July 12 | Psalm 50 | Wise Worship

  1. In your opinion, what makes or breaks a worship service? Are there certain elements in our services that you love, or that you can’t stand? What do you think matters most to God when we gather for worship?

  2. Read Psalm 50:1-6. What words would you use to describe the emotional tone of this passage? Psalm 50 was most likely recited during a large corporate worship service - a covenant renewal during the Feast of Tabernacles. What does the elevated language tell us about the act of corporate worship?

  3. Read Psalm 50:7-13. In this stanza, what ‘worship myth’ is being debunked? In our day, we don’t bring bulls or other sacrificial animals to the worship meeting. How can we apply these verses to our own lives as New Testament Christians?

  4. Read Psalm 50:16-22. This stanza mirrors the previous one, but focuses on debunking yet another ‘worship myth.’ Why are some of the worshipers being labeled ‘wicked’? How can we avoid this kind of ‘wicked worship’ today?

  5. Read Psalm 50:14-15. These three commands constitute the heart of the psalm, describing the positive alternative to the negative ‘wicked worship’ expressed in the flanking stanzas.. According to these verses, what are the marks of a wise worshiper living as a faithful member of the covenant community?

Below is the text included in Lily’s prayer:

O GOD,

Praise waiteth for thee, and to render it is my noblest exercise;

This is thy due from all thy creatures, for all thy works display thy attributes and fulfil thy designs;

The sea, dry land, winter cold, summer heat, morning light, evening shade are full of thee, and thou givest me them richly to enjoy.

Thou art King of kings and Lord of lords;

At thy pleasure empires rise and fall;

All thy works praise thee and thy saints bless thee;

Let me be numbered with thy holy ones, resemble them in character and condition, sit with them at Jesus’ feet.

May my religion be always firmly rooted in thy Word, my understanding divinely informed, my affections holy and heavenly, my motives simple and pure, and my heart never wrong with thee.

Deliver me from the natural darkness of my own mind, from the corruptions of my heart, from the temptations to which I am exposed, from the daily snares that attend me.

I am in constant danger while I am in this life;

Let thy watchful eye ever be upon me for my defence,

Save me from the power of my worldly and spiritual enemies and from all painful evils to which I have exposed myself.

Until the day of life dawns above let there be unrestrained fellowship with Jesus;

Until fruition comes, may I enjoy the earnest of my inheritance and the firstfruits of the Spirit;

Until I finish my course with joy may I pursue it with diligence, in every part display the resources of the Christian, and adorn the doctrine of thee my God in all things.

From The Valley of Vision

Robb EsperatComment