Sabbath School lessons are part of the worldwide study undertaken by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and we are currently in the first quarter of 2024. We’ll be delving into the book of Psalms, and the Sabbath School lesson for this week is titled ‘I Will Arise’ for the period February 03 to February 09. Join Pastor Mark Finley as he provides a brief preview of this week’s lesson.

<p>Sabbath School lessons are part of the worldwide study undertaken by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and we are currently in the first quarter of 2024. We’ll be delving into the book of Psalms, and the Sabbath School lesson for this week is titled ‘I Will Arise’ for the period February 03 to February 09. Join Pastor Mark Finley as he provides a brief preview of this week’s lesson.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

HopeLives365

Mark Finley

Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2024: Psalms

01 How to Read the Psalms

02 Teach us to Pray

03 The Lord Reigns

04 The Lord Hears and Delivers

05 Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land

06 I Will Arise

07 Your Mercy Reaches Unto the Heavens

08 Wisdom for Righteous Living

09 Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord

10 Lessons of the Past

11 Longing for God in Zion

12 Worship That Never Ends

13 Wait on the Lord


Welcome back. We are studying the Sabbath school lessons on the Psalms. If you've joined us in our previous studies, you recognize that there's a central theme through the Psalms. And that theme is the honest, open hearted prayers of the psalmists seeking God when there's evil and suffering all around them. The Psalms do not deny the reality of human suffering, But the Psalms present a God who's there in human suffering, a God who's always present with his people, and a God that will 1 day bring suffering to the end.

In our lesson today it's entitled, I Will Arise. The theme text comes from Psalm 12 and verse 5. Let's take a look at that Psalm. Psalm 12, verse 5, says this, for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, ah, now I will arise, says the Lord. Notice God says, I'm gonna arise.

The poor are being oppressed. The needy are sighing and crying out. But God says, I'm going to arise. I will be their defender. I will be their protector.

Now in ancient Jewish culture, the thought was that poverty was a sign of God's displeasure and riches were a sign of God's favor. And what the psalmist is saying is that poverty is not a sign of God's displeasure at all. People may be poor because the circumstances of their life. They may be poor because of the environment that they were brought up in. They may be poor because of the context in which they've had to try to flourish.

So poverty is not a sign of God's displeasure at all. In fact, God takes special concern. He has special care for the poor. And here in this lesson, it says, second to last paragraph under the Sabbath Afternoon's lesson, only the Creator, whose throne is founded on righteousness and justice, can provide with his sovereign judgment, stability and prosperity to the world. The twofold aspect of divine judgment includes deliverance of the oppressed and destruction of the wicked." So What this lesson is all about is this.

God's concern or care for the poor, our, as Christians, care for the poor, helping to meet their needs, and the reality of the fact that because God is righteous, 1 day he will deliver the poor, the needy. 1 day they'll live in a land where there is no more want, no more suffering, no more heartache or death. And 1 day the wicked who've oppressed the poor, 1 day they will be destroyed." So Sunday's lesson is entitled, The Majestic Warrior. Psalm 18, verse 3 says, I'll call upon the Lord. Verse 18 says, the Lord is my support.

Psalm 76, verse 9 says, God arose in judgment to deliver the oppressed. Psalm 144, 5 to 7 says, rescue me, deliver me, O God. These Psalms, according to the first paragraph in our lesson, praise the Lord for his awesome power over the evil forces that threaten his people. They portray God in his majesty as warrior and judge. Now the image of God as warrior is frequent in the Psalms.

It highlights the severity and urgency of God's response to his people's cries and suffering. So this idea, God is warrior. He comes to make war on evil. He comes to defend his people. He comes as the mighty leader who will bring to his people encouragement and hope, who will destroy the powers of wickedness.

And there are very fascinating, very fascinating allusions to God. In Psalm 18, for example, verse 13 to 15, Look at some of those allusions to God. Let's look at verse 13. They're quite interesting. The Lord thundered in the heavens.

You know, you think of this rolling thunder, the Lord thunders in the heavens. And the Most High uttered his voice, "'Hail stones, coals of fire!' He sent his arrows, scattered the foe, lightnings in abundance. He vanquished them. Then the channels of waters were seen the foundations of the world 1 covered at your rebuke Oh Lord at the blast of your nostrils. You notice all the different allusions to God's power there.

Thunder, hailstone, coals of fire, lightning, channels of water, are called God's rebuke. In other words, he is the mighty warrior. And although evil may prevail, it reminds me of James Russell Lowell's poem, "'Truth forever on the scaffold, "'wrong forever on the throne.' "'Yet that scaffold sways the future, "'and behind the dim unknown stands God, "'keeping watch above his own.' "'Evil may not always be judged quickly, and it won't be, but it will be judged. God's people may not always see apparent deliverance, but they will be delivered by his grace and through his power. Down here, third paragraph down, about the third sentence down in the paragraph, in his many battles against the enemies of God's people.

King David praised God as the only 1 who achieved all the victories. It would have been easy for David to take credit for what happened, for his many successes and triumphs, but that was not his frame of mind. He knew where the source of his power came from. In the battle against evil, in the battle against wickedness, it's not our strength, but it's God's strength. It's not our ability to triumph over evil.

It's God's ability to triumph through us over evil. For he, as Sunday's lesson is entitled, is the majestic warrior. Now 1 day, Monday's lesson, there'll be justice for the oppressed. If you've looked up every 1 of those texts, there are 5 texts, 6 texts actually, that are given in our lesson. In Psalm 9, verse 18, the needy are not forgotten.

In Psalm 12, verse 5, God rises up to support the needy. In Psalm 40, God again triumphs over the powers of hell, and David says, I'm poor and needy, but it's God who's my deliverer. In Psalm 113.7, David prays, raise the poor out of dust. Psalm 146. Now I wanna look at Psalm 146 with you.

And so if you happen to be following along in your Bible, turn to Psalm 146, and we wanna take a look at that particular psalm that talks about God's power and God's deliverance. Psalm 146, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live, praise the Lord. I'll sing praises to God while I have by being." Don't put your trust in princes nor in the Son of Man where there's no health. Why not?

His spirit or his breath departs. He returns to the earth. In other words, he's going to die. Where's my hope? Happy, verse 5, happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord is God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, who keeps truth forever, who executes justice.

The Lord opened, verse 8, the Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord raises those who bow before him. The Lord loves righteousness. He watches over the strangers. What does he do? Strangers.

He watches over them. He relieves the fatherless and the widow, But the way of the wicked he turns upside down. The Lord shall reign forever. Your God, O Zion, to all generations." So here, in these Psalms, in Monday's lesson, it talks about that God is going to reign justice for the oppressed. The expression poor and needy is not limited, second paragraph of Monday's lesson, to material poverty, but signifies vulnerability, helplessness.

The expression appeals to God's compassion. It conveys the idea that the sufferer is alone and has no other help but God. The depiction poor and needy also pertains to one's sincerity, truthfulness, and love for God in confessing one's total dependence on God and renouncing any trace of self-reliance and self-assertion. So all of us, in a sense, are poor and needy. We're poverty-stricken for righteousness.

We are needy for the strength of God. And here, in this psalm, God promises to be with the poor and the needy. The poor and needy who are physically poor and in need of material things, but those of us who are spiritually poverty stricken. In Tuesday's lesson, the title becomes, How Long Will You Judge Unjustly? Psalm 82, it's a very interesting Psalm.

When I first read it, it was difficult for me to understand, honestly. I had to pore over it a number of times, pray over it to understand it. Look, Psalm 82, verse 1, God stands in the congregation of the mighty He judges among the gods How long would judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked, defend the poor and fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and needy, deliver the poor and the needy, flee from the hand of the wicked?" Now, the part that confused me is he judges among the gods. What is that talking about? When you understand that the Bible talks at times about the leaders being in the place of God, and what this is talking about is that here you have leadership that has assumed the role of God, but God is the only rightful ruler of the universe.

He is the sovereign 1 who reigns from his throne in the sanctuary. And these so-called quote unquote gods are false gods, false leaders, and they'll be judged. The lesson points this out very nicely, I think. Second to last paragraph, Tuesday's lesson. Psalm 82 mockingly exposes the apostasy of some leaders who believe themselves to be gods above other people.

See, so when it says he judges among the gods, these leaders are, they believe themselves that they're higher than the people, that they're like the gods. Although God gave the authority and privilege to the Israel leaders to be called the children of the Most High and to represent them God renounces the wicked leaders. God reminds them that they're mortal Subject to the same moral laws as all people. No 1 is above God's law. God will judge the entire world.

So here in Psalm 82 in Tuesday's lesson, it points out that leaders who think that they have the authority of God, and who treat people unjustly, and who oppress the poor, they will be judged by God. He will pour out Wednesday's lesson, his indignation. Psalm 58, 6 to 8, Psalm 69 particularly. Let's look at Psalm 69 verses 22 to 28. Psalm 69 verses 22 to 28.

And here's what the scripture says. Let their table become a snare before them. That's a table of the wicked, those that oppress the poor, and their wellbeing a trap. Let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see and make their loin shake continually. Pour out your indignation upon them.

Let your wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate. Let no 1 dwell in their tents." Verse 28, let them be blotted out of the book of the living and not be written with the righteous. So here, Wednesday's lesson talks about David's prayer that the wicked 1 day be ultimately destroyed. God has reached out to them, God has sought them, God has sent his Holy Spirit to their heart.

God has brought conviction to them, but they've rebelled. They've turned their back on God and they've oppressed the poor. Second paragraph down in Wednesday's lesson, Yet the psalmist indignation in the face of oppression is a good 1. It means that the psalmist took right and wrong more seriously than did many people. He cares even greatly about the evil that's done in the world, not just to himself, but to others also.

Last paragraph, last couple sentences. Wednesday's lesson, divine judgment obliges God's people to raise their voices against all evil and seek the coming of God's kingdom in its fullness. The Psalms also give voice to those who suffer, letting them know that God is aware of their suffering, and 1 day justice will come. So this lesson, this week, talks about really 2 or 3 things that I think that are vital truths. 1, as Christians, we have responsibility to minister to those around us who are poor.

They can be poor and needy spiritually, and we can minister to them. They can be poor and needy from a material standpoint, and we can minister to them. So they can be poor and needy in a variety of ways. So the first lesson I think from this week's study is have a compassionate, sensitive heart to the people around you that are poor and needy. The second lesson is that God is a mighty warrior and he will judge the wicked who oppress the poor and needy and Eventually, they'll be blotted out of his book and eventually destroyed forever The third lesson is that God is with the poor and needy to encourage them and to strengthen them.

And that leads us to Thursday's lesson, the Lord's judgment in the sanctuary. Psalm 96, God judges earth from his sanctuary. Psalm 99, God reigns between the cherubims. Psalm 132, the Lord has chosen Zion as his habitation. I do want to look at Psalm 132.

Psalm 132, verse 7 to verse 9. We'll take a look at that. It talks about God's judgment from his sanctuary. Psalm 132, verse 7. Let us go to his tabernacle.

Let us go to his tabernacle. Let us go to his tabernacle. David says, look, there's a lot going on in the world. I'm being, David says, I'm being pursued by Saul and his forces. Death seems to be inevitable for me.

I'm poverty stricken. I have a rock for my pillow as I sleep out under the stars. My body at times is wracked with pain." But David says, let's go to his his sanctuary. Let's worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, to your resting place, you in the ark of your strength.

Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, your saints shout for joy for your servant David's sake, and do not turn your face from the anointed." And then he comes down here and he says, the Lord has chosen Zion, verse 13. He has desired it for his habitation. This is my resting place forever. Here I will dwell for I've desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision.

I'll satisfy her poor with bread. David says, by faith, David says, by faith, by faith, I will rest in the sanctuary. By faith, I will dwell in the pavilion of God. By faith, my heart will rest in the joy of his grace in the tabernacle above." David says, I will not allow the things around me to discourage me. Second paragraph, Thursday's lesson.

At the sanctuary, the plan of salvation was revealed. That's revealed to David. In paganism, sin was revealed and understood primarily as a physical stain to be eliminated by magic rites. In contrast, the Bible presents sin as a violation of God's moral law. God's holiness means that he loves justice and righteousness.

Likewise, God's people should pursue justice and righteousness and should worship in his holiness. To do that, they must keep God's law. In other words, as we're changed by grace and transformed by his love, as we're led to obedience to his law, we have a compassion for the poor. We have a love for those that are needy. We have a concern for those who are less fortunate than we are.

But 1 day, we know that the God who forgives, that God will come again. He will defeat all evil. Righteousness will reign forever and ever and ever. Friday's lesson, the Psalms oblige people to raise their voices against evil and to seek the coming of God's kingdom in its fullness. In the Psalms, we're given the assurance of divine comfort and deliverance.

The Lord will. Arise, The Lord will arise when you feel somewhat discouraged or downhearted. Know that the Lord will arise when sickness ravages your body and you feel Weak and fainting, almost near death, know the Lord will arise. When you look out over the world and see the suffering and the heartache and sorrow and the disappointment, know that the Lord will arise. He will arise to strengthen you.

He will arise to encourage you. He will arise to give you hope. He will arise in judgment to come again, destroy evil and restore all of his people to the divine glory that they had before sin, so that they can reign with him and live with him forever and ever and ever. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for the encouraging ministry of the Psalms.

We thank you for the solutions to this divine mystery that there will be evil and wickedness. But the ultimate solution is to see you in the sanctuary, to know your presence, to sense that you're with us, that you'll never leave us or forsake us. We thank you and praise you for everything that you have done for us and everything you will do. In Christ's name, Amen. This media was brought to you by AudioVerse, a website dedicated to spreading God's Word through free sermon audio and much more.

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Series

Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2024: Psalms

06 I Will Arise

Description

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

01 How to Read the Psalms

21m

02 Teach us to Pray

23m

03 The Lord Reigns

24m

04 The Lord Hears and Delivers

24m

05 Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land

22m

06 I Will Arise

20m

07 Your Mercy Reaches Unto the Heavens

19m

08 Wisdom for Righteous Living

25m

09 Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord

31m

10 Lessons of the Past

25m

11 Longing for God in Zion

22m

12 Worship That Never Ends

33m

13 Wait on the Lord

25m

Sound Doctrine