4/5/09 The Liturgy of the Palms – Psalm

RCL reading for Sunday, April 5, 2009:
Excerpt from The New Revised Standard Version
via Oremus (http://bible.oremus.org)

Psalm 118 1-2 (19-29)

1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!
2 Let Israel say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.

20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.

21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.

29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

STUDY GUIDE

Step 1. Read the passage aloud.
Step 2. Discuss what the passage tells us about God.
Step 3. Read the passage again.
Step 4. Discuss what the passage tells us about human beings and the relationship between people
Step 5. Read the passage aloud a third time.
Step 6. Discuss what the passage says about the relationship between God and human beings. How does the passage call us to change?

“Theological Bible Study,” from In Dialogue with Scripture: An Episcopal Guide to Studying the Bible, ed. Linda L. Grenz (Episcopal Church Center, 1993), p. 96.