Skip to main content

Psalm TWO

 PSALMS [Praying our intimidation] 

Psalm 2_ 

 
From the second we wake up, news headlines are bombarding us with things like violence and war and guns and arrogance and greed. Whether through the news on TV, radio and newspapers, or through social media. It can feel overwhelming and eave us wondering what we can do about any of it. What use even is prayer?! 

 
 
[Group discussion starter] Think about some of the news headlines you have come into contact with recently. Maybe even pull up some news headlines on your phone. 
What events in the world are particularly troubling to you and why? 

 

Like Psalm 1, Psalm 2 is a pre-prayer. It is an act of orientation that prepares us to pray. This Psalm prepares us to pray in political, as well as personal, ways. God is just as much at work in the public sphere as God is in the personal sphere, and our prayers are just as needed there as in our personal lives. 

As what is referred to as ‘a royal Psalm’ Psalm 2 was traditionally read/sang/prayed at the coronation of a king. How might this be poignant to us? 

 

[Read Psalm 2] 

 

What obvious nouns and verbs used throughout the Psalm suggest the political orientation of this Psalm? 

 

 

Do you feel as responsible to pray for the nation, society and culture as you do for yourself, family, friends and church? 
Explain. 

 

 

Compare the first verse of Psalm 1 to the last verse of Psalm 2. 
What do we learn from these two blesseds? 

 

Meditates in Psalm 1:2 and plot in Psalm 2:1 are the same word in Hebrew. 
How is the word used differently in the two passages? 

 

 

How does the Lord view ‘the vaunted power of nations’ (in verses 4-6)? 
How does this compare/contrast to your own attitude as you consume the news? 
Explain. 

 

 

“Anointed one” in verse 2 is Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek. 
What in this Psalm reminds you of Jesus? 

 

 

In previous history, it has been traditional for Christians to pray this Psalm on Easter Sunday. What in this Psalm especially suits it for that occasion? 

 

 

The Psalm begins and ends with references to kings and rulers (verses 2-3, 10-12). 
How do they relate to the King enthroned by the Lord (verse 6)? 

 

What impact does this have on the way we pray?  

 

 
It feels easier to pray for personal needs rather than political situations. But Psalm 2 is entirely political. Knowing this, what responsibility do we have, as citizens of a particular country, living in Christ’s Kingdom? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #3

  {SEVEN LETTERS}    The Attractiveness of Suffering_   Revelation 2:8-11     In the year AD 177 persecution broke out against the Christians living in what is today the French city of Lyon. Christianity had raised the suspicions and hatred of the Roman  bureaucrats who governed the city. The vicious persecution that raged, touched Christians at every level of society. After the persecuti on subsided, church father Irenaeus, arranged for a letter to be written to Christians in other parts of the Roman Empire describing the faithfulness of the  martyrs...   We  can’t  even begin to put into words, much less describe in detail, the  magnitude  of the persecution here: how the pagans raged so terribly against the saints, and how the ble ssed martyrs endured so patiently... To begin with, they nobly endured all the abuse the whole mob collectively piled on: screaming  at them, punching them, dragging them through the stre...
Post a Comment
Read more

{SEVEN CHURCHES} #1

  The Lord Who Speaks_   Revelation 1:9-20   We  don’t  tend to get many letters these days. We get emails, text messages,  WhatsApp  and other electronic messages, but rarely  a handwritten, pen-and-paper letter.    I tend to save any good ones I get... notes from when Leah was little. Letters that encourage or bless me.   I’ll keep them in my  bedside  drawer or  tucked  into books on our shelves. Then I get to read them again and feel loved and blessed by their words. ..     [Discussion starter]    Tell the group about a significant letter you have received and why it meant so much to you.     Revelation 2-3 records seven letters written by Jesus to seven churches.   It must have been a thrill for an early church congregation to receive a letter from the apostles Paul, Peter, or James... but here were letters from Jesus himself . And we all get to read everyone else’s ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

David #12

  [DAVID] Generous giving_   1 Chronicles 29     Giving has become a sore spot for many Christians. Every day we are bombarded with appeals for money – from TV and radio evangelists, from missionaries, from parachurch organisations , from charities and from our own churches. Sometim es we might feel like shouting, “Enough is enough!” How can we adopt godly attitudes toward giving so that we don’t live with a closed fist but an open hand and a generous heart?     [Group discussion starter] How do you tend to respond when people ask you for money? Explain.     David had a refreshing attitude toward giving. In this chapter he illustrates what it means to give joyously and generously to the Lord...     [Read 1 Chronicles 29]     What does this chapter reveal about David’s perspective on giving?       In verses 1-5, how does David provide an excellent example of what it means to give generously to God?    ...
Post a Comment
Read more