Home Church Discussion Guide for Sunday, September 13 “Psalms as Torah” This week, we’ll begin a new study on the Book of Psalms. We won’t read through the entirety of the book of Psalms in our study, but we’ll attempt to answer the question “how should we read the Psalms?” as we look at different Psalms. This question (“How should we read the Psalms?”) assumes that sometimes we find reading the Psalms difficult. Why might that be? Ask people in your group to share reasons they might struggle with reading the Psalms. Point out that Wayne gave two reasons that we perhaps might struggle to read the Psalms. 1. Reading the Psalms might be difficult because the Psalms work best when we read them over and over – we simply don’t spend as much time reading the psalms as we might other parts of the Bible (and we aren’t a part of a liturgical denomination that reads the Psalms each week in worship). 2. Sometimes we aren’t sure how to read them because we look at them as private reflections of saints. If they are just private reflections of saints, how do we translate their experiences to our own? Even though we might wrongly view the Psalms as the private prayers and poems of saints, as their words to God, because the Psalms are included in the canon of Scripture, they are also God’s words to us, teaching us about God, about salvation and the life of faith, and about life in the world around us. The Psalms are known as “Torah.” The word “Torah” means teaching, and the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) are known as “The Torah” because they are teaching. These books were written to instruct the Israelites – and us – about who God is and what it means to be His people. How do we know that the psalms are “Torah”? 1. The Psalms are structured into five books, like the Torah (have class members turn to Psalm 1 in their Bible to see the heading “Book One” and then to flip through the first five books of the Bible, which are known as the Torah). These teachings are meant to teach us about God and our need for salvation, and to shape us to be distinctive and set apart. 2. The first psalm of the Book of Psalms, Psalm 1, is a Torah psalm. It sets the tone for the entire Book of Psalms. Psalm 1 Have volunteer(s) in your group read Psalm 1, walking through the psalm using commentary from the video. Here are some comments Wayne made that you may want to include in your commentary: • The psalmist begins by saying “Blessed (or happy) is the man … whose delight is in the law (or instruction) of the LORD, and on His lawn (or instruction) He meditates day and night.” While we might read that verse and think that the psalmist is removed from the world, a man or woman who sits and reads Scripture day and night, the reality is that the psalmist is simply trying to faithfully live out God’s calling. • The one who takes seriously the act of listening to what God has said to us is the one who is blessed, the one who seeks to live in obedience to God’s instruction and teaching (or His torah). • In the words of McCann, this is “an invitation to be open to God’s instruction and to the reality of God’s reign in the world.” This is, of course, in stark contrast with those who seek to be wise in their own eyes, who feel like they have it all together. Psalm 1 reminds us that we are called to humility – we must admit that we don’t have all of the answers and that we are dependent on the Lord to guide us in His ways. We must come to God’s word and ask Him to teach us. • In Psalm 1, we also see that there are serious consequences for which path we choose. For instance, we see in verse 3 that, when God’s people choose faithfulness, they bear fruit. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we won’t go through difficult times or face hardship – often, the righteous path may make life harder, but we know that the path of faithfulness is the path of abundant life. However, in verses 4-5, we see that the way of the wicked leads to destruction. • We live in a world where people have a deep longing and are looking for happiness that often proves to be elusive, despite the money, power, or possessions they might be able to amass for themselves. The call of Psalm 1 is to come to the conclusion that we don’t have it all figured out – that we need the Lord and that we know His way leads to the path of blessing, even if it brings us into conflict with others. Finish by reflecting on the questions Wayne asked at the end of the video: • Like the rocks that are shaped by the water running over them, what voices shape my heart and life? What is the water running over my heart? • Do you live as if you have it all together, or are you humble enough to come to God’s word, knowing You need Him to lead and guide you? .