SDA Sabbath School Lesson 4-1st Quarter 2024--The Lord Hears and Delivers

[Richard Myers]

1st Quarter  Lesson 4                                                                                                                                                                                      Jan 20 - Jan 26

The Lord Hears and Delivers

Commentary in Navy                  Inspiration in Maroon

[Richard Myers]

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study

Psalms 139:1-18; Psalms 121:1-8; Psalms 17:8; Matthew 23:37; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4; Hebrews 4:15-16.

    Memory Text:
    “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.” Psalms 34:17.

Again and again, the Psalms highlight the truth that the Sovereign Lord, who created and sustains the universe, also reveals Himself as a personal God who initiates and sustains a relationship with His people.

God is close to His people and to His creation, both in heaven and on earth (Psalms 73:23; Psalms 73:25). Though He “has established His throne in heaven” (Psalms 103:19) and “rides on the clouds” (Psalms 68:4), He also is “near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalms 145:18). The Psalms unswervingly uphold the truth that the Lord is the living God, who acts on behalf of those who call upon Him (Psalms 55:16-22). The Psalms are meaningful precisely because they are prompted by, and are addressed to, the living God, who hears and answers prayers.

We should remember that the proper response to the Lord’s nearness consists in a life of faith in Him and of obedience to His commandments. Nothing short of this faith and obedience will be acceptable to Him, as the history of Israel often revealed.

Amen!  The proper response which is always the case when we love the Lord our God with all of the heart. The all important question to ask and answer is "what must I do in order that I will love the Lord our God with all of the heart?"  When we love God with all of the heart, we will trust Him with all we have and all we are. How can this be? We cannot trust Him with all we have and all we are if we do not know Him intimately. How can this be? How can we know Him intimately if we do not spend time with Him, studying Him? It is by beholding His glory which is His character that we will not only love Him supremely, we will be transformed into His image, His character. It is a Bible promise. Believe it.  "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 27.

[Richard Myers]

Sunday January 21
My Frame Was Not Hidden From You

Read Psalms 139:1-18. How does this text poetically depict God’s power (Psalms 139:1-6), presence (Psalms 139:7-12), and goodness (Psalms 139:13-18)? What does God’s greatness say about God’s promises?

Did you ever want to help someone but had no means? Likewise, some people tried to help you but did not understand your needs. Unlike even the most loving and best-intentioned people, God has both the perfect knowledge of us and of our circumstances, and also the means to help us. Therefore, His promises of help and deliverance are not shallow platitudes but firm assurances.

God’s knowledge of the psalmist is so great and unique that even his mother’s womb could not hide him from God (Psalms 139:13; Psalms 139:15). Divine knowledge pertains to time (Psalms 139:2), inner being (Psalms 139:2; Psalms 139:4), and space (Psalms 139:3)—the psalmist’s entire existence. God’s wonderful knowledge is the result of His creatorship and close acquaintance with people and is manifest in His care for them.

He even knows the number of hairs on your head. “But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:7.

This wonderful truth about God knowing us intimately should not scare us but instead drive us into the arms of Jesus and what He has accomplished for us at the Cross. For by faith in Jesus, we have been given His righteousness, “the righteousness of God” Himself (Romans 3:5; Romans 3:21).

Amen, both imputed and imparted as long as we remain fully surrendered. What is the difference between the imputed and imparted righteousness? If you truly understand share this with your church, for many have been led astray by the verse that says our "righteousness is as filthy rags." The imparted righteousness is not as filthy rags. Filthy rags will not be allowed into heaven, and God will not take away filthy rags when He comes. His righteousness is not imparted over filthy rags today. The heart and mind are cleansed at conversion as white as fresh fallen snow. If you have not seen fresh fallen snow, then it may not be understood how clean it is. Suffice it to say, there is no darkness in it.

God’s presence is highlighted by depicting God as reaching as far as “hell” (sheol, “grave”) and “darkness” (Psalms 139:8; Psalms 139:11-12), places not typically depicted as where God dwells (Psalms 56:13). His presence also is depicted as taking “the wings of the morning” (east) to reach “the uttermost parts of the sea” (west) (Psalms 139:9). What these images convey is the truth that there is no place in the universe where we can be out of God’s reach. Though God is not part of the universe, as some believe, He is close to it all, having not only created it but sustaining it, as well (see Hebrews 1:3).

And is it not amazing how large the universe is. Bless those who have said how large it is and then confess they know not how large it is. It seems the mighty telescopes we have put into space have made liars out of some "great" scientists who tell us not only how large is the universe, but when it was created.

As the One who knows all about us, God can help and restore us. The fresh realization of His greatness prompts an outburst of praise and renewed trust in the psalmist. He welcomes divine scrutiny as the means that can remove from his life anything that troubles his relationship with God.

Amen! In Psalm 19:1 we are told what we know when we are at high altitude and away from city lights. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork." And because this glory is revealed even more when those telescopes reveal a portion of the extent of His heavens.

Some might find the fact that God knows so much about them, even their darkest secrets, a rather frightening thought.

It is surely a frightening thought for those who have not repented of their sins and turned from them. What is the wages of unrepented sin? On the other hand, so very many have been taught that they are saved in sin, not from it. Satan's lie that if we eat the forbidden fruit we will not die, has been accepted by much of professing Christianity. One day they will awake to the truth that God does not forgive known sins that are not repented of.

Why is the gospel, then, our only hope?

Because the wages of sin is death even if we don't know God sees it all. And the poor Pharisees did not understand that the commandments, statutes, and judgments, both moral and ceremonial reached to the intent of the heart. It is the heart, the whole heart that God wants. Jesus made it clear with His sermon on the mount.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God....Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

[Richard Myers]

Monday  January 22
Assurance of God’s Care

Read Psalms 40:1-3; Psalms 50:15; Psalms 55:22; Psalms 121:1-8. How is God involved in our daily affairs?

The Lord reveals Himself in Scripture as the living God who acts on behalf of those who call upon Him.

For the psalmist, “the Lord [is] always before me” (Psalms 16:. Therefore, he trusts God and calls upon Him (Psalms 7:1; Psalms 9:10). The Lord will hear him even when he cries out of the “depths” (Psalms 130:1-2), conveying that no life circumstance escapes God’s sovereign dominion. Thus, the psalmist’s cry, no matter how urgent, is never devoid of hope.

Psalms 121:1-8, meanwhile, celebrates the power of the Creator in the faithful individual’s life. This power includes:

1. “He will not allow your foot to be moved” (Psalms 121:3). The image of “foot” is often descriptive of one’s life journey (Psalms 66:9; Psalms 119:105; Proverbs 3:23). The Hebrew word for “move” describes the security that God gives to the world (Psalms 93:1) and to Zion (Psalms 125:1).

2. The image of the Lord as Israel’s Keeper who does not slumber nor sleep highlights the Lord’s constant alertness and readiness to act on behalf of His children (Psalms 121:3-4).

3. The Lord is “your shade” (Psalms 121:5-6) calls to mind the pillar of cloud in the time of the Exodus (Exodus 13:21-22). Similarly, the Lord provides physical and spiritual shelter to His people.

4. God is at their right hand (Psalms 121:5). The right hand typically designates a person’s stronger hand, the hand of action (Psalms 74:11; Psalms 89:13). Here it conveys God’s nearness and favor (Psalms 16:8; Psalms 109:31; Psalms 110:5).

5. God’s protection of His people is clearly confirmed in Psalms 121:6-8. God shall preserve His children from all evil. Neither “the sun” nor “the moon” shall strike them. God shall preserve their “going out” and “coming in.” These poetic figures underscore God’s comprehensive, unceasing care.

The bottom line? The psalmist trusted in God’s loving care. We, of course, should do the same.

What are some practical ways that you can better experience the reality of God’s care? How can you better cooperate with God in order to enable Him to work within you and for you?

The answers are always the same, we must be truly fully surrendered to God. We must love the Lord our God with all of the heart. If we hold anything back, we shall not be saved (converted).  How can we love God supremely? What did Jesus tell the rich young ruler when he asked what he must do to have eternal life?
The rich young ruler was so deeply moved that as Christ was going on His way, he ran after Him, and kneeling at His feet, asked with sincerity and earnestness the question so important to his soul and to the soul of every human being, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"

Yes, not just the rich young ruler, but the question is to be understood by "every human being."  There is something we all must do in order to be saved. The first and greatest of all commandments is to love the Lord our God with all of the heart. Until we love God supremely we cannot be saved. Then the question is what must I do that I will love God with all I am and all I have, holding nothing back. There is only one way to do this, spend time beholding His glory which is His character.

Only those who will become co-workers with Christ, only those who will say, Lord, all I have and all I am is Thine, will be acknowledged as sons and daughters of God.

We can not trust God with all we have and all we are until we know Him intimately. It would be very good for us to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Jesus. We are a forgetful people. We must day by day come back to the cross to remember what God has done for us. He does not give us grace for tomorrow, but only for today. Then by beholding His character we shall be transformed into His character every day. "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18.

[Richard Myers]

Tuesday  January 23
The Lord Is a Refuge in Adversity

Read Psalms 17:7-9; Psalms 31:1-3; Psalms 91:2-7. What does the psalmist do in times of trouble?

The psalmist encounters various sorts of troubles and, in them, turns to the Lord, who is a refuge in every adversity. Trust is a deliberate choice to acknowledge God’s lordship over one’s life in all circumstances. If trust does not work in adversity, then it will not work anywhere.

Amen!  In order to have this faith, trusting in God with all we have and all we are is only possible when we know God supremely. How can this be asked Nicodemus. Jesus told Him that he must "look and live." It is by beholding Him that we are transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18).

The psalmist’s testimony, “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust’ ” (Psalms 91:2), springs from his past experience with God and now serves to strengthen his faith for the future. The psalmist calls God the Most High and the Almighty (Psalms 91:1-2), remembering the surpassing greatness of his God.

The psalmist also tells of the security that one can find in God: the “secret place” (“shelter” or “hiding place”), “shadow” (Psalms 91:1), “refuge,” “fortress” (Psalms 91:2), “wings,” “shield,” “buckler” (Psalms 91:4), and “dwelling place” (Psalms 91:9). These images represent safe havens in the psalmist’s culture. One needs only to think of the unbearable heat of the sun in that part of the world in order to appreciate the shadow (or shade) or to recall the times of wars in Israel’s history in order to value the security provided by the shield or the fortress.

Read Psalms 17:8; Matthew 23:37. What image is used here, and what does it reveal?

One of the most intimate metaphors is the one that refers to being “under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalms 17:8; Psalms 57:1; Psalms 63:7). This metaphor elicits comfort and assurance by implying the protection of a mother bird. The Lord is compared to an eagle who guards its young with its wings (Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11) and to a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings (Matthew 23:37).

How, though, do we deal with the times when calamity strikes, and we can’t seem to see the Lord’s protection? Why do these traumas not mean that the Lord is not there with us?

God allows trials to come for our good and His glory. If there is no pain, there can be little gain. We glory in our tribulation because it makes us more patient, it gives us an experience that prepares us for what is coming and the love of God is seen in us by the world. We are His witnesses especially in time of great trial. Read Romans 5:3-5. Of course these verses only apply to those who are abiding in Christ and He in them (converted).

[Richard Myers]

Wednesday  January 24
Defender and Deliverer

Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-4.

1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

How does Paul describe the Exodus story? What spiritual lesson does he seek to teach with it?

The Jews in the days of Paul were deceived about their Messiah and the plan of salvation. They did not understand that Jesus had to suffer in order for them to be saved. He is attempting to help them understand Christ was their Savior and He was the One who led Israel out of bondage and led them to the promised land.

Read Psalms 114:1-8.



1 When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;

2 Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.

3 The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

4 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.

5 What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?

6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?

7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;

8 Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.


How is the divine deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt poetically described here?

What a poetic depiction of God’s marvelous deliverance of His children from the bondage of Egypt is given in Psalms 114:1-8. All through the Old Testament, and even in the New, the deliverance from Egypt was seen as a symbol of God’s power to save His people. Paul in these verses in 1 Corinthians does just that, seeing the whole true story as a metaphor, a symbol of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Psalms 114:1-8 also depicts divine deliverance through God’s sovereignty as the Creator over the powers of nature, which was how He saved His people in the Exodus. The sea, the river Jordan, and the mountains and hills poetically represent the natural and human powers opposing the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:44; Joshua 3:14-17). God, though, is sovereign over all of them.

In fact, for many of God’s children in all times and in all places, the way to the heavenly Jerusalem is fraught with danger. The Psalms encourage them to look beyond the hills and toward the Creator of heaven and earth (Psalms 121:1).

The spirit of Psalms 114:1-8 is captured by Jesus’ calming of the sea storm and His proclamation that the church has nothing to fear because He has overcome the world (Matthew 8:23-27; John 16:33).

The Lord’s great deeds on behalf of His people should inspire the whole earth to tremble at His presence (Psalms 114:7). The trembling should be understood as acknowledging and worshiping rather than as being terrified (Psalms 96:9; Psalms 99:1). With God on their side, believers have nothing to fear.

Nothing to fear or tremble if we love the Lord our God with all of the heart. Perfect love casts out all fear. But, what if one is not truly converted, ought they fear and tremble?

What are some of the spiritual dangers we face as believers, and how can we learn to lean on the Lord’s power to protect us from succumbing to these dangers that are as real for us now as they were for the psalmist?

The great danger is that we forget God and what He has done for us in the past. We can only have peace that passes all understanding when we trust God with the whole heart.

[Richard Myers]

Thursday  January  25
Help From the Sanctuary

Read Psalms 3:4; Psalms 14:7; Psalms 20:1-3; Psalms 27:5; Psalms 36:8; Psalms 61:4; Psalms 68:5; Psalms 68:35. Where does help come from in these texts?

The motif of spiritual and physical refuge and help notably appears in the context of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a place of help, of safety, and of salvation. The sanctuary provides a shelter to the troubled. God defends the orphans and widows and gives strength to His people from His sanctuary. When “out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth” (Psalms 50:2), God’s righteous judgments are proclaimed, and the Lord’s blessing goes forth (Psalms 84:4; Psalms 128:5; Psalms 134:3).

The refuge in the sanctuary surpasses the security provided by any other place in the world because God personally dwells in the sanctuary. The presence of God, not merely the temple as a firm building, provides safety. Likewise, being the mountain where the Lord dwells, Mount Zion surpasses other mountains though in itself it is a modest hill (Psalms 68:15-16; Isaiah 2:2).

    “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

In what ways do these verses parallel what the psalmist says about the sanctuary?

The holiness of God’s sanctuary prompts the psalmist to acknowledge that all people are sinful and completely undeserving of God’s favor, and he claims that deliverance is based on God’s faithfulness and grace alone (Psalms 143:2; Psalms 143:9-12). Nothing in us gives us any merit before God. It is only when people stand in a right relationship with God through repentance and acceptance of God’s grace and forgiveness that they can plead for God’s assurance of deliverance. The sanctuary service represented the salvation found in Jesus.

The all important question to ask and answer is what must I do in order to be brought to repentance? In other words what must I do in order  to be saved? Many teach that there is nothing I must do, God does it all. This is not so. If I do nothing, I will not be saved. We are saved by grace. Does that mean all are saved? No. Why are not all saved if God does it all? Grace surrounds us as thick as the air we breathe. Then why are not all saved?  How often to you see His grace? Why do you not see it daily? Why did Paul say "I die daily?"  What must I do that I die daily? It would be good to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Jesus. Why? Then why do you not spend more time contemplating the life of Jesus?

[Richard Myers]

Friday  January  26
Further Thought

Read Ellen G. White, “The Night of Wrestling,” pp. 195–203, in Patriarchs and Prophets. What can we learn from Jacob’s experience about the power of importunate prayer and unreserved trust in God?

The Psalms strengthen our faith in God, who is the never-failing Refuge for those who entrust their lives into His mighty hands. “God will do great things for those who trust in Him. The reason why His professed people have no greater strength is that they trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and faithfully obey Him.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 493.[/color

Amen!!

Yet, some psalms can pose a serious challenge when what they promise, and our current situation, do not match. At times such as this, we just have to learn to trust in the goodness of God, most powerfully revealed at the Cros5

The issue is conversion and a false teaching as to what it is. When we love the Lord our God with the whole heart, then we keep His commandments. The church remains in a Laodicean condition. Pray to understand what that means.

Also, at times some psalms can be used to foster false hopes. Jesus’ response to Satan’s corrupted use of Psalms 91:11-12 shows that trusting God must not be confused with tempting God (Matthew 4:5-7) or presumptuously asking God to do something that is contrary to His will.

“The greatest victories to the church of Christ or to the individual Christian are not those that are gained by talent or education, by wealth or the favor of men. They are those victories that are gained in the audience chamber with God, when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold upon the mighty arm of power.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 203.

Amen! How can this be? By beholding His glory (2 Cor. 3:18).


Discussion Questions

    In class, discuss the answer to the last question in Tuesday’s study about trusting in God amid adversity and when things go terribly wrong. How does one understand these things and how they could happen to people, even with all the wonderful promises in the Psalms about God’s protection? Think about this too: Did not the psalmist, who wrote about those wonderful promises, suffer adversity or know of faithful people who did, as well?

Did not Christ suffer adversity? Why did His Father allow this? "Though He were a Son, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered."

    How can we develop unreserved trust in God in all circumstances (e.g. Psalms 91:14; Psalms 143:8; Psalms 143:10; Psalms 145:18-20)? What can cause us to lose this confidence? Why is trust in God in good times crucial for learning to trust Him in bad times, as well?

Trust is faith in God. How can we trust God with all we are and all we have, if we do not know Him intimately. The first and greatest of the commandments is to love the Lord our God with all of the heart. When we do this, we will trust Him supremely.