Bible Study

‘LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE GOD’
CAMEROON

Opening prayer

Loving God, as we open your word, be our guide and lead us into a greater understanding of who you are and what you mean to us. May we be led to praise you with every part of our being and to apply what we learn in our daily walk with you.
Amen.

Psalm 150

Introduction

The psalms have gained universal recognition among God’s people as a heartfelt articulation of prayers too deep for words. Composed in response to hundreds of urgent situations that still happen in our time, the psalms contain prayers for help and salvation, pleas for forgiveness and songs of thanksgiving for God’s blessings and protection from enemies, affirming that God is our refuge and strength, our only source of safety and security. It is in the psalms that we learn of God’s special concern for the poor and the powerless as well as his love of generosity and justice.

Psalm 150 is the final psalm. It emphasizes that the Lord is the one who deserves all praise. Based on this premise, we are called to worship and praise him with all our being, using music to help us.

Read Psalm 150 together.

You might like to read it antiphonally or include appropriate musical instruments as an accompaniment.

The word ‘psalm’ mean ‘praise’ and so in taking as our theme for 2010 ‘Let everything that has breath praise God’ we are echoing the psalmist’s first and last three words: Praise the Lord. In this hort psalm the word ‘praise’ appears 13 times. It reminds us that praise is an essential part of our prayer.

What is praise?

Start by brainstorming this concept.

Praise is to speak with approval or admiration, to give honour and glory to someone or something. To praise God is therefore to declare him worthy of honour, worthy to be admired and exalted. In a nutshell, it is to glorify, exalt and magnify him.

The place for praise

v1 The Message paraphrases this as:
Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy place of worship, praise him under the open skies.
Praise is not just for church; we can praise God wherever we are. Remember that as Christians our very bodies are God’s temple: see 1 Cor 3:16 and 6:19.

The content of praise

v2 There are two sides to praise: we praise God for what he does and we also
praise him for who he is.

The medium of praise

vs 3-5. This is glorious, uninhibited praise. Even if we shout praise at the top of our voices, it is not loud enough for the Psalmist! In order to glorify God he envisages the grandest concert ever performed. He mentions the instruments familiar to the worshippers of his time. In Cameroon, where people love to make music, various instruments are used, including rattles, shakers, bells and drums.

The universality of praise

The entire universe is called upon to offer praise to God. Compare Psalm 148, another exuberant hymn of praise to God.

Question for discussion

• How does music help you to worship God?

Acts 16:16 - 34

Introduction

This is a story of courage and faith in the midst of persecution and praise, and hope in the midst of suffering. Together these result in the transformation of the lives of other people. The story takes place in Philippi during St Paul’s second missionary journey. Philippi was the chief city of Macedonia and there was a Roman colony there. Paul and Silas were returning to the place of prayer by the
river where they had met Lydia and other women gathered for prayer (vs 13-14).

Opening question

How many people read their horoscopes this morning? Do you see any harm in this?

A slave girl set free (verses 16-24)

This young woman’s slavery was two-fold: she was being abused by her owners who were profiting from her psychic powers and she was being used by an evil spirit to which she was subject. The spirit within her recognised that Paul and Silas were servants of God – not just any god, but the ‘Most High God’. (Compare Mark 5:7, where the evil spirits which possess the Gadarene demoniac also recognise Jesus as the Son of the Most High God). Paul was so disturbed by this situation that he exorcised the evil spirit, thus freeing the girl from spiritual slavery– and who knows, perhaps releasing her from an abusive situation?

There are many kinds of slavery in our modern world – people are born, sold, tricked and trafficked into slavery. In Cameroon, girls suffer many kinds of exploitation. Even in Britain, hidden away in many of our communities, women are held against their will as domestic and sex slaves.

Questions for discussion

1. What do you know about actual modern-day slavery? ¹
2. Some forms of enslavement are of our own making: what enslaves you and the people you know, for example debt, gambling, drug dependency, prejudice, unresolved anger?

Freedom in prison (verses 25 – 34)

The girl’s freedom resulted in a severe flogging and imprisonment for Paul and Silas. The jailor took no chances – he locked their feet in the stocks in the innermost cell. Darkness fell….but what was this noise that reached the ears of the jailor and the other prisoners? Surely not exuberant singing? There, in the dark, dreary prison cell, bruised and bleeding, Paul and Silas were actually singing hymns of praise to God! If this response to adversity seems difficult for us to grasp, what must it have meant to those who heard it? Could even Paul and Silas have imagined what power their spirit of praise would release: an earthquake? broken chains? transformation?

What became evident is that you can put a person in prison but you can’t keep God out. The story teaches us that nobody can take spiritual freedom from us. We can learn from the example of Paul and Silas that faith is not the absence of adversity, injustice or maltreatment; rather, it is the path through them. It also assures us that sometimes when we experience an ‘earthquake’ in our lives, when the ground on which we are standing is shaking violently with all kinds of problems, it may not always be bad news; these may be the footsteps of God coming to open new opportunities for us to witness and bring souls to Christ.

Discussion

Share an experience in which your ability to praise God has been either enriched
or tested.

ISAIAH 42:10 - 17

Introduction

The book of Isaiah contains some of the most beautiful poetry ever written. The powerful prophecies in this amazing book have such significance in the mission and ministry of Jesus that it is sometimes called the Gospel of the Old Testament.

Recurring themes are:

• God’s glory and holiness
• His power and majesty
• His unfailing patience, compassion and love
• The universal scope of his reign

Running through the whole is the promise of redemption, not just for his chosen people, but for the entire world.

¹Useful websites:

• CHASTE – Churches Against Sex Trafficking in Europe www.chaste.org.uk
• Anti Slavery International www.antislavery.org
• ww.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/modern/modern_1.shtml

Isaiah 42:10 -17 can be divided into three parts:

vs 10 -12 are an invitation to praise God.
vs 13 -15 contain striking and contrasting images of God.
vs 16 -17 contain the promise of a new and better way forward for those who trust in God.

A God worthy of praise

vs 10 -12 Psalm 150 is a glorious musical hymn of praise in which we are called upon to praise God for what he has already done. In this passage from Isaiah we are encouraged to praise God for his promises for the future. The praise extends to the various regions of Israel – sea, islands, deserts, towns, mountains– culminating in a call on the whole of creation, human beings and all living creatures, to praise and glorify God. Everything on earth that was created by the Almighty is convened to join in this celebration.

A God of might

v 13 A warrior God. Some people in our western culture might find the image of God as a warrior marching off to war difficult to accept, but for the Israelites who were surrounded by enemies this picture of God in his might and strength would have been reassuring.

v 14 God as a woman in labour. Equally striking is the image of God as a woman in labour. All mothers will remember the experience of childbirth – the long wait during pregnancy, the painful and often drawn-out first stage of labour, the urgency and yet enforced restraint in the next stage and then the release and joy when the baby is born. What a stunning picture of God! He had held back for so long that his people feared that he had abandoned them. Now the ‘new things’ (v9) are about the happen. Deliverance will be cataclysmic, levelling everything in its path (v15).

A God of deliverance

vs 16 -17 These final verses spell out what the promise of God’s intervention really means for his people. He will lead them home. As they cannot see the way forward he will be their guide along unfamiliar paths. Darkness will be banished by light and the way will be cleared to help them walk in safety. In v17 there is a warning to those who persist in worshipping idols that they will be excluded.

What can we learn from this passage?

The promise of God’s intervention in the lives of his loved ones is a unique occasion for celebration.

• God is not slow in keeping his promises, as we understand slowness. He is patient, not wanting anyone punished but everyone to come to repentance.
• At last the silence of God is broken, which is proof that God’s love for the world is there even in pain and suffering.

Let’s praise him for such great love!

Questions for discussion

1. What qualities of God might you find in this passage to inspire your praise?
2. The people of Cameroon and particularly the women are living under many conditions which need God’s intervention. As human beings they can see no solution to the problems they face, such as corruption, poverty, high commodity prices, violence against women using tradition and culture as a pretext, etc. In spite of these difficulties they still praise God.
   
   Discuss the things from which we need deliverance in our own society and any action we should take.

Conclusion

In the bible passages we are given the confidence to praise God at all times and in all places, no matter what the situation. At the appointed time God always comes to deliver those who persevere. Our praise must be a sincere expression of our feelings towards our Creator and Saviour who has promised to be with us now and forever.

God is faithful. He will surely save! Let’s praise him!

Closing prayer

Almighty King, strong deliverer, you are loosening the chains of our hearts and minds. Your word is opening up the way, a new way. We have been assured that your hand will guide us even when the way is unclear. Accept our heartfelt thanks and praise for the spirit of confidence given by your promise of deliverance. May our response to this study give glory to your holy Name. Amen.