Once again, begin by brainstorming what we know about King David. How he became king, his failures, his successes, some well known Psalms, his lineage, etc.
We are going to be studying the Psalms this week, specifically certain ones that David wrote. Because these are so popular, have volunteers share their favourite Psalm if they have one. Discuss however long you want.
We are now going to look at three different Psalms. While David did not write every Psalm, we are going to look at three different types he wrote.
A Penitential Psalm – Psalm 32
Penitential means showing remorse or penitence for past sins. Also, if you see “A Maskil” before the Psalm, this means basically a song imparting wisdom. Some scholars believe this particular Psalm is the one concerned with his adultery with Bathsheba. While this may be true, let’s just apply this Psalm in that David has sinned. Let’s simply look how David responds in prayer after sinning.
Discuss initial reactions. What jumped out at us? Why did he pray in this way?
Breakdown:
Why is David beginning in rejoicing? Verses 1-2 – David is rejoicing initially, for God has forgiven him his transgressions. Of course, an animal had to be sacrificed, and thus God placed all David’s sin upon that animal. So now David is clean and sinless.
But how did David feel before he was cleansed? Verses 3-5 – He felt it physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Look how much he was agonized over this sin. Do we feel the same way when we disobey? Should we?
Verse 6 – “David initially advised the godly to confess their sins quickly so God would not remove Himself from them because of their sin and seem harder to find later” – Constable
Discuss the implications of this quote. Is it true? Is sin harder to recognize as time goes by?
“Guilt is to the conscience what pain is to the body: it tells us that something is wrong and must be made right, or things will get worse.” – Wiersbe
Verse 9 goes along with verse 6. We must yield quickly to forgiveness and not be stubborn.
Other Davidic Penitential Psalms are 6, 38, 51, and 143
An Imprecatory Psalm – Psalm 59
Imprecatory means to call down evil or to curse. In the Psalms, it is David calling down the Lord’s wrath and vengeance on his and Israel’s enemies.
Read Psalm 59.
Discuss initial reactions. What jumped out at us? Why did he pray in this way?
Breakdown:
This is the Psalm of 1 Samuel 19: 8-14, when Saul attempted to kill David in his bed at home. David is asking God to defend him from the attacks of his enemies and humiliate them so that everyone might see God’s sovereignty
Verses 1-9 show God has his deliverer and Verses 10-17 show God as his Judge.
Verses 3-4 – David is innocent in the eyes of the Lord, for he has done nothing to bring about the attacks of his enemies
Verse 5 – Notice how David titles God, as the Lord God of Hosts (armies of Heaven) and God is Israel. Addressing God in a name that reflects the circumstances is always an effective prayer. When we feel empty, He is El Shaddai (all sufficient), when we need healing, He is Jehovah-Rophe (The Lord who heals), when we need advice, He is Counselor, etc.
Verse 8 – love it. Booyah everyone else.
Verses 9-10 – Look how much David trusts God here. He knows God’s strength, for he has witnessed it and read about it
Verses 11-15 – How do we feel about this prayer? David asks for God to destroy his enemies. Discuss.
Verses 16-17 – Model perfect way to end a prayer
Other Davidic Imprecatory Psalms – 35, 55, 59, 69, 109, and 140
A Hallelujah Psalm – Psalm 16
I figure you guys will have discussed the previous two a good amount. Therefore, you can use this one to just read and let sink in. Most of David’s Psalms were praise Psalms, where David just told God how awesome He was. This should be a big takeway, that while we ask for forgiveness and ask God to battle for us, the majority of the time we should be praising Him.
Read Psalm 16, or another Psalm that it awesome in this similar way.
End the bible study by discussing how this maybe changes how we pray or not.
Again, sorry this is so late. I broke it down as detailed as possible to make it easier to prepare for. Good luck!
Brotherhood of Christian Aggies 