MAIN IDEA || The Book of Psalms has been designed as a prayer & song book for God’s people as they wait for the arrival of the Messiah and the fulfillment of God’s promises. The Book of Psalms: our deepest human emotions. even than a book of deep emotional prayer & singing. our deepest human emotions. It is not so much that the Psalms resonate with us as that they shape us so that we most deeply resonate with the God-given yearnings they so movingly express. two ways to live (ch1) & those who rebel against God and His appointed King. (ch2) Psalm 1:1–6 (NLT) 1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. The truly person guides his life by God’s instruction rather than by the advice of people who reject that instruction. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. 1. We that Jesus is both the blessed one of Psalm 1 & the promised King of Psalm 2. Psalm 2:7 (NLT) 7 The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. Acts 13:32–33 (NLT) 32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’ Psalm 2:10-12 (NLT) 10 Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! 11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities— for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him! 2. We —under grace and with joy—that we too will evidence more and more the marks of the happy person. True freedom is not about being free from restraint but being set free for living rightly, in glad obedience to God’s instructions. CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION: 1. So many Christians have a favorite Psalm. Is there any that you can identify or that are special to you in some way? 2. The Psalms have the power to resonate with our deepest human emotions. But God intends to do even more through them. See if you can talk through and grasp this idea together: It is not so much that the Psalms resonate with us as that they shape us so that we most deeply resonate with the God-given yearnings they so movingly express. 3. Psalms 2 expresses that submission to Jesus brings us joy and rebellion against him ends in destruction. Why do you think it might be so hard for people to believe and submit to Jesus? 12 Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities— for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!