Open Learning

School for In Service Training and Development

‘S2 You are my God:’

A personal journey through five Psalms of prayer and praise.

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Open Learning

School for In Service Training and Development

William Booth College

Denmark Hill

London

SE5 8BQ

020 7326 2787 020 7326 2837

tom.stirling@salvationarmy.org.uk kathryn.stirling@salvationarmy.org.uk

Please send your assignments to:

Deborah Goddard Administrator Open Learning

School for In Service Training and Development William Booth College

Denmark Hill London

SE5 8BQ

020 7326 2788

deborah.goddard@salvationarmy.org.uk

Revised July 2013

Acknowledgement: Annie Vallatton line drawings used by permission © America Bible Society

[Reproduction allowed only for non-profit making religious education]

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‘You are my God’:

A personal journey through five Psalms of prayer and praise.

‘Lord, …you know me’ Psalm 139 ‘Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer’ Psalm 140 ‘In you I take refuge’ Psalm 141 ‘Teach me to do your will’ Psalm 143 ‘Every day I will praise you’ Psalm 145

About this course: Aim: This course introduces you to the book of Psalms in the Old Testament. Learning outcomes: At the end of the course you will:

Have read five Psalms of prayer and praise.

Have reflected on their meaning for your own life and relationship with God.

Content: This workbook contains five lessons: Lesson 1: Psalm 139: ‘Lord, …you know me’ Lesson 2: Psalm 140: ‘Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer’ Lesson 3: Psalm 141: ‘In you I will take refuge’ Lesson 4: Psalm 143: ‘Teach me to do your will’ Lesson 5: Psalm 145: ‘Every day I will praise you’

How to use this work book:

Choose a version of the Bible that you find easy to read. Helpful translations include the Good News Bible and the New International Version. The Bible quotations in this workbook are taken from the New International Version of the Bible.

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Read the Psalm for each lesson slowly. Read it more than once so that you understand what the Psalmist is saying to God and how he is feeling.

When you have done this, answer the questions on the worksheet, using your

Bible to help you.

When you have finished a lesson, post your worksheets to the address on page 2 of this workbook, enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope for your tutor to use to return your work to you.

Aim to make time to study regularly and send in one lesson per month.

Send in one lesson at a time. Your tutor’s feedback will help you with your

next lesson.

How your tutor will feed back on your work is explained on pages 29 – 31 at the end of this workbook.

Your tutor will treat as confidential any personal issues you might share in

your written work.

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Introducing the book of Psalms: The psalms in the Old Testament are poems and hymns written by God’s people. They were used in Israel’s individual and shared, public worship. The psalms speak about and directly to God. They bring all sorts of feelings to him – joy and pain, anger and contentment, questions and certainties, fears and peaceful trust, celebration and mourning. The psalms also celebrate God’s greatness, his love and goodness and his guidance and direction in everyday life. Whatever is happening in life, the psalms express the firm belief that God hears, understands and responds to the prayers and praise of his people.

Lesson 1. Psalm 139: ‘Lord, …you know me’. Read Psalm 139 straight through. This psalm speaks to a great God whom we can never fully describe or understand. Yet, as awesome as God is, he loves and cares for human beings. The writer of this prayer says: ‘Lord, …you know me’: verse 1. You know everything about me: verses 1 - 6 You are present everywhere. You are with me, and I am never outside your loving care: verses 7 – 12. Write a short statement in the space below describing God’s presence in your life:

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‘For you created my inmost being’: verse 13. You created me and cared for me before I was born. You know my past, present and future: verses 13 - 18 Write below three examples of God’s care and guidance in your life: 1. 2. 3. ‘Search me, God, and know my heart…See if there is any offensive way in me’: verse 24 To think about: People can do evil things deliberately They can ignore God, hurt themselves and hurt other people Write three examples of such behaviour in the space below: 1. 2. 3.

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To pray about: Sometimes, living in a way that pleases God can be difficult because of the way we feel or the way we think. God understands our struggles and can help us with this. Complete these sentences as your own prayer:

O God, search me and know: My heart:

My thoughts:

Write three sentences below about the ways in which you can be an example of a different way of living:

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‘Lead me in the way everlasting’: verse 24. You are my life - giver. You guide me in the way that leads to life: verses 19 – 24 To encourage you: • As you finish your reflection on this psalm, write in the space below one example

of the way God has led you in the right way in the past: • What have you learned from this study that will help you in future?

Now send these pages to your tutor at the address on page 2 of this workbook.

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Lesson 2. Psalm 140: ‘Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer’. Read Psalm 140 straight through. We cannot be sure of the circumstances in which this psalm was written, but it expresses the pain of someone who has suffered because of people who are God’s enemies. The psalm is written in the form of a lament, a song expressing grief and sadness. Another term for this psalm is an elegy, a poem of lamentation over sorrow and loss that may be set to mournful music. In great distress, the writer of this psalm asks for God’s help. The psalmist’s prayer begins: ‘Rescue me, Lord’: verse 1. Protect me, … listen to my prayer: verses 1 – 8. Set Me Free! These verses of the psalm speak to God about the feeling that a hidden trap, net or snares have been set by enemies hoping to capture and harm the psalmist. To think about: From what do you need to be set free? Write your thoughts here: Keep Me Safe! To think about: Do you have fears? Which fears need to be overcome in your life? Write your thoughts here:

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Don’t let evil win! To think about: Sometimes we have to resist wrong things in the world around us as well as inside us. Even Jesus - the Son of God – knew what it was like to be tempted to do the wrong thing (Matthew 4: 1 – 11). Below, write two things that will help you to resist when you face temptation: 1. 2. Resisting evil. Those around me have planned trouble.. verses 9-11 The psalmist now tells God about his anger and bitterness. He wishes that those who plan evil would be destroyed by it themselves. The psalmist’s wish is that all evil should be wiped out. To think about: In our world today, what wrong things do you see that grieve God? In the space below copy out a headline that you have seen in a newspaper recently that illustrates one such evil:

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Overcoming evil: God is always at work for good in the world. What good things are happening in the world today? In the space below, write out two newspaper headlines of good news that you have seen recently. 1. 2. Declaring trust in God. ‘I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor…the upright will live in his presence: verses 12 - 13 This prayer ends confidently. God will put right all that is wrong. Those who love God will know his presence with them. To think about: Even in difficult times, God is with us and he is always at work for good in the world.

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Write one sign of God’s presence in your life on each side of the stepping stones below. Signs in my life that God is with me: 1.

2.

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To pray about: Write your own prayer in the space below, thanking God for his presence in the world and in your own life.

Now send these pages to your tutor at the address on page 2 of this workbook.

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Lesson 3. Psalm 141: ‘In you I take refuge’. Read Psalm 141 straight through. This psalm is a confident prayer. The psalmist is sure that God hears and will respond. Most of all, this prayer asks God for help with the psalmist’s own inner life. The prayer asks for God’s strength, guidance and protection so that the psalmist does not think, speak or do things that are wrong and that would grieve God. ‘I call to you, Lord …hear me when I call to you’: verses 1 - 2 I lift my hands in praise as a sacrifice to you: verses 1 - 2 List the things for which you are most grateful in the space below.

Using this list, write a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God:

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‘Set a guard over my mouth, Lord’: verse 3 To think about: the psalmist asks God to help him control his tongue and be careful about what he says. Write down one example of: A time when it is best to keep silent: A way to stop gossip:

A way to ensure clean language: A way to encourage others:

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Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil’: verse 4 To think about: This prayer asks God to take away any wish to do evil, or to join with other people who are doing wrong things. The psalmist asks God not to allow him to get involved in what appears attractive but is actually harmful. Write here two examples of harmful or wrong actions that can be tempting because they appear to give pleasure or other enjoyable rewards: 1. 2. ‘Let a righteous man…rebuke me’: verses 5 - 7 To think about: In this part of the prayer the psalmist tells God that he will accept God’s guidance and correction through other people who also love and obey God. If God truly is our guide, we will listen to him and obey him when he speaks to us. Write here one thing that you want to ask for God’s guidance and help with:

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‘..my eyes are fixed on you..’: verses 8 - 10 To think about: The psalmist asks God to protect him from evil by being his refuge or place of safety when he meets with temptation to do wrong. The psalmist trusts God never to leave him to face the challenges of life alone. Write in the space below two things you can do to help you keep on looking towards God so that he can guide and protect you: 1. 2. To encourage you: Write in the space below one reason why you can trust God:

Now send these pages to your tutor at the address on page 2 of this workbook. Lesson 4. Psalm 143: ‘Teach me to do your will’.

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Read Psalm 143 straight through. This is a psalm of penitence. To repent or to be penitent means to be sorry for, and to turn away from, doing wrong. The psalmist longs for God and asks him in verse 10: ‘Teach me to do your will’. Jesus himself prayed for his Father’s will to be done in his life, and He taught his followers to pray it too: ‘Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6: 7 - 15). To emphasise what the psalmist is saying to God, two similar ideas are often placed alongside each other. For example: verse 1: ‘Lord, hear my prayer; … listen to my cry for mercy’ verse 6: ‘I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land’ verse 10: ‘teach me to do your will… lead me on level ground’ Praying in this way shows how much the psalmist is longing for a sense of God’s presence. ‘Lord, hear my prayer’: verse 1. The psalmist comes to God knowing that this prayer will be heard. Write your own poem in the space below. In your poem, speak to God, praising him because of who he is and thanking him that you can come to him for help because:

Lord, you are faithful (verse 1). You Lord, you are faithful (verse 1). You Lord, you are always loving (verse 8). You

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‘I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you…’: verses 1 – 6. This psalm speaks honestly to God about personal thoughts, feelings and needs. Read verses 1 – 6. To think about: What is prayer? In the space below, explain what you think prayer is: ‘Answer me quickly, Lord’: verses 7 – 8 Read verses 7 – 8. To think about: How does God speak to you? Write your answers to the questions below: What does God say to you through the world of nature and the world around you?

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What has God said to you as you have read the Bible?

What has God said to you in your own thoughts and feelings and experiences? ‘..may your good Spirit lead me..: verses 9 - 12 Read verses 9 – 12. To think about: How does God lead you? Write your answers to the questions below: How has God shown you the right way to go in your life?

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How has God warned you against going the wrong way in your life? How does God show you that you are moving along the path that is God’s way for you?

Now send these pages to your tutor at the address on page 2 of this workbook.

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Lesson 5. Psalm 145: ‘Every day I will praise you’. Read Psalm 145 straight through. This is a song of praise and thanks to God. In other psalms the psalmist has asked God for help, for guidance, for strength. This poem shows how God answers prayers like this, and how he can meet the needs of people in all sorts of different situations. The psalmist praises God because he is King. He created the whole world and everything in it and rules over it. God is not only great and powerful. He is just and forgiving, loving and kind. I will exalt you, my God and King’: verses 1 – 2. To think about: What kind of king is God? Read the whole psalm, looking for the words that describe what God is like. For example, the psalm says God is good to everyone (verse 9). In the space below, write a list of all the words the psalm uses to describe what God is like. Alongside each word, write the number of the verse in which it is mentioned: Now underline the words in the list you have made that describe your own experience of what God is like and how he has acted towards you.

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Read verses 1 - 9 again. Look at the things the psalmist praises God for. Write three sentences of your own praise and thanks to God for who he is: I praise and thank you Lord because you are:

1. 2. 3. To think about: The psalmist says that God’s people will tell others about how great and good God is (verse 4). How can you show and tell God’s goodness and greatness to other people in your life? Write two ideas in the space below: 1.

2.

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‘Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom’: verse 13 Read verses 1 and 9 - 13 again To think about: This psalm celebrates God the King. He created and lovingly rules over the whole world. The people who love God know that he is their king. Unlike any other human ruler or kingdom, God’s kingdom or rule lasts for ever. Write here two things about God’s kingdom in verses 9 – 13 that encourage you: 1. 2. ‘You….satisfy the desires of every living thing’: verse 16 Read verses 14 - 21 again.

In the space below, write a list of all the things God does in these verses to care for every living thing and every person he has made:

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To encourage you: The Lord is good to all’: verse 9 Write here three good things God has given you in your life: 1. 2. 3. Write here three ways he has helped you: 1. 2. 3.

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To think about: ‘The Lord is near to all who call on him’: verse 18 Write here one thing you long to receive from God’s hands now: ‘My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord’: verse 21 Write your own short psalm of praise to God here, summing up who he is to you and how he acts towards you:

Now send these pages to your tutor at the address on page 2 of this work

book. This is the last lesson in this workbook. We hope you have enjoyed your study and that it will encourage you to read more of the Bible.

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Please take time to complete the Questionnaire sent to you with this workbook and include it with your final piece of work. Thank you.

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Starter courses:

How the tutor will feed back on your written work: Your tutor will be looking for the following:

• Structure: is your written work logical and easy to follow?

• Expression: is your written work clearly expressed, with good grammar,

spelling and punctuation?

• Understanding: Have you read enough to give you a sound understanding of

the subject?

• Have you understood what the question is asking?

• Have you answered the question?

The tutor’s comments on your work will cover at least three of the following:

Understanding of the subject: Have you answered all the questions? What did you get right? What did you get wrong? What will help you to answer the question correctly in future?

Application (this may not be relevant to every Starter course): How well have you understood the question being asked? How well have you understood what you have read? How well have you been able to relate what you have read to the question asked and to your own life?

Presentation: Structure: is your written work set out logically, making it easy to follow? Have you made correct use of: Grammar? Spelling? Punctuation?

Quality:

How well have you completed this piece of work?

What would help you to improve the quality of your work?

When you have finished the course you will receive a Certificate of

Completion

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Open Learning

School for In Service Training and Development William Booth College Denmark Hill

London SE5 8BQ

Assignment Feedback Sheet: Starter courses

Student Name Module Code Module Title Tutor Lesson Tutor’s comments. Understanding of the subject: ___________________________________________________________________

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Application: Presentation: Quality:

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