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2 Samuel 22:1-31NIV New International Version Translations
1 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent people you save me.

img200Background2http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=10&c=0

This book is the history of the reign of king David. It relates his victories, the growth of the prosperity of Israel, and his reformation of the state of religion. With these events are recorded the grievous sins he committed, and the family as well as public troubles with which he was punished. We find in David’s life, many things worthy of imitation, and many that are written for our warning. The history of king David is given in Scripture with much faithfulness, and from it he appears, to those who fairly balance his many virtues and excellent qualities against his faults, to have been a great and good man.

Biblical Truths

Chapter 22 is a psalm of praise; we find it later in Scripture as Psalm 18. When His people trust God as the way of their duty, they will find him a present to help them in their greatest dangers: David did so. As God’s people, however we must always remember that we are never fully delivered from all enemies until we get to heaven. Our hope must remain in the promise that God will preserve all his people (2 Timothy 4:18). Those who receive mercies from God should to give him the glory. In the day that God delivered David, he sang this song. While God’s mercy is still fresh in our hearts and minds, and we are most affected with it, let us bring forward our thank you and enjoy God’s affection. All David’s joys and hopes rest, as all our hopes should do, in the great Redeemer.

Items for Discussion

  • What attributes of a Christian life would you assign to the image of “God as a Rock?”
  • When God is closest to you, when God has shown Himself to you, how to you celebrate Him?
  • What do you think David meant when he said that the Lord is his “Horn” of his salvation?
  • Our hope is in the promise (2 Timothy 4:18 – “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom…..”) So how do we reconcile our hope against the times when we are not rescued?

 

Romans 5:1-5
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Background

The Epistle to the Romans is Paul’s complete summary of Christianity written for the Gentiles. In Hebrews, Paul created the equivalent complete summary but intended Hebrews for the Jews. Romans contains all of the central doctrines of the Christian faith. It answers key questions like where can the righteousness that is necessary for salvation be found? Paul then shows us that the answer is found in Jesus Christ.

After the Great Reformation, the three fundamental tenets of salvation became:

  • Justification – God’s unconditional love for us through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross; our faith and belief in Christ – the gift.
  • Sanctification – The reciprocation of our love toward Jesus; how we are living our life – the work.
  • Glorification – The ultimate reward we’ll receive when Jesus returns; becoming like Christ – the prize.

Bible Truth3http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/Matthew-Henry/Rom/Happy-Effects-Justification

A blessed change takes place in the sinner’s state, when he becomes a true believer, whatever their past lives have been like. Being justified by faith, we gain peace with God. This is important to understand because the holy, righteous God, cannot be at peace with a sinner, while under the guilt of sin. Justification takes away the guilt, and so makes way for peace. This is through our Lord Jesus Christ; through him as the great Peace-maker, the Mediator between God and man. The saints’ happy state is a state of grace. Into this grace we are brought, which teaches that we were not born in this state. We could not have got into it of ourselves, but we are led into it, as pardoned offenders. Therein we stand, a posture that denotes perseverance; we stand firm and safe, upheld by the power of the very enemies against us. And those who have hope for the glory of God hereafter, have enough to rejoice in now. Tribulation brings on patience, not in and of itself, but the powerful grace of God working in and with the tribulation. Patient sufferers have most of the Divine consolations (God cares), which abound as afflictions abound. It works needful experience of ourselves. This hope will not disappoint us, because it is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of love. It is the gracious work of the Holy Spirit to spread the love of God in the hearts of all the saints. A right sense of God’s love to us, will make us not ashamed, either of our hope, or of our sufferings for him. (Ro 5:6-11)

Items for Discussion

  • Why is salvation often compared to that of a journey?
  • While no one enjoys troubles in their life, how could troubles help one grow in patience?
  • Paul says our very enemies will actually uphold us – How does this work in life?
  • Using the words, gift, work and prize, how would you describe the Christian faith walk?
  • What examples could you use to describe Divine Consolidations? Divine Consolidations are merely the visible and invisible interactions we have with our God when there are plenty of problems in our life. God loves us and, therefore, He is always there during our problems to help us.
  • Explain what you think Paul meant when he said, “we are now justified by faith?”

Discussion Challenge

  • How does the modern day church assure that the basic tenets of Christianity remain upfront in all they do?