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BIBLE DISCUSSION GROUP STUDY QUESTIONS
In preparation for Sunday, October 13, 2013
Passage: Psalm 119:17-24
Memory Passage: Psalm 119:17
DAY 1 – ASK FOR INSIGHT
READ THE PASSAGE
(a) Read Psalm 119:17-24. What does “bountifully” mean? Under what circumstances would you ask someone to “Deal
bountifully” with you? And, what would be your motive for making such a request?
(b) Now, if you had to ask or have asked God to deal bountifully with you, honestly, what are some of the things that come to
mind when you think about God being bountiful to you? What is your motive for asking God for those particular things?
How many things in your list are purely for your material or emotional comfort? How many relate to spiritual matters?
Is there mutual exclusivity between things material/emotional and things spiritual? Why or why not (Use relevant
scriptural truths and texts to support your answer).
(c)
Based upon David’s request in verse 17, what does he consider to be evidence of God’s bounty towards him? Would it
be evidence of God’s bounty if you or anyone were allowed to live while being unable—willingly or unwillingly—to
keep God’s word?
(d) Family: Explain that living without a purpose is one sure way to a wasted life.
The only sure guide to having a life of
meaning is to sincerely live according to all that is taught in the word of God. The basic teaching of Scripture is to put
your trust in Christ and live for Him so that you may be saved from the wrath of God, which is to come. The basic
answer to the question, “why do I want to live?” should be, “I want to live in order to live for God.” Pray!
DAY 2 – ASK FOR INSIGHT
READ THE PASSAGE
(a) Read Psalm 119:17-24; 1 Cor. 2:9-10; 1 Peter 1:12, 2:11-12. In light of his desire to keep God’s word in verse 17, why
is the request of David in verse 18 necessary?
(b) Have your eyes been opened to see?
What are the “wondrous things” in God’s law that you are now able to see (list at
least four that relates to your personal salvation and four that relates to your community and the word)?
(c)
David describes himself as “a sojourner on the earth.” What is a “sojourner?” Are believers all sojourners? How so?
(d) What is the connection between the Psalmist’s desire to keep and understand God’s word and being a stranger/sojourner?
If it helps, think of trying to drive in a city you have never been to before and for which you do not have a map.
(e)
Reflecting also on Day 1, are unbelievers able to keep God’s word and understand them? Is the unbeliever who is faithful
to his/her spouse keeping God’s law? Is the unbeliever able to understand God’s word? Use scriptural truth to support
your answer.
(f)
Family: Explain that the Bible, in addition to telling us about our fundamental problem (sin) and its cure (Christ), teaches
us about how we ought to live in the world. Sojourners need direction. There is a sense in which the Bible is our
map/guide for how we ought to live in this word as God’s saved sojourners. Pray!
DAY 3 – ASK FOR INSIGHT
READ THE PASSAGE
(a) Read Psalm 119:17-24, 42:1. When David speaks of his “soul” being consumed with longing for God’s rule, does he
mean just one part of him or his whole person?
(b) Why do people/you long for anything?
(c)
When you are consumed with longing for something how do you seek to satisfy your longing? Have you ever found
yourself longing for the word of God? In what circumstances have you experienced this longing? How have you set
about to satisfy your longing for the word of God?
(d) What is the connection between David’s longing for God’s word/“rules” in verse 20 and his statement in verse 21 that
God rebukes “the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from” God’s commandments?
(e)
Family: Realize that David’s longing for the word of God is not just a mere longing for the word merely as word, that is,
not the mere letters on the page. He longs for God’s word because it gives direction and represents God and His
righteous judgments in the world. A desire for God’s word is really a desire for God’s guidance and rule. Pray!
DAY 4 – ASK FOR INSIGHT
READ THE PASSAGE
(a) Read Psalm 119:17-24; 2 Samuel 16:5-14; Luke 23:18-37. David petitions God to “Take away from me scorn and
contempt?” What is “scorn” and “contempt?” Have you ever experience either or both?
(b) When you are met with “scorn” and “contempt”, what often is our natural and immediate reaction and response?
(c)
What do we learn from both David’s reaction to Shimei’s curses and our Lord’s response to His rejection and
crucifixion? What must be true of us if we are to respond the way David and Jesus did? Think of this in a personal way
and in terms of a worldview
(d) When David ties his request for God to take away scorn and contempt from him with the statement “I have kept your
testimonies,” is David here advocating some kind of works righteousness (See also Daniel 6:22)? Apart from saying that
he has kept them in Christ, which I do not believe applies here or in Daniel’s case, in what sense can David say to the
Lord “I have kept your testimonies?”
(e)
Family: Explain that as sojourners, we live in a world where we will experience different forms of persecution—scorn
and contempt, for example. Yet, even when we are experiencing suffering because of our commitment to Christ, we must
not act in revenge or in kind. Rather, we should bring our case before our God and Father in whose hand vengeance
belongs. Have an eternal perspective as you remember that, to use Luther, “And though the world with devils filled
should threaten to undo us. We will not fear for God has willed His truth to triumph through us.”
DAY 5 – ASK FOR INSIGHT
READ THE PASSAGE
(a) Read Psalm 119:17-24. David begins verse 23 with the words “Even though.” Why “even though?” To whom would
“princes” be referring? Are the “princes” different from the “insolent” and “accursed” in verse 21?
(b) David’s use of “even though” suggests that this is a more difficult situation than the insolent ones who treat him with
scorn and contempt. In the first situation he asks God to remove their scorn and contempt. What is David’s response to
the princes who “sit plotting against” him? Is this your response when you know that people and princes are plotting
against you? Why or why not?
(c)
What are some of the benefits of meditating on God’s “statutes” in light of the apparent circumstances in this text? Has
meditating on God’s word ever caused you to change course regarding some immediate reaction or more distant response
you would have had to a particular situation. Please explain and share.
(d) David says God’s testimonies are his __________________ and his
_____________________? How does the answers
help you understand when and how to use the word of God?
(e)
Mediate/reflect together on the wonderful thought that God’s word/testimonies are your counselors! Wow!
(f)
Family: Spend time in prayer praising and thanking God for His word.
DATE: October 13, 2013
PASSAGE: Psalm 119:17-24
Grace is Needed for Understanding and Applying the Word of God