Summer In The Psalms - Psalm 1

2. COOL STUFF ABOUT PSALMS
* Psalms = “Book of Praises”
* It’s an edited book, containing 5 books
(1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150)
* Almost half (73) are attributed to David
* Middle verse(s) of the Bible: Psa 103:1-2
* Middle chapter of the Bible: Psa 117

3. PSALM 117
Praise the LORD*,
all you nations;
extol Him, all you
peoples.
For great is His love
toward us, and the
faithfulness of the Lord
endures forever.
Praise the LORD*.
* Hallelu Yah
(Hallelujah)

4. N.T. Wright

5. N.T. WRIGHT
“By all means, write new songs.
Each generation must do that.
But to neglect the church’s original
hymnbook is, to put it bluntly, crazy...
The Psalms represent the Bible’s
own spiritual root system for the
great tree we call Christianity.”

6. N.T. WRIGHT
“The Psalms invite their singers
(and readers) to live at the crossroads
of time, space, and matter…between
God’s time and our time…between
God’s space and our space…between
the created order…and the way in which
creation…is promised that it will at last
be filled afresh, filled to overflowing,
with the (full) grandeur and glory (of God.)”

9. Tim Keller

10. PSALM 1:1-3
Blessed is the one who
does not walk
in step with the wicked
or stand in
the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of
mockers, but whose
delight is in the law of
the Lord,
and who meditates
on His law day
and night.
That person is like
a tree planted by streams
of water, which yields
its fruit in season and
whose
leaf does not wither—
whatever they
do prospers.

11. THE PROMISES of
MEDITATION1. It leads to STABILITY
(like a tree planted by water…)
* Trees by streams can do well
even w/little rain
* Streams = word of God
* Roots in water = meditation
* Produces stability, peace, courage,
even in times of great difficulty,
adversity or upheaval

12. THE PROMISES of
MEDITATION1. It leads to STABILITY
(like a tree planted by water…)
2. It produces CHARACTER
(yields its fruit in season…)
* Not simply feelings, but real depth
* Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control

13. THE PROMISES of
MEDITATION1. It leads to STABILITY
(like a tree planted by water…)
2. It produces CHARACTER
(yields its fruit in season…)
3. It brings BLESSEDNESS
(whose delight is in the Law…)
* Moves us through duty, to joy

14. PSALM 103:1-
2Praise the Lord,
my soul; and all my
inmost being, praise
His holy name.
Praise the Lord,
my soul, and forget
not all His benefits.
PSALM 103:3-
5- forgiveness
- healing
- redemption
- satisfaction
- renewal

15. PSALM 1:4-5
Not so the wicked! They
are like chaff that the
wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked
will not stand
in the judgment,
nor sinners in the
assembly of the
righteous.
For the Lord watches
over the way
of the righteous,
but the way of
the wicked leads
to destruction.

17. QUESTIONS for THE TEXT
1. What did the original author intend to
convey to the original readers?
2. What role does this text play in
Scripture as a whole; how does it
lead us to Jesus?
3. Is this a COVENANT or KINGDOM text?

18. TIM KELLER
“Unless you do the hard work of
answering those (kinds of) questions
about a text, your meditation won’t be
grounded in what God is actually saying
in the passage…(you’ll be) listening to
your own heart or to the spirit of your
own culture, not to God’s voice
in Scripture.”

19. WAYS to MEDITATE WELL
1. FIX your MIND
* Is there something to learn about
how to live in this passage?
* Is there something to learn about
Jesus, His heart/mind/salvation?
* Is there something to learn about
being the people of God?

20. WAYS to MEDITATE WELL
1. FIX your MIND
* Take one specific verse and pray
through it, emphasizing and thinking
on each specific word, one at a time
* Close the Bible & try paraphrasing
the text in your own words; then look
back and see what you missed
* Memorize the passage

21. 1 JOHN 1:9
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just
and will forgive us
our sins and purify
us from all
unrighteousness.

22. WAYS to MEDITATE WELL
2. INCLINE your HEART
* What can I praise God for?
* What do I need to repent of?
* What can I ask &/or thank Him for?
* Is there something I need to stop
doing as a result of this passage?
* Is there something I need to start
doing as a result of this passage?
* Is there something to the timing here?

23. 1 JOHN 1:9
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just
and will forgive us
our sins and purify
us from all
unrighteousness.

24. WAYS to MEDITATE WELL
2. TEMPER your EXPECTATIONS
* Remember, trees don’t
grow overnight
* The growth process
will be cumulative
* We have to stick with it
(day and night…)

25. WAYS to MEDITATE WELL
3. TURN your EYES UPON JESUS
* Read about and think on His life
* Thank Him for who He is
and what He has done
* Meditate on Him, and with Him

26. SOUL TRAINING EXERCISE
Meditate on & memorize Romans 16:19b
“I want you to be wise about what is good,
and innocent about what is evil.”
* Is there something I need to* Is there something I need to STOPSTOP doing?doing?
* Is there something I need to* Is there something I need to STARTSTART doing?doing?
* Is there something to the timing here?* Is there something to the timing here?