Lessons from Lockdown: Psalm 131 (Small Group Study)
Small Group Study, week commencing 7th September
Click here for a PDF version of these questions.
Read Psalm 131
What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘contentment’? What does it mean? What word associations do you think of?
The psalms of ascents (Psalms 120-134) are psalms or songs that would have been sung by the Jewish people as they made their way up to Jerusalem 3x a year for the annual festivals. The three major festivals, the festival of Passover, festival of Pentecost, festival of tabernacles.
What were your reflections on the point Ellen made that we also need ‘songs for the journey’?
David uses two interesting words in verse 1 – proud and haughty. Do you have any thoughts on what David is trying to convey here?
Note:
Proud here means high or tall. The same word used of Saul in 1 Sam 10: 23 when Saul is made King ‘as he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others’. Not lifting our hearts up higher than they should be. Pride lifts ourselves up tall, above others, where humility and contentment are the opposite. This links with that word haughty which is about feeling superior.
How does pride get in the way of contentment?
Spurgeon said: ‘This is one of the shortest psalms to read but one of the longest to learn’
What did he mean by that and do you agree?
David uses the metaphor or a weaned child to describe being content. Is contentment a sign of Christian maturity?
In this recording two people shared their own stories of what they’ve struggled with and what they’ve found has helped them find contentment and peace in this season. You could spend some time in your group sharing the same and taking time to pray for one another.
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