news and we hear and see the evidence of sin and evil in our world. And the unfortunate truth is sometimes I only have to look into the mirror to see someone who commits sinful acts. I’ve been coming to accept how much I grieve Jesus.
So I would say yes to the second question. It is logical that Christ followers would be righteously angry at the evil that is in the world.
6. My prayer for verses 23-24. Lord, I open my heart before You. I do not want to hide any longer. I want to be known and loved by You. You knew me when I was only dust and dust I would remain but for Your mighty power and great love. When evil was found in me You made a way for me to be clean through Your precious Son. Thank You for Your patience with me. Search my heart Lord, reveal to me the motives You find there and please lead me in the everlasting way. What a beautiful term…the everlasting way. Please help me to remember to regularly open my heart to You in this way.
7. What do you think would happen in your life if you made the above prayer a regular part of your life when you faced problems, decisions, or the end of the day? I would follow a lot fewer rabbit trails and I would find myself used by the enemy much less often. At the end of the day I might experience more peace and less regret. I might not find myself facing the same problems repeatedly if I allowed myself to be changed by the difficulties I face. I would be able to see that the problem could be in me and not around me. I’m sure I would find my mind renewed and strength to become more like Christ.