One of my greatest joys is watching others fall in love with the Word of God – and with the God of the Word! I count it as a privilege, and an honor to guide my sisters through an in-depth Bible study together. Over the next three months, I will be taking several dozen women through Call to Worship, and inductive study in Psalms. I want to invite you to join us! We are meeting on a bi-weekly basis, doing one lesson every other week through March, April, and May.
Invite a few friends, form your own group, and join us as we study! After I meet with my ladies I will be posting some thoughts from the devotion I will share with them. I encourage you to connect with me as you work through the study independently or with your friends!
A Walk-through of the Bible Study Guide
I always begin a study with an orientation. This is a brief walk-through of the study so that everyone knows exactly what to expect. Over the years I’ve learned what tends to get people tripped up or stuck in their study. I do my best to address some of these issues on the first night, before we even get started.
Study Layout
This study contains six lessons, each lesson focusing on a different psalm. I’ve selected eight psalms for us to dig into, each one representing a different genre of psalm. Many of these psalms are familiar to us, psalms that perhaps we have studied in the past. You are going to have the joy of discovering new-to-you truths in these psalms as you study. I will encourage you to slow down and pay careful attention to what is being said in the Psalms. Take a moment to understand what the Lord intends to teach you from the psalm. Watch as the Spirit speaks application to your heart right where you are today.
You’ll also notice that this study contains Lessons and Parts, rather than Weeks and Days. It’s merely semantic, but those semantics make a difference. You are not tied to any external schedule in working through this study. You may get through a Part in a single day. Or it may take you a few days to work through a Part – or you may do two or three Parts in a single sitting. It’s up to you! Each lesson may take you one week, or two, or even three weeks to work through. Eliminating the week/day label from the study encourages you to work through the study at your own pace.
Working Through Lesson 1
Let’s take a moment to walk through Part 1 of Lesson 1. I want to highlight just a few different styles of questions that are asked. Remember that this is an inductive study – focusing on Observation, Interpretation, and Application. Observation questions will have you looking carefully at the text to notice exactly what it says. Interpretation questions will challenge you to think critically through the text to determine what it might mean. Application questions will encourage you to live according to the truths you are discovering.
In the back of the book on page 185, you’ll find a twelve-step guide to studying the Psalms (also available as a download). The questions subtly form the structure of each lesson. My goal is that when you finish working through this study you will have practiced a method of studying Psalms that you will be able to take with you beyond this study, giving you a starting point as you continue to study Psalms. The optional For Further Study sections of this study will help you to practice this method a little more independently and are a great option if you would like to practice studying using this method.
Overviewing the Psalm
Always begin your time of study in prayer. Remember that it is the Spirit of God who will reveal truth to you – He is the author, He is the teacher. You will be amazed at the difference this prayer makes to your time in the Word!
FIrst Impresssions
Every time we begin to study a psalm, we will take a few minutes to overview the psalm. We will read through it, getting our first impressions. There is no right or wrong answer here. Simply make a note of what goes through your mind as you read through the psalm a few times. Notice what the Spirit brings to mind.
Genre
We then make note of the genre of the psalm to help guide us as we study. When we study a wisdom psalm, we are looking for the principles that the Lord wants us to live by. If the psalm is a lament, we recognize that the author is going through a time of intense pain and struggle, and speaking his thoughts freely to the Lord. In a psalm of Remembrance we focus on the lessons that history teaches us about the Lord.
Flow of thought
After we make note of the genre, we work through the psalm stanza by stanza, finding the main message of each stanza. We read through the psalm several times to discover the flow of thought in the psalm. Don’t get tied up at this point trying to find the “right” answer – simply do your best to summarize the stanza in just a few words, and make sure you are able to justify your answer from the text of the psalm.
Theme
This applies to questions about the theme of the psalm as well. The right answer is the one you can justify from the text. Yes, the author did intend a specific theme, and with practice you will develop skills that help bring you closer and closer to his intended theme and message. Give yourself the grace to develop this skill. Simply practice justifying your thoughts based on what you see in the text.
Sample Observation Question
Let’s look at a sample observation question. Remember that observation questions are designed to be answered word for word from the text. In this question you are going to read Psalm 1, noticing any reference to the blessed man, including pronouns. Use context cues to help you with this – and give yourself the freedom to make mistakes!
Marking
A quick note about marking the text. Marking isn’t art. It is simply a tool to get you to stop skimming and pay close attention to the words on the page. You will be AMAZED at what you notice that you have skimmed over in the past!
Keep your markings simple. There is no need to mark anything in any given way, and don’t fall for the temptation to obsess over HOW you are marking. The point is to notice WHAT you are marking. As you continue to study in this way you will discover what works best for you – whether that is creating a unique style for every word, or simply rotating through a dozen or so ways you can mark with the pen you have right there in your hand.
A word of caution – don’t fall for the temptation to jump to interpretation in these questions. There is no need to summarize, and we are not ready at this point to spiritualize. Simply write exactly what you see. Allow the words to become familiar to you as you read and write them.
Sample Interpretation and Application Questions
As you study you’ll notice that we will use some simple interpretive techniques to help us get closer to the intended meaning of each psalm.
Word Studies
One of these techniques is the use of original language word studies. Our English translations are excellent and reliable, especially the ones like the ESV that are careful about how they choose their wording. Occasionally though it is helpful to look past the translators’ veil to see how that word was used in its original language context. I’ve done much of the dictionary work for you, giving you footnotes if you’d like to look it up for yourself. You will be challenged to then take that original language understanding back to the text to see how it deepens your understanding.
Cross-References
Another technique we will use frequently is the use of cross-references. Occasionally you will find these references printed out for you, but generally you will need to use your own Bible to look these up. Unless otherwise noted, cross-references are based on the ESV translation. If you are using a different translation and not seeing the connection, take a moment to see if the ESV translation helps. Scripture is its own best commentary. Allow the Spirit to have the first say about what He means.
Application
You’ll find application questions scattered throughout the study, giving you an opportunity to pause for a moment and think about what the Spirit is showing you. Bible study without application is nothing more than academic knowledge application – and that is not our goal. Our goal is to allow our time in the Living Word to transform us. We seek to know God more deeply, to recognize His voice speaking through the Scriptures, and allow Him to change us from glory to glory into His image as we gaze on His truth.
Wrapping It Up
Every lesson ends with a Wrapping it Up section – a chance to review what you have learned and spend some intentional time with the Lord journaling and making application.
You’ll find the same four questions opening up each Wrapping It Up section. These four questions will review the psalm and get you to start thinking about the difference these truths make to your life. If you are leading a small group these questions are a great start to your discussion. Opening with these questions and applying the truths that they lead to may even be all you need for a vibrant discussion!
After these four questions are several other questions that you may choose to work through. You may want to do them all, or you may want to “choose your own adventure” and focus more deeply on two or three of them. It’s your study – make it work for you. I challenge you to listen to the Lord’s voice as you choose questions to work through. Don’t skip one simply because it cuts too deep. Allow the Lord to bring that conviction if that is what He wants for you – to lift you up, cleanse you, and change you.
Bonus Study!
I’ve designed each of the four Parts of the Lesson to take about a half hour to forty minutes to complete, depending on how long you linger in the questions. If you have more time or would like to go deeper in your study, there are a few options for you!
Don’t forget about the For Further Study sections at the end of each Lesson. These will take you through a psalm that is related to each week’s Lesson in some way. Often they will focus on either another psalm in the genre that we are studying or another psalm written by the same author. For the most part, I’ve based these studies directly from the Studying the Psalms guide.
If your group, like, mine, is working through the study on a bi-weekly basis and you find that you complete your study in a week, you might choose to use the second week to work through this For Further Study section. Or you may choose to use these as a “round 2” – working through them after you’ve completed each Lesson in the book.
You will also find optional Deeper Into the Word opportunities in each lesson. These are grey boxes on the inside margins of your study, and give you a chance to further refine your study skills. Some may take you to outside resources, practicing using Bible Dictionaries, Atlases, or Concordances. Others will give you additional cross-references to work through that didn’t fit into the time constraints of the study. These sections will challenge your critical thinking and reasoning skills, training you to make whole-Bible connections between topics that come up in the text.
Are you ready to get started?
Hopefully that answered some questions you may have had! If not, feel free to contact me at rachel@treasuringgodsword.com and I’ll be happy to help you!
I’m excited for you to study with us! Leave a comment and let me know if you are working through this study! May the Lord deeply bless you as you make His Word a priority in your life!
Ready for Lesson 1! Once you finish working through the lesson – check out the devotionals from Psalms 1 and 2!
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