BIBLE DISCUSSION GROUP STUDY QUESTIONS

In preparation for Sunday, September 25, 2016 Passages: Psalm 33:1-22

Memory Passage: Psalm 33:20-22

DAY 1 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a)  Read Psalms 32 & 33. Psalm 33 seems to have originally been a stand-alone Psalm, though in a few Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 32 & 33 are connected as one Psalm. What connections do you see between these 2 Psalms that might have caused the compilers to place Psalm 33 (untitled and unattributed) immediately after Psalm 32?

(b)  Who are the “righteous” and “upright” and what makes them so? How are they recognized?

(c)  Explain the 6 verbs found in vs. 1-3 in which God’s people are commanded to engage as they worship.

(d)  How should vs. 1-3 affect our corporate worship? Are they the only actions that should mark our worship? Explain.

DAY 2 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a)  Read Psalm 33. What do you learn from vs. 4-9 about Yahweh’s character? About Yahweh’s word?

(b)  Explain how the Psalmist knows the earth is full of Yahweh’s steadfast love? How does this filling manifest itself?

(c)  Why should Yahweh’s creative word cause the entire earth to fear and stand in awe of Him?

(d)  Should God’s creative acts be the call to worship for a lost and dying world today? Explain your answer with Scripture.

DAY 3 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a)  Read Psalm 33. Explain the difference between the plans and counsel of men and of Yahweh (vs. 10-12).

(b)  Why do the plans and counsel of men fail? Do they always fail? Should we never make them? When might they succeed?

(c)  Who is the nation referred to in v. 12? Does this promise apply only to this nation or is it applicable to you? Explain.

(d)  How should verses 10-12 affect our approach to the 2016 presidential election? How do they affect the way you approach the rulings of the Supreme Court, or laws enacted by Congress? And please say more than “God will frustrate evil plans.” We all affirm that God’s justice will fully and finally be executed in the future, but what about our real, and important, choices today? How does this passage, and the rest of Psalm 33, inform us at the ballot box and as law-abiding citizens of the USA?

DAY 4 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a)  Read Psalm 33. Explain Yahweh’s knowledge of His human creation (vs. 13-14). How should this knowledge affect what you do when no one else is around? Is this understanding of Yahweh’s knowledge sweet or fearful to you?

(b)  Is the Psalmist warning kings to get rid of their armies and warriors to get fat, lazy, and kill all their horses? No? Then what is the point of vs. 16-17, and how do these verses tie together vs. 13-15 & 18-22?

(c)  What promises are made in vs. 18-19, to whom are they made, and upon what basis are they made?

(d)  Under what circumstances might someone be suffering to which you could apply vs. 18-19 as a balm?

DAY 5 – ASK FOR INSIGHT READ THE PASSAGE

(a)  Read Psalm 33. What verbs describe the believer in vs. 20-22? How are these acts of worship different from the verbs you found in vs. 1-3? How should this affect our corporate worship (notice the corporate nature of these verses: our, we, us)?

(b)  Describe several situations in which you benefited, or should have benefited, by waiting for God to speak or act?

(c)  What does it mean to “trust in (God’s) holy name,” and how does this result in your “heart being glad in him?”

(d)  If “the earth is full” of Yahweh’s steadfast love (v. 5), why does the Psalmist request it to be upon the righteous (v. 22)?

(e)  Meditate on vs. 20-22 and write a prayer/psalm/new song in which you express your desire to be faithful in these ways.

DATE: September 25, 2016 PASSAGE: Psalm 33

The Lord of Steadfast Love