Introduction. The Book of Psalms

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4 Introduction The Book of Psalms by Mark Batterson We re going to camp in the Psalms this summer. They are some of the earliest recorded worship songs in history. Think of them as campfire songs, campfire stories. They have a profound ability to touch the deepest emotions of the human heart. In Psalm 119:11, King David says, I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. We want to encourage you to go beyond the weekend experience and hide the Psalms in your heart through the daily discipline of memorization. We don t just want to get through the word; we want to get the word through us. There s no better way to do that than to memorize scripture. The reason is simple: memorization allows the message to sink into your spirit in a way that s impossible with reading. Don t be surprised if you discover things you never noticed before! We are so excited about memorizing the Psalms, we ve provided this booklet to help you engage. It will guide you through one Psalm each week and provide a short passage for us to memorize together. It also has space for sermon notes and journaling so you can record what God teaches you throughout the series. Mark it up. Make it your own. Finally, make sure to share what you are learning. We really do believe one summer can change your life and your relationship with God, but we are convinced it happens best in community. 1

5 Reading Plan Read 2-3 Psalms per day Week 1 Psalms 119 Psalms 1-16 Week 2 Psalms Week 3 Psalms Week 4 Psalms Week 6 Psalms Week 7 Psalms Week 8 Psalms Week 9 Psalms Week 5 Psalms Resources and music downloads available at 2 The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed. -Patrick Henry

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7 Hidden Week 1 Psalm 119 A Psalm of David 1 Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. 2 Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. 3 They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths. 4 You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. 5 Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! 6 Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. 7 As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! 8 I will obey your decrees. Please don t give up on me! 9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. 10 I have tried hard to find you don t let me wander from your commands. 4

8 11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 12 I praise you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. 13 I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us. 14 I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. 15 I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. 16 I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word. Memorization Tips Keep It Visible. Put a notecard with the verse in visible places: on you bathroom mirror, your desk at work, and in your phone. Journal What is the connection between your thoughts and your relationship with God? 5

9 his heart would be kept by the word because he kept the word in his heart. -Charles H. Spurgeon 6

10 Journal What words of God need to take root in your heart? Think in terms of promises to claim, truths truth to believe, or a Biblical example to follow. 7

11 The word of God hidden in the heart 8

12 is a stubborn voice to suppress. -Billy Graham 9

13 One of the many divine qualities of the Bible is that it does not yield its secrets to the irreverent and the censorious. -James I. Packer 10

14 psalm 23:5a

15 the Good Shepherd Week 2 Psalm 23 A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley,[a] I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. Memorization Tips Section Long Passages. Break the passage into small sections of 1-2 verses to focus on each day. 12

16 5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. The sight of any trouble strikes terror into the heart of those who do not have faith, but those who trust Him say, Here comes my food! - Watchman Nee Chinese Missionary Under Communist Rule 13

17 Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time. Journal - Oswald Chambers Psalm 23 is incredibly comforting and grounding. It helps us trust God s sovereignty. Pick a verse that touches you and start telling the Lord what it means to you. 14

18 Journal Recall a recent time when God fulfilled this Psalm in your life. Articulating and thanking God for His activity in your life is a powerful form of worship. All God s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on God being with them. - J. Hudson Taylor 15

19 Now, God be praised, that to believing souls gives light in darkness, comfort in despair. - William Shakespeare 16

20 Psalm 37:6

21 Take Delight Week 3 Psalm 37 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart s desires. 5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. 6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. 7 Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Memorization Tips Write it down. Going analog engages the part of our brain that helps with retention. 18

22 23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. 24 Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. 25 Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. 26 The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing. 27 Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever. 28 For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. In His will is our peace. - Dante 19

23 Journal Map your life. There s no better way to see how God has ordered your footsteps than to look at the path behind you. Here s how to record your story: 1. Divide Life Into Chapters. Think in terms of school grades, seasons, transformational moments, rites of passage. 2. For each chapter, list in bullet points: a. Significant People b. Significant Places c. Significant Events i. Big Dreams ii. Big Decisions iii. Big Deals iv. Big Days 20

24 Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. -Corrie ten Boom 21

25 GO Where your best prayers lead you. -Frederich Beuchner 22

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28 Coincidence is God s way of remaining anonymous. - Albert Einstein 25

29 If you re wrestling with some sort of decision, reflect for a moment and ask yourself, Am I being brave, or am I being safe? In the end, it depends on whether we think God can be trusted. - Gary Haugen, Founder of IJM 26

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31 Dwelling Place Week 4 Psalm 84 A psalm of the descendants of Korah, a song. 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven s Armies. 2 I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven s Armies, my King and my God! 4 What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude 5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,[b] it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. 7 They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.[c] 8 O Lord God of Heaven s Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude 28

32 9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield! Show favor to the one you have anointed. 10 A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. 11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. 12 O Lord of Heaven s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you. Memorization Tips Contemplaton. Don t just recite the words, contemplate the meaning. This form of memorization is called meditation. It helps us dwell in the presence of God. 29

33 Journal God s presence is where these Psalmists longed to be. Position yourself before God with the right posture. This passage says that joy comes to those whose strength and trust are in the Lord. Declare your dependence on God. What do you need to trust God with? What do you need strength for? Tell God how much you enjoy and need his presence. This simple act of praise and creates intimacy with God. 30

34 O Lord of Heaven s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you. Ps. 84:12 31

35 A man who wants to see a country must not hurry through it by express train, but he must stop in the towns and villages, and see what is to be seen Don t hurry through Scripture, but pause for the Lord to speak to you. Oh, for more meditation! C.H. Spurgeon 32

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37 the God who knows Week 5 34 Psalm O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I m far away. 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. 5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! 7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night

38 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! 19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers! 20 They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name. 21 O Lord, shouldn t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn t I despise those who oppose you? 22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. 35

39 Journal Two-way journaling. Spend some time listening to God. Find a quiet place that is free of distraction, and ask God to tell his thoughts about you. Even if it feels like your voice at first, write down everything you hear God saying. 36

40 Memorization Tips Say it out loud. We believe what we talk about. Speaking things out loud help us internalize the truths in God s word. To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. - Timothy Keller 37

41 There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. - Brother Lawrence 38

42 The Lord is closeto the broken hearted; psalm 34:18

43 Brokenhearted Week 6 Psalm 34 1 I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. 2 I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. 3 Come, let us tell of the Lord s greatness; let us exalt his name together. 4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. 6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. 7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! 9 Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. 10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing. 11 Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord. 40

44 12 Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? 13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! 14 Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. 15 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. 16 But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. 17 The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. 18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. 19 The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. 20 For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken! 21 Calamity will surely overtake the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. 22 But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. Memorization Tips Pray It Through. When we pray the scriptures, we re praying God s word back to him. It gives us powerful language to express what is in our hearts, and helps us claim God s promises for our lives. 41

45 Journal Prayer Journal. Is there anything you are brokenhearted over right now? Express it to God. Is there anyone you know going through a difficult time? Pray this Psalm over them. 42

46 Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself. - C.S. Lewis

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48 I am not going under, but over Catherine Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army 45

49 46 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. - Jesus Christ, John 14:1

50 clean hands pure heart

51 Clean Hands Pure Heart Week 7 Psalm 24 A psalm of David 1 The earth is the Lord s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. 2 For he laid the earth s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths. 3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. 5 They will receive the Lord s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. 6 Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob. Interlude 48

52 7 Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter. 8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle. 9 Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter. 10 Who is the King of glory? The Lord of Heaven s Armies he is the King of glory. Memorization Tips Do Something. Obedience is the fuel for transformation. The gospel is not about what you can do for God, it is about what God has done for you. But the response is on us. 49

53 Journal Prayer Journal. Is there anything you are brokenhearted over right now? Express it to God. Is there anyone you know going through a difficult time? Pray this Psalm over them. 50

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57 54 Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off. - Max Lucado

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59 Worship Week 8 Psalm 100 A Psalm of Thanksgiving. 1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. 3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Memorization Tips Use Memory Cues. Allow each posture of Psalm 100 to guide you through the process of worship. Begin by acknowledging God. Thank Him for what he has done nothing is too far removed to acknowledge his involvement in! Then praise Him by declaring true things about his character. 56

60 Journal Find Unique Expression. Nobody can worship God for you or like you. Journal when and where you feel closest to God, then worship with all your might. Go outside, create something, sing, write, or serve for the distinct purpose of expressing value to God. When we give God our praise, he gives us his presence. 57

61 I play the notes as they are written, 58

62 but it is God who makes the music. - J. S. Bach 59

63 All our life is like a day of celebration for us; we are convinced, in fact, that God is always everywhere. We work while singing, we sail while reciting hymns, we accomplish all other occupations of life while praying. Clement of Alexandria 60

64 The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot! - St. Augustine 61

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66 Psalm 145:3

67 Every Day Week 9 64 Psalm 145 A psalm of praise of David. 1 I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. 2 I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. 3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. 4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. 5 I will meditate[b] on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. 6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. 7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. 8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. 10 All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. 11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power.

68 12 They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign. 13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.[c] 14 The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. 15 The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. 16 When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. 17 The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. 18 The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. 20 The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked. 21 I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever. 65

69 Memorization Tips Share It. Hide God s word in your heart by sharing it. The ability to teach others is a mark of learning. In the same way, seal what God has done by telling somebody else. Here are a few questions to help: Over the last 9 weeks, God. The most significant thing I learned was. What I did about it: The Word in my heart is. I m praising God because. 66

70 Don't let your experience stop here Get plugged in. Join a small group, go on a mission trip, or serve on a weekend ministry team. Visit theaterchurch.com to find your next step. 67

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