You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace.
Join us.
We have wrapped up 1 Peter now, and we're going to spend the rest of this summer, as
Derek mentioned, in the Psalms.
I am really excited about this.
For me, Psalms has become, over the years, my favorite book in the Bible.
Psalms is the hymn book of God's people.
It's poetry sung to God, words that are prayed to God, touching on the full range of emotions
that we feel, covering the full spectrum of life experiences, anything you've dealt with
the Psalms deal with.
I love that Psalms gives me words when I don't know how to talk to God.
I love that Psalms gives me permission to be honest about my struggles and the hard times,
and it helps draw me back to a faithful God and a place I can rest.
I love that Psalms helps engage my heart for those of you like me who have a tendency to
think with your head and to lead with this intellectual theology and sometimes lose sight of my personal
relationship with a personal God.
Psalms helps us.
So if poetry or singing or feelings are not your thing, you're not alone, you're in Huntsville,
hang in there.
God wants to help.
He made you.
He loves all of you, every part of you, and He wants to shape your heart,
not just your head to follow Him.
In fact, there is a battle going on day in and day out for your soul, for the deepest part
of who you are, and God is fighting for you, His children.
That is such good news.
There's so much different poetry in the Psalms, so many different kinds of songs.
They don't all just say praise God and sing to Him a new song and shout for joy,
although we'll talk about some of those.
But over the next few weeks, we're going to sample some different kinds of Psalms
because we don't have time to cover 150 right now.
This morning, we're going to look at Psalm 1,
which leads us into the book as a whole with a song about wisdom.
Wisdom for living in covenant relationship with God.
Wisdom Psalms answer things like,
how has God made us to live?
What can relationship with Him look like?
What is the result of living with Him day by day?
Read with me hymn number one in God's holy word,
given to shape your heart and your life.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on His law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that He does, He prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
This is God's word.
Let's ask for His help.
Father, we give You thanks
that You would not only enter into relationship with us,
but then tell us what that is to look like.
That You would not only create us,
but then tell us how we're supposed to work.
Would we hear You clearly this morning,
by Your word, by Your Spirit,
directing our lives after You?
Give us ears to hear.
Give us hearts to listen and obey.
Change us and mold us after the image of Jesus,
we ask in His name.
Amen.
Wouldn't it be wonderful?
Wouldn't it be wonderful
if when a neighbor was sharing a struggle with you,
you know, work is frustrating,
or marriage is just not working out,
or life is hard and it just doesn't make sense right now,
if you were really able to listen instead of rushing away?
Rather than feeling equally hopeless yourself,
if you were able to tell them that you were praying for them
and actually expect that God would show up and work in their lives,
if rather than forgetting them in the pursuit of your own priorities,
you remembered and followed up
and shared the hope of God's faithful presence in your life
and similarly hard times,
and you shared that with your friend,
wouldn't it be wonderful
if that was your normal life?
Wouldn't it be wonderful
if when your child is being disrespectful,
I know, just imagine, if,
if you didn't lose your cool,
if you didn't start feeling resentful
because it makes you feel like a bad parent,
if you didn't shame your child
into treating you the way that you deserve,
but instead, if you calmly pointed your child
to the love of God,
clearly shared with your child
and your need for God's direction in all of life,
and patiently showed your child the grace of God
to meet disrespectful people right where they are?
Wouldn't it be wonderful
if when you saw your friend's new clothes
or home
or Insta vacation pics
when you're scrolling through,
you didn't immediately compare them to yours?
Wouldn't that be great?
If you didn't feel inferior
or resentful
or covetous
or self-righteous,
if you didn't make a snide comment
to another friend,
but instead,
you felt genuine joy,
you rejoiced with them,
you were excited for your friend,
and you still felt excited
about your decision
to sacrifice the next thing
on your wish list
to give to the neighbor
whose needs
you've recently learned about?
Wouldn't it be wonderful
if when life starts getting frantic
and you start feeling anxious,
the first things on your heart
were not your need for control,
your pressure to perform well in the clutch,
your desire to impress others
so that you get ahead
and your whole body
is feeling the tension of this stress,
some of you feel it right now?
But rather,
the first things on your heart
were God's sovereignty
and your shoulders relax.
God's steadfast love for you
and you start breathing again.
God's presence with you
and a smile crosses your face.
And the next day,
then an opportunity to serve comes up
and you feel not stressed
or anxious,
but eager to use your gifts
to serve God's kingdom
and love others.
Wouldn't it be wonderful
if that's what life was like
all the time?
Some of you chuckled a couple of times
at that idealistic picture of yourself.
But part of singing Psalm 1
is to help us see as wonderful
living with God like this.
Not that it's merely something to chuckle about,
but that it is really the way we can live.
To embrace that such a life
is not a life without hard things,
full of easy days
and constant successes all the time,
but that it is actually,
living with God like that
is actually,
even when things are hard,
true blessing,
real happiness,
the height of flourishing
that we would read this,
have it shape our hearts
and we would long to live like that.
That's why God's people sing Psalm 1.
because he gave it to us
for that reason.
The psalm begins
with the first of three contrasts.
Contrast about the good life,
so to speak.
It begins by considering
what fills us up.
That's a question I want you to
consider honestly this morning.
What actually fills you up?
What satisfies you?
What is shaping your heart?
What's that thing
that's becoming more
and more valuable to you?
It's influencing
what you most want
in a good life.
The psalmist says first,
the blessed, fulfilled,
happy member of God's people,
man or woman,
does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
stand in the way of sinners,
or sit in the seat of scoffers.
What is shaping you
when you roll out of bed
in the morning?
When you sit in the carpool pickup line?
When you daydream at work?
When you talk with your friends?
It could be the counsel
of the wicked
that you regularly live in.
Telling you to chase after other things.
Your own image.
Not God's image in you.
Chase after your own image,
your own possessions,
your own passions and pleasure.
So that you begin to find yourself,
having listened to that counsel long enough,
standing in the way of sinners,
planting yourself on a path
where it starts to feel comfortable
to heed that advice.
To go your own way.
To pursue your own happiness.
You're entitled to that, right?
Regardless of what God says,
that just begins to seem normal.
After all, I mean,
since when did being a goody-goody
get you the girl that you like?
Right?
Since when did being honest
get you ahead at work?
Come on.
I mean, you'll bend
or even contradict God's word
if it gets you what you want.
And that,
all the voices around you whisper,
is the good life.
What you want.
You know it is, right?
That's what you need.
Life seems to go pretty well for you that way.
You lay back and relax.
You're enjoying things.
Eventually,
sitting yourself
in the very seat of the scoffers
who started this process for you
by telling you
that God was not important
to the good life anyway.
Now you're the one saying that.
Scoffers in the Bible,
in Hebrew wisdom literature,
have cynically decided
that they're hopeless
about God making a real difference
in the world.
And they've pridefully decided
that they don't need God
in their lives anyway.
Proverbs 21, for example.
Scoffer
is the name of the arrogant,
haughty man
who acts
with arrogant pride.
That's what it means
to be a scoffer.
Perhaps the psalmist
starts here
by assuring us
that this is not
the way of blessing
because it so easily
feels like it to us,
doesn't it?
You don't have to look hard
to get the counsel
of do what feels good,
be true to yourself,
be whoever you want to be.
We wake up looking out
for number one, right?
Many of the people
in Huntsville,
most people in America
will encourage you
to chase your dreams
with no regard
for what God might say
about it
or your life with Him.
Most social media wisdom,
which I'm aware
could be considered
an oxymoron,
it will tell you
how to be better you
by looking where?
Inside yourself,
of course.
Scoffing at the idea
of God knowing better for you.
Who could know better than you
what you need?
And if that starts
filling us up,
if that shapes our souls
ten hours a day,
we may come into a room
like this once a week
and gather with the people
of God,
but the battle for our souls
will be lopsided,
heavily invested
in other influences.
Kids, it's part of why
your parents care so much
about your friends
and what values
they speak into your life,
because we know
how easily our hearts
are led astray
even by people
who care about us.
But then those three verbs,
walking
in the counsel
of the wicked,
standing
in the way of sinners,
sitting
in the seat of scoffers,
are contrasted
with verse two.
His delight
is in the law
of the Lord.
On his law,
he meditates
day and night.
This is how we know
that this walking,
standing,
and sitting
are not mere
outward actions,
but these are really
soul-level challenges
to us.
What delights you?
What do you meditate on
over and over?
What actually fills you up?
The psalmist says
the good life
is when you are
filled up
by the law
of the Lord.
And maybe that sounds
weird to you
because you hear a word
like law
and you think it means
being obsessed
with a bunch of rules
and making sure
you never violate
a thou shalt not.
That's only a piece of it.
The word is
Torah,
meaning
the instruction
of Yahweh.
Some of y'all
have been learning
about this
in a Leviticus class
recently
how God's Torah
is not just
specific do's
and don'ts.
It is the covenant
story
of His creative
power,
His gracious
redemption,
His glorious
purpose He has
for you as His people.
All of that
is Torah.
All the stories
of God's work
in relationship
with you,
His people.
Not just the
Ten Commandments
He gave them,
but the relationship
He brought them
into with Himself
first.
That's the thing
that the blessed
one can't get over.
Doesn't want
to get away from,
can't go a day
without contemplating
deeply
because it's
His great joy.
See,
Psalm 1
in talking about
Torah
is showing us
that the Psalms
are to instruct
our hearts
to,
right?
To shape
our delights,
to teach us
how God
would have us
shape our lives
so that we too
love
what He does.
I hope you're
hearing this.
God's Word,
His truth,
the Gospel story
must invade
your soul
more often
than during
a weekly sermon,
right?
More often
than during
a weekly sermon.
It must guard
your hearts
more than
five minutes a day.
It must shape
your life
more than
just when
crisis hits.
This Psalm
echoes God's
words to Joshua
as His people
are entering
the promised land.
God says,
this book
of the law
shall not
depart
from your
mouth.
You shall
meditate on
it day
and night
so that you
may be
careful to
do according
to all
that is
written in
it.
The book
of the law
never leaves
you on
your tongue,
in your
heart,
on your
mind,
all the
time,
and it
changes you.
It changes
your life
in every
situation
you encounter,
even the
mundane ones,
the ordinary,
day in and
day out.
How am I
supposed to
live?
Listen to
just some
of the
ways that
it impacts
you.
Psalm
19,
the law
of the
Lord is
perfect,
reviving
the soul.
The testimony
of the Lord
is sure,
making wise
the simple.
The precepts
of the Lord
are right,
rejoicing the
heart.
The commandment
of the Lord
is pure,
enlightening
the eyes.
The fear
of the Lord
is clean,
enduring forever.
The rules
of the Lord
are true
and righteous
altogether.
More to
be desired
are they
than gold,
even much
fine gold,
sweeter also
than honey
and drippings
of the
honeycomb.
Are you
hearing this?
Do you
know what
the law
of God
does as it
shapes your
heart?
It wins
the battle
for your soul,
brings revival
there.
It makes you
wise and
full of joy.
It helps
you see
all of life
clearly,
opens your
eyes to
what's going
on around
you,
and it
does all
of that,
get this,
whether you
realize it's
happening or
not.
Isn't that
so,
whether you
know what's
going on,
whether you
understand how
God's using
it,
that's why it
is so
precious to
us.
I'm going to
point you to
one other
place to camp
out,
another wisdom
psalm about
God's word,
extolling the
law of the
Lord,
is Psalm
119.
Yep,
you heard me.
The big one,
the one if you
are on the
Bible reading
plan,
you are currently
trapped in the
middle of for
the rest of the
year,
not quite that
long,
but it feels
like it.
Psalm 119
is a super
acrostic
psalm.
You know what
an acrostic
is?
It's like when
somebody writes
you a note
and they use
your name,
W-I-L-L,
wonderful.
Intelligent,
loving,
laughable.
That's usually
what they write
on mine,
but one letter
at a time.
You know,
they're telling
you wonderful
things about
you.
Psalm 119
does that,
but every
letter in the
Hebrew alphabet
gets a full
stanza.
That's why
it's so long.
Let me give
you just a
sample of its
riches and
then I want
to give you
a challenge.
It's called
the Psalm 119
challenge because
I'm that
creative.
There's a
variety of
words for
the law of
the Lord,
for God's
word,
for the
instruction God
gives for
our lives
in Psalm 119
saying that
we are blessed
if we live
by it.
It's where it
starts,
verses 1 and 2.
It's worth
delighting in
more than
riches at
all times,
verse 16,
as a
counselor,
24,
with the
love of
your heart,
47.
It causes
marvel and
wonder,
18.
Awe,
even while
I'm being
persecuted,
awe,
161.
God's
instructions
are songs
for my
heart when
I wander
away from
whom,
verse 54.
They're
worthy of
my
meditation,
15,
37,
97.
God's
word,
you'll know,
is a
lamp to
my feet
and a
light to
my path,
105.
It's
eternal
and
unchanging,
89.
It's
what I
need when
I stray
from God
because I
will,
176.
It's
worth
praising
God
for
seven
times a
day.
That
means
all the
time
it ought
to cause
us to
be
praising
God.
That's
164.
I'm
going to
stop for
now because
you're
going to
get to
explore
yourself.
Our
souls need
to meditate
here,
not just
two minutes,
but much
longer.
Whether
you're
doing the
reading plan
right now
or not,
you need
God's
word
delighting
and shaping
your soul.
So I
want to
challenge
you.
Here's
the
challenge.
Through
the end
of July,
just a
few weeks,
while we're
in the
Psalms,
to
meditate
on one
stanza
of Psalm
119
each day.
There are
22 stanzas,
so there's
plenty of
grace days
in there
if you get
off.
Do it on
your own
schedule.
What I
mean by
that is
read it.
In the
morning,
read it.
Keep the
Bible open
on your
kitchen table
or on
your phone
and come
back to
those verses
when your
mind is
wandering.
Don't scroll
Facebook.
Go scroll
back to
those verses
and just
let them
wash over
you.
Listen
to them.
That can
be really
helpful.
And then
read them
again and
pray through
them perhaps
at night
before you
go to
bed.
Kids,
you can
do
something
fun.
I think
it's
fun.
You
can
make
an
acrostic
with
the
word
psalm.
Just
don't
forget
it
starts
with
p.
Right?
All
those
famous
words
that
sound
like
s
and
start
with
p.
That's
p.
Psalm.
Words
for
God's
word
that
you
find
in
Psalm
119.
See
if
meditating
there
doesn't
shape
your
soul
in a
different
way.
Let
God's
word,
the
grand
story
in
which
he
has
placed
you,
his
instruction
for
your
life
and
his
world
fill
you
up
rather
than
any
of
those
other
inputs
that
draw
you
away
from
him.
Two
more
brief
points.
And
then
we'll
come
to
this
table
together.
What
fruit
does
what
fills
you
up
yield?
Different
inputs
lead to
different
outputs.
Different
loves
to
different
lives.
If
it's
the
path
of
wickedness,
sin,
and
scoffing,
verse
four
says
you'll
become
like
chaff.
That's
a problem
see
because
our
lives
are not
lived
merely
for
ourselves.
We're
to
bear
fruit
for
others
but
no
one
benefits
from
chaff.
That's
the part
you can't
eat when
you're
winnowing
the wheat.
It just
blows
away.
In
contrast,
however,
if you're
being filled
up by
the law
of the
Lord,
the
agricultural
simile
here in
this
psalm is
quite
different.
You
remember
the
redwoods
from
a
couple
weeks
ago
perhaps?
A
firmly
planted
tree
by
streams
in
the
desert
and
yes
standing
firm
in
God's
word
is a
great
image
but
the
image
here
is
even
more
about
the
fruit
isn't
it?
Timely
helpful
fruit
that keeps
coming
lasting
green
leaves
beneficial
to all
you come
in
contact
with
in
every
situation.
See it's
not
merely
the
good
life
is
not
merely
you
and
Jesus
enjoying
the
good
life
over
here
all
by
yourselves
just
you
and
him
no
God's
people
are
blessed
to be
a
blessing
to
others
you
are
to
be
sharing
with
those
around
you
who
aren't
yet
filled
up
with
God's
word
their
souls
are
just
like
yours
they're
battle
grounds
you're
enjoying
this
blessedness
the
deep
fulfillment
of
your
neighbors
your
kids
your
co-workers
your
friends
they need
it too
wouldn't
it be
wonderful
if your
life
normal
life
day in
and day
out
became
a
blessing
to
them
too
delighting
in
God's
law
now
you're
able
to
give
life
the
fruit
of
the
righteous
a
tree
of
life
healing
peace
blessedness
flowing
out
of
you
that's
what
we're
to
long
for
the
final
contrast
lets us
know that
these two
ways of
living
last
beyond
this
life
those
who
choose
to
live
on
their
own
apart
from
God
will
not
only
be
blown
like
chaff
here
and
now
but
also
not
stand
in
the
judgment
that's
a
sobering
eternal
warning
about
the
seriousness
of
trying
to
fill
yourself
up
with
no
need
for
God
on
the
other
hand
while
the
way
of
the
wicked
perishes
God
knows
that
means
he
cares
for
he
protects
he
loves
the
way
of
the
righteous
being
fulfilled
by
relationship
with
God
and
his
instruction
for
your
life
promises
not
only
temporary
fulfillment
the
privilege
of being
a blessing
to
others
but
also
eternal
security
and
blessedness
now
we have
a tendency
to read
words
like
wicked
and
righteous
and
think
failures
and
successes
bad
people
and
good
people
that's
not
the way
God's
people
would
have
heard
it
to
be
righteous
wasn't
to be
a
great
performer
who
always
did
everything
perfectly
and
never
had
any
struggles
following
God's
law
rather
to
be
righteous
meant
to
know
God
to
be
covered
by a
faithful
God
who
sustained
you in
heartache
because
you'd
still
have
it
who
forgave
your
sins
because
you
would
still
struggle
with
them
who
welcomed
you
by
grace
through
sacrifices
that
he
instituted
and put
in place
for
you
into
his
family
that's
what it
was
to be
righteous
at
the
end
of
the
day
then
the
good
life
is
not
about
all
your
great
performance
it
is
first
about
God
knowing
you
before
it's
even
about
you
knowing
him
he
first
gives
himself
to
you
in
relationship
God
if you
will
fight
for
your
soul
so
now
as
he
does
that
for
you
realize
there's
nothing
better
than
knowing
him
living
in
relationship
with
him
you
delight
in
him
no
one
loves
you
like
he
does
and
it
delights
your
soul
psalm
one
points
us
to
Jesus
for
such
a
relationship
for
such
righteousness
which
we
certainly
need
Jesus
delighted
in
God's
law
didn't
he
doing
the
will
of
his
father
shaping
his
life
around
it
blessing
many
so
many
others
as a
result
of
living
his
life
that
way
and
eternally
sitting
at the
right
hand
of
the
father
himself
loving
enjoying
delighting
in
that
blessed
relationship
listen
faith
in
Jesus
his
perfect
life
his
death
on the
cross
in
your
place
his
resurrection
from
the
dead
is
what
brings
us
into
the
people
who
then
sing
this
song
and
long
to
live
such
a
wonderful
life
Jesus
help
us
to
live
a
life
like
that
not
to
get
into
the
family
but
because
we
are
in
with
God
and
so
wouldn't
it
be
wonderful
wouldn't
it be
eternally
fulfilling
to
live
like
that
with
him
doesn't
your
heart
long
for
that
doesn't
listen
Jesus
promises
that
to
you
as
you
come
to
this
table
Jesus
says
in
John
6
that
he
is
the
bread
of
life
and
the
one
who
comes
to
him
will
never
hunger
again
will
be
eternally
fulfilled
Jesus
says
in
John
4
that
he
is
the
living
water
and
the
one
who
drinks
of
him
will
never
thirst
again
will
be
eternally
fulfilled
so
he
invites
you
to
this
table
to
eat
and
to
drink
and
to
remember
this
is
the
true
food
that
you
need
it's
what
he
said
to
his
disciples
on
the
night
that
he
was
betrayed
when
he
took
the
bread
and
he
broke
it
and
he
gave
it
to
them
as
I
ministering
in
his
name
give
this
bread
to
you
he
said
take
eat
this
is
my
body
given
for
you
do
this
in
remembrance
of
me
and
then
after
supper
he
took
the
cup
and
said
this
cup
is
the
new
covenant
in
my
blood
shed
for
many
for
the
forgiveness
of
sins
drink
from
it
all
of
you
because
we
every
day
need
proclaimed
to
our
hearts
the
death
of
Jesus
the
good
news
of
the
gospel
he
died
in
our
place
for
our
sins
we
can
know
God
and
when
we
do
this
we
proclaim
his
death
until
he
comes
if
you
have
settled
in
your
heart
that
Jesus
is
the
only
one
who
will
truly
fulfill
you
if
you're
willing
today
to
repent
of
those
other
places
you
find
your
heart
looking
for
fulfillment
if
you've
trusted
your
life
now
and
forever
to
him
then
come
to
his
table
this
is
the
Lord's
table
not
the
table
of
Southwood
or
the
Presbyterian
church
he's
the
one
who
invites
you
to
come
as
you
trust
yourself
to
him
drink
eat
never
hunger
or
thirst
again
to
come
to
observe
what's
happening
to
pray
with
us
especially
that
you
would
use
this
as
a
time
to
consider
the
gracious
offer
of
Jesus
that
in
him
you'll
find
rest
for
your
souls
fulfillment
forever
let's
pray
and then
we'll
come
to
these
tables
together
God
thank you
for giving
us a
reminder
that
calls
our
hearts
back
to
the
true
food
from
the
places
we
have
run
this
week
thinking
they'll
fulfill
us
we
confess
the
emptiness
of
so
many
things
we've
felt
it
God
we've
known
the
emptiness
of
living
for
self
and
directing
our
own
lives
and
would
you
call
us
back
again
to
yourself
use
these
common
elements
for a
sacred
purpose
in our
lives
strengthen
our
faith
even
now
we
ask
in
Jesus
name
amen
for
more
information
visit us
online
at
southwood.org