Description
Contents
Lesson 1
The Court Above the Courts
Scripture: Psalm 82 (NRSVUE)
Key Theme—Psalm 82 puts God in a courtroom where the defendants are the powers that run the world. The charge is judging unjustly and favoring the wicked, and the sentence is death. The psalm ends with the congregation asking God to rise up and judge the earth. Whatever authority we hold is on review, and the review looks at what happens to the weak, the orphan, the lowly, and the destitute.
Lesson 2
Give the King Your Justice
Scripture: Psalm 72:1-14 (NRSVUE)
Key Theme— Psalm 72 is a prayer for a ruler, and it says plainly what a good reign produces. The poor are defended, the needy are rescued, and the oppressor is broken. Everything the psalm hopes for, including long life and wide influence, is tied to that one measure. Israel prayed it for kings who mostly failed it, and the church has prayed it since as a description of the reign of Christ.
Lesson 3
Why Do You Stand Far Off?
Scripture: Psalm 10 (NRSVUE)
Key Theme— Psalm 10 hands the microphone to the victim. It accuses God of standing at a distance, describes the predator’s methods in detail, and ends in confidence that God hears the desire of the meek. Scripture makes room for the complaint of the poor, which means our prayers can include telling God exactly what is being done to people and asking how long it will be allowed.
Lesson 4
How Long Shall the Wicked Exult?
Scripture: Psalm 94:1-15, 20-23 (NRSVUE)
Key Theme— Psalm 94 asks God to repay the wicked, which is both a comfort and a restraint. It accuses rulers who do harm by statute, argues that the God who made the ear can hear, and promises that justice will return to the righteous. Handing vengeance over to God is what keeps people who have been wronged from becoming what they hate.
Lesson 5
Who May Abide in Your Tent?
Scripture: Psalm 15; Psalm 24:3-6 (NRSVUE)
Key Theme— Psalm 15 asks who may come into God’s presence and answers with a list of ordinary practices: truthful speech, no slander, a promise kept after it turned costly, no interest charged on a neighbor’s loan, no bribe taken against the innocent. Psalm 24 asks the same question and gives the same kind of answer. Worship has a doorway, and the doorway is how we have treated the people around us.
Lesson 6
The Lord Sets the Prisoners Free
Scripture: Psalm 146 (NRSVUE)
Key Theme— Psalm 146 opens the closing run of praise in the Psalter. It warns against putting our trust in princes, then lists what God does: keeps faith, executes justice for the oppressed, feeds the hungry, frees prisoners, opens blind eyes, lifts the bowed down, watches over strangers, upholds the orphan and the widow. Praise here is a claim about where power actually rests, and the list gives the church its work.