Opening Song & Proclamation

Sing together "Oh, that the Lord Would Guide My Ways" (LW 392, TLH 416, LBW 480) OR "Open My Eyes that I May See" or "The Law of the Lord" both from The Other Song Book.

Divide into two groups for the responsive reading drawn from Psalm 119:89-90, Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35,

Group 1: Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in the heavens.

Group 2: Your faithfulness continues through the ages, from generation to generation.

Group 1: Even heaven and earth will pass away,

Group 2: But the Word of our God will not pass away.

Group 1: All flesh is transient; its loveliness is like a spring wildflower.

Group 2: Its beauty is brief; it withers and quickly fades.

Group 1: People are like that, as well. Their time on earth is but a moment.

Group 2: The grass withers, and the flowers fade.

ALL: But the Word of our God stands forever.

God's Word, Our Treasure

How blest we are to have the treasure of God's eternal, unchangeable, totally trustworthy Word! This Bible study is a treasure hunt into Psalm 119, the longest in the collection of Psalms. Psalm 119 repeats the theme that God's Word is a treasure that we obey, meditate on and take delight in. Skim the psalm and jot down the verses where God's Word is treasured in these ways. If time is short, concentrate on Psalm 119:1-16.

• Obeying God's Word
• Meditating on God's Word
• Delighting in/rejoicing in God's Word

The Blessings of God's Word

What blessings do we experience as we dig into God's Word according to the following verses from Psalm 119? (Note: Many verses are given. You may either divide into several groups, having each group look up 4-5 verses and report back to the large group. Or you may select half a dozen verses to look up together and encourage participants to explore the remaining verses on their own later.)

God's Word and the Word, Jesus

Psalm 119 speaks of loving God's law. Yet we know we are not made right in God's sight by keeping the law. That is impossible. Though we know we are not made right in God's sight by keeping His commandments (because we cannot keep them), since God's law includes the promise of His grace, we can and do love His law. As redeemed children of God, the Holy Spirit creates in our hearts a true love for God's Word and for Jesus, the living Word.

Read verses 147-148. When was God's Word part of the psalmist's daily life?

Spend a few moments encouraging each other with the variety of ways you make God's Word part of your daily life.

Jesus is referred to as "the Word" in the first chapter of John's Gospel. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Note what the psalmist said about God's Word and what the New Testament tells us about God's Word, Jesus, in the parallel verses shown below:

The Best Treasure

When we go on a treasure hunt in God's Word we find wisdom, counsel, strength, comfort; receive warning against sin and false teaching; are challenged and grow in our faith. But Bible study is not so much about gaining knowledge but about getting to know God. The treasure of God's Word points us to the Lord Jesus, the greatest Treasure of all.

O my Savior, help afford,

By your Spirit and your Word!

When my wayward heart would stray,

Keep me in the narrow way,

Grace in time of need supply

While I live and when I die (LW 285 v. 5)