Immersion Bible Studies: Psalms - Softcover

McCann Jr., J. Clinton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 142671629X ISBN 13: 9781426716294

Verlag: Abingdon Press, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

Imagine a life of true happiness, a life of complete honesty with God. Through this study of the Scriptures, you learn how to live a life of gratitude while producing actions that honor God. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step suggestions for leading a group are provided as well as questions to facilitate class discussion.This eight-week volume is part of the Immersion Bible Studies series. Inspired by a fresh translation, the Common English Bible (CEB), Immersion stands firmly on Scripture and helps you explore the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs of your personal faith. Whether you are using the CEB or another translation, Immersion will offer new insights into God’s Word, your own life, and your life with God.Psalms features eight sessions.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

J. Clinton McCann Jr. is the evangelical professor of biblical interpretation at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of many books and articles, including The New Interpreter's Bible commentary on the Psalms, A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms, and Great Psalms of the Bible. He was the consulting translator of the book of Psalms for The Common English Bible.

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Psalms

Immersion Bible Studies

By J. Clinton McCann Jr., Jack A. Keller Jr.

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2011 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4267-1629-4

Contents

Immersion Bible Studies, 
1. The Pursuit of Happiness, 
2. Where Is God in a World of Suffering?, 
3. Faithful Complaining, 
4. A Lifestyle of Gratitude, 
5. A Lifestyle of Praise, 
6. Whom Can We Trust?, 
7. Marching to Zion, 
8. Establishing Justice, 
Leader Guide, 

CHAPTER 1

The Pursuit of Happiness

Psalms 1–2; 19; 32; 37; 41; 72–73; 111–112

Claim Your Story

Everybody wants to be happy! Indeed, according to one of the most important and influential documents in human history, "the pursuit of happiness" is an "inalienable right." But, of course, The Declaration of Independence does not tell us how to pursue happiness, leaving us to ponder some crucial questions: Am I happy? If so, what makes me happy? If not, why not? And how might I pursue happiness more effectively?

We ponder these questions in the midst of a culture that leads us to think often about being happy and that generally encourages us to pursue happiness in a particular way—namely, by getting what we want, and more specifically, by buying what we want. But, according to many expert observers of human behavior, this self-centered and consumer-oriented approach to pursuing happiness turns out to be sadly ironic. Instead of finding happiness, we are often left feeling alone, bored, dissatisfied, and disappointed—in a word, unhappy. Even many people who seem to "have it made" or "have it all" find themselves asking, "Is that all there is?"

For contemporary persons who may be longing for and searching for happiness, the Bible is a timely resource. In fact, the very first psalm in the Book of Psalms is about "the truly happy person" (Psalm 1:1). The word happy occurs more than two dozen times in the Psalms; and in a real sense, the whole Book of Psalms is about what it means to be "truly happy" (1:1; 2:12). As we shall see, the portrait of "the truly happy person" in the Psalms is a striking contrast to what our culture generally calls happiness.

Enter the Bible Story

The Pursuit of Happiness: It's All About God, Not About Me!

While contemporary culture encourages us to find happiness by pursuing (which usually means purchasing) what we want, "the truly happy person" in Psalm 1 focuses his or her attention first and foremost on God, not on self. Psalm 1 is usually categorized as a Torah Psalm, since the Hebrew word torah occurs twice in verse 2. It means "instruction," and it signals the reader to expect to learn something from this psalm and all the others. Psalm 1 is also sometimes categorized as a Wisdom Psalm, and this label fits as well. True wisdom derives from being instructed by God, and the psalmist is! Shunning other "advice" (verse 1), "the truly happy person" is committed to learning from the divine teacher. These persons "love the LORD's Instruction," and even "recite God's Instruction day and night!" (verse 2). In short, genuine happiness derives not from doing what we want, but rather from attending constantly to and doing what God wants!

The Hebrew word torah is best translated "instruction," but it means something as broad as "God's will." God's "instruction," or God's will, has a specific content, which is suggested by Psalm 1 when it mentions "justice" in verse 5. Later in the Book of Psalms, Psalms 96 and 98 (see Chapter 8) proclaim that God "is coming to establish justice on the earth!" (96:13; 98:9). God's "coming" is not a future event, but rather a current and ongoing reality—that is, God is present in the world "to establish justice." Although justice is often understood in the retributive sense of rewarding good behavior and punishing bad behavior, God's justice is something different. It means not giving people what they deserve, but rather giving them what they need. It means setting the world right ("justice" and "righteousness" occur together frequently in the Psalms and elsewhere in the Bible) so that all people may live, especially those persons whose lives are most threatened and vulnerable.

To illustrate this meaning of justice, consider Psalm 72, a prayer for the Judean king, who was considered God's earthly adopted "son" (2:7; see Chapter 8), and as such, was entrusted with the earthly administration of the will of God, the heavenly king (see "king" in 98:6, and "rules" in 96:10; both come from the same Hebrew root). The prayer is that the earthly king may govern with "justice" (verses 2, 4) and "righteousness" (verses 1-3), which consist of the protection of and empowerment of the "poor," "weak," and "needy" (verses 2, 4, 12-14), and which yield shalom, comprehensive well-being or "peace" (verses 3, 7). Psalm 72 envisions that the king's administration of justice will extend to "all the nations," who will "call him happy" (verse 17), clearly recalling Psalm 1. Again, happiness derives from doing what God wants—that is, justice that, because it involves steadfast opposition to oppression (verses 4, 14), aims at world-encompassing peace.

A further indication of this biblical definition of happiness is found in the shape of Book I of the Psalter (Psalms 1–41). Psalm 41, like Psalm 1, begins with a focus on "those who ... are truly happy" (verse 1; see "happy" in verse 2 as well). In keeping with Psalm 72 in which the king is called happy for attending to the poor, Psalm 41 portrays "truly happy" persons as "those who pay close attention to the poor" (verse 1). Thus, Book I of the Psalter is framed by portrayals of "truly happy" persons. Happiness is all about attending to what God wants—"God's Instruction" (1:2); and it is all about doing what God wants—"pay[ing] close attention to the poor" (41:1), or in a word, "justice," which is the foundation for peace.

"The Righteous" and "The Wicked," or What Is Success?

Scholars nearly unanimously agree that Psalm 1 stands at the head of the collection to serve as an intentional introduction to the Book of Psalms. The word happy is important in this regard, as suggested above. Another major aspect of the introductory function of Psalm 1 is its inclusion of the Psalter's major characters—God, of course, but also "the righteous" and "the wicked," both of whom will figure prominently throughout the book, especially in Books I–II (Psalms 1–72).

"The truly happy person" mentioned in Psalm 1:1 is later called "the righteous" (verses 5-6). Even though this translation is accurate, it is easy to misunderstand the identity of "the righteous." Especially since "the righteous" are contrasted with "sinners" (verses 1, 5), it sounds as if "the righteous" are those who do everything right—that is, it sounds like "the righteous" are sinless. But not so! In Psalm 32, for instance, the "truly happy" person is "the one whose wrongdoing is forgiven, whose sin is covered over" (verse 1; see "truly happy" in verse 2 as well). Psalm 32 clearly recalls Psalm 1 (in Hebrew, the first word of each psalm is happy). Consequently, it does not allow us to equate righteousness with sinlessness. Rather, "the righteous" are those who live in complete orientation to God. To be sure, they "love the LORD's Instruction" and attend to it "day and night" (1:2); but "the righteous" never claim to get everything right. In another Torah Psalm, after affirming...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Abingdon Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 142671629X
• ISBN 13: 9781426716294
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 111
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland