What record of a person does God keep?
(Psalms 17; 40; 73; 114; 116; 121; 139) Blog Jan. 21-27, 2024
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: The Psalms show us that we may tell God our sorrows and our joys. They reveal God as the Creator of all things, who is above all and should be worshipped by all. His government is merciful and just and he makes promises to those who love him.
What God knows about us
1. When does God first take notice of a person? Before a person is born God notices them in their mother’s womb, when yet they are only an unformed embryo (Psa. 139:13-16).
2. According to Psalm 139, what record does God keep of a person? God keeps a record of a person’s every body part, their DNA, even the hairs of their head are numbered (Psa. 139:16; Luke 12:7).
3. By keeping a record of every person’s DNA, what is easily possible for God? With a record of our DNA God can easily recreate a person just like they were before they died & were decomposed (Job 19:25-27; Psa. 17:15; 1 Cor. 13:12; 15:20-23).
4. According to Psalm 139, what else besides our form does God know about us? God knows every move we make, every word we speak, every thought we think (Psa. 139:1-4).
5. How does David react to God’s knowledge of all his actions, words, & thoughts? David understands that God is very near to him (before & behind). This thought is exceedingly wonderful to him (and should be to us also) (Psa. 139:5-6).
6. Besides knowing our form, our actions, our words, and our thoughts, of what else is David very impressed in Psalm 139? David is impressed with God’s omnipresence, with the fact that wherever he goes, God is there to lead & protect him (Psa. 139:7-12).
7. What became very precious to David that should be precious to us also? God’s thoughts became precious to David & should be precious to us also (Psa. 139:17-18).
What we know about God
8. In Psalm 139 after David remembers all that God knows about us, what impresses him about God? David is impressed with what God thinks of us & that he never leaves those who trust in him (Psa. 139:17-18; Heb. 13:5).
9. What does David say that God does for those who put their trust in him? God comes near to those who trust in him. He hears their cry for deliverance, rescues them, establishes them on a solid foundation, & gives them a song in their heart (Psa. 40:1-4; 50:15).
10. How extensive does the psalmist say that God’s watch-care over his children is? God watches over his own day & night for he does not sleep. He preserves them throughout their whole life (Psa. 121:1-8).
What God does to deliver us
11. According to Psalm 114 what extreme measures did God use to take his people from Egypt to the promised land? The Psalm says that th e sea fled & Jordan was driven back & God shook the mountains & turned the flinty rock into fountains of water (Psa. 114:1-8).
12. On what does David depend to keep himself out of the paths of the destroyer? David depends on God & his Word to keep him from the paths of the destroyer (Psa. 17:4-7).
13. When Asaph felt like serving God was worthless because the wicked seemed to endlessly prosper, how did he console himself? Asaph entered God’s sanctuary where he began to understand that present prosperity is no assurance of final deliverance from life’s trials & that God was continually guiding him & in the end would receive him into glory (Psa. 73:1-28).
14. What hope gives David, and us, strength to endure mistreatment from others? The hope of seeing God & awakening in his likeness strengthens us to endure the daily troubles we face (Psa. 17:13-15).
15. What should be our response when God delivers us from trouble and sorrows? We should thank the Lord, vow to walk in his ways, tell others, & rejoice in his salvation (Psa. 116:1-19).
16. From where does our help and deliverance come? Our help & deliverance comes from God whose throne was on the sides of the north, & now in heaven’s Most Holy Place which the psalmist calls Mount Zion (Psa. 3:4; 20:1-2; 75:6; 103:19; 128:5; Isa. 14:13).