The Blessed Life
Psalms 1
June 17, 2018
Well tonight we begin a new Sunday Night study.
We’re going to begin working our way through the Psalms.
And we are calling this study “God”.
That’s really what a study of Psalms is.
It is a desire to know God.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”
Knowing God is a key treasure in life.
And Psalms is a great place to do that.
One of my favorite and most rewarding daily Bible study plans
Is any time I read a Psalm a day
And write down something knew I learn about God.
We study these Psalms to reach for the heart of God.
We’re seeking to know how God reveals Himself through His word.
And Psalms is very unique in this because not only is THEOLOGICAL,
But it is also HIGHLY EXPERIENTIAL.
These Psalms are certainly inspired by the Holy Spirit, as is all Scripture,
But they also come through humanity in all manner of circumstances.
• We find Psalmists in victory
• We find Psalmists in defeat
• We find Psalmists in joy
• We find Psalmists in despair
• We find Psalmists in confidence
• We find Psalmists in confusion
• We find Psalmists in evangelism
• We find Psalmists ready to give up
These Psalms represent men who knew God and experienced God
And found who He is and why He matters
And because these Psalms represent the hymn book of Israel
They are also the TRUTHS of God
They felt COMPELLED TO TEACH to the congregation.
The church’s music is a tremendous way to teach doctrine
The Psalms do just that.
And as these men walked through life and experienced God there,
They felt compelled to pass that knowledge on through song
That the congregation might know Him in this way as well.
That means not only do we learn about God through this study,
But we also learn how to worship Him accordingly.
For these men took what they knew
And put it into a form of worship to God.
Our hope and our desire is to see the God they saw
And to worship Him as they did.
That being said, we begin tonight with the first Psalm.
Many a commentator has commented how this Psalm is so fitting to begin the book, for it reveals to us a foundational truth about God.
So let’s work our way through this Psalm and see what we learn.
It is a Psalm that contrasts two types of people.
We have here the righteous man contrasted with the wicked man.
And what becomes apparent to us right off the bat is that
The Psalmist says that the righteous man is “Blessed”
While the wicked man “will perish”
Let’s look at them.
#1 THE RIGHTEOUS MAN
Psalms 1:1-3
This man is not yet referred to as the righteous man
(that designation will come at the end).
Here he is merely referred to as “blessed”
It is a word that simply means “happy” or “happiness”
And the Psalmist says “How blessed”
Or we could say “So happy”
And then the Psalmist begins to give some of the criteria
Which fuel this man’s happy life.
1) WHAT HE AVOIDS (1)
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”
Just a quick reading reveals to us that one of the chief characteristics of the blessed man is that he avoids wickedness.
Romans 12:9 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”
That can certainly be said of this man.
But beyond the wickedness in general
One can also see that we are talking about
More than just wickedness in general.
The Psalmist is obviously referring to this man’s propensity to avoid a WICKED INFLUENCE.
• He is staying away from “the counsel of the wicked”
• He is avoiding “the path of sinners”
• He is avoiding “the seat of scoffers”
Certainly we understand that wickedness does not sit idle in our world.
EVIL IS AMBITIOUS.
God told Cain from the beginning:
Genesis 4:7 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Peter reminds us:
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
We are aware that our world isn’t just evil,
But our world is passionate about that evil.
Our world wants evil,
• Then it wants you to tolerate its evil,
• Then it wants you to approve of its evil,
• Then it wants you to participate in its evil,
• Then it wants you to share its evil.
And the Psalmist is aware of that.
He knows that the wicked don’t keep to themselves in their wickedness
But that they also offer their “counsel” to you.
Our world is full of ADVICE
Our evil world is full of COUNSEL
• Academia (scholars) love to share how they are experts on things…
• The Media loves to share their “unbiased” info…
• Psychology has the answer for all human behaviors…
• Advertising loves to appeal to the fallen human flesh…
They’re all full of advice and counsel on how you should live your life.
But the Psalmist warns that following the advice of the world
Is NOT the means to blessing (happiness).
In fact, the blessed man “does not walk in the counsel of the wicked”
He doesn’t listen to them, let alone follow their lead.
And there is a progression spelled out here in this first verse.
Do you see it?
Look at what the blessed man avoids
“does not walk in the counsel of the wicked”
The word for “wicked” there speaks of a guilty one
And it deals with their CHARACTER.
They are just sinful people in general
And the blessed man doesn’t listen to what they have to say.
He won’t follow their advice.
But the progression continues
“nor stand in the path of sinners”
This moves further than just listening to,
This actually denotes following down their path,
And again the blessed man doesn’t do it.
“sinners” here is also a word that speaks of guilty people
But the emphasis here is on their ACTIONS.
They aren’t just wicked people with wicked ideas,
They are wicked people with wicked actions.
This man doesn’t do what they suggest
And doesn’t follow where they lead.
That’s why he’s happy
The third level is:
“nor sit in the seat of scoffers”
This would be to make the full blown transformation
Into becoming one of them.
You listen to the advice of the wicked and then follow the path of the sinful,
It won’t be long before you will take your seat among them
And start offering sinful advice to others.
That is what a scoffer is.
Proverbs 9:7-8 “He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you.”
A scoffer is one who has no concern for what is right,
And no interest in being corrected.
That is where all the counsel of the wicked leads.
• It starts with sinful advice
• It moves to sinful action
• It results in a sinful attitude
But the blessed man ignores it all.
• He won’t listen to their advice
• He won’t follow their example
• He won’t join their ranks
That is what he avoids
2) WHAT HE PURSUES (2)
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
This man isn’t interested in what the world has to say.
This man isn’t interested in what the world thinks is right.
This man is really only concerned about 1 voice.
This man is only concerned about 1 opinion.
GOD’S
• He runs to God’s word for his counsel
• He runs to God’s word for the answer
• He runs to God’s word for advice
David said:
Psalms 119:97-104 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”
• He didn’t run to the wicked for advice for “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies”
• He didn’t run to the scholars for counsel for “I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.”
• He didn’t even go to the experienced for advice for “I understand more than the aged, because I have observed Your precepts”
He found value in God’s counsel, not man’s.
Psalms 19:7-14 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring 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 judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”
And we could go on and on with passages which illustrate this point.
But I think it is clear.
This man saw no need in gaining the logic or wisdom of the world
Because he had at his disposal the very wisdom of God.
And frankly the opinions of “The View” or “Oprah” just didn’t hold the same weight.
And not only does he choose God’s wisdom over that of the world,
He is also diligent to learn God’s wisdom.
“in His law he meditates day and night.”
That is to say that this man really wants to know what God thinks.
It is devotion to learning and obeying the will of God.
That is yet another characteristic of the blessed man.
What he avoids; what he pursues
3) WHAT HE IS LIKE (3)
“He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”
There is a very fitting analogy; “like a tree”
And do you catch all the analogies?
“firmly planted” – He Is Planted; he is heavily rooted
• This is no potted plant which is mobile.
• This is no wishy-washy individual, here today and gone tomorrow.
“by streams of water” – This Is His Provision
• Because he is tapped in to God’s word, he is tapped in to all that he needs for life and godliness.
“which yields its fruit” – He Is Productive
We could certainly turn to the parable of the vineyard in Isaiah 5
Or even listen to Jesus talk about the vine and the branches in John 15.
Either way we understand that God expects fruit.
Remember this one:
Matthew 21:18-19 “Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.”
If you are familiar with that story you know that
• It wasn’t the season for figs, but this fig tree had leaves.
• A simple fact about the fig tree is that it puts on figs before it puts on leaves.
• Therefore if this tree had leaves it was sending a message, “I have figs”
• Jesus found this tree to be an imposter, and consequently a symbol for the hypocritical religion of Israel.
• Jesus cursed that fig tree.
That is the opposite of the righteous man here.
He has fruit.
And not just fruit, but:
“in its season” – He Is Precise
Luke 13:6-9 “And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'”
It’s not just fruit, but fruit when it matters.
This man has it.
“and its leaf does not wither” – He Is Perseverant, not a quitter
“and in whatever he does, he prospers” – He Is Prosperous
In short, he does things God’s way
And therefore he enjoys God’s power behind his actions.
AND THIS IS THE BLESSED MAN.
He is the type of individual Jesus alluded to:
Luke 11:27-28 “While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
• He won’t follow the advice of the world,
• Instead he digs deep into the word of God to get His instruction
• And the effects of that instruction are a productive and prosperous life.
That is the Righteous man.
Now let’s look at the other man.
#2 THE WICKED MAN
Psalms 1:4-5
Here we simply find that “The wicked are not so”
That is to say they
• Are not Planted
• Are not Provided for
• Are not Productive
• Are not Precise
• Are not Perseverant
• Are not Prosperous
This man is the absolute opposite of the first man.
It seems to be that he can be much easier identified with
That ROCKY SOIL that Jesus spoke of.
Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
That man didn’t really listen to God,
He just listened to whatever sounded best at the moment.
It’s no wonder then that he didn’t push through, didn’t persevere,
Didn’t produce fruit and didn’t prosper.
This man is not a tree.
In fact, the Psalmist has a comparison for this man.
“But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.”
Isaiah 40:6-7 “A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.”
Isaiah 40:23-24 “He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.”
In short, they are useless and they can’t stand,
Which is precisely what the Psalmist says.
(5) “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.”
That is to say when God passes over all humanity,
The wicked will not survive,
And none of them will make it to the abode of heaven
Where the righteous dwell.
There is a torrent of judgment coming that the wicked cannot endure.
And we should most certainly remind ourselves of the parable Jesus gave
About the wise and foolish man.
• The wise man of course building his house on the rock (Christ)
• And the foolish man building his house on the sand (himself).
• Both faced the storm, but only the one on the rock survived.
WHY?
Because only Christ was righteous enough to withstand the judgment,
And only those fixed on Him survive it with Him.
BUT THE POINT OF THE PSALMIST here is simply made that
It is far better to be righteous than to be wicked.
Regardless of what it feels like today,
It is the righteous man who ends up being happy
And it is the wicked man who ends up perishing.
And that is a very clear and obvious point about life in this Psalm.
• In this world you will be continually faced with choices.
• In this life you will be continually offered advice.
On one hand there is the counsel of the wicked who call you to follow their plans, and do their deeds.
And I don’t mind telling you that
There is a certain amount of appeal to what they offer.
• They almost always offer exactly what the flesh desires, and so there is a certain amount of appeal there.
• And if you follow their advice, most of the time there is even a season of enjoyment, there may even be a season of pleasure.
• In fact, many times in the Psalms you’re going to hear Psalmists lament that it doesn’t seem right that the wicked are seeming to have so much fun.
• The problem of course is that it isn’t permanent. There is a day of reckoning that will render all of that enjoyment null and void.
On the other hand however there is the advice of God.
• It is found in His word.
• It must be sought and it must be studied, and it must be meditated on in order to glean its instruction.
But the promise is that it is worth it and worth it forever.
So the simple opening advice is that
It is better to be righteous than to be wicked.
But the question that must be asked at this point is:
WHY?
Carrie and I have some old Rock Hudson / Doris Day movies that we watch from time to time and there is one called “Pillow Talk”.
And in the movie Tony Randal is trying to convince Rock Hudson to stop womanizing, find one woman and settle down.
The conversation goes something like this.
• “You need to stop chasing all these girls, and going out with a different woman every night.”
• “Why?”
• “So that you can find one woman and spend the rest of your life with her.”
• “Why?”
• “Because that’s what a man wants, to come home to the same woman night after night.”
• “Why?”
• To which Tony Randal finally says, “Well if you want you can find crafty arguments to any point.”
Well that’s the question here.
• Why should a man avoid wickedness?
• Why should a man reject the pleasures of this world?
• Why should a man ignore the offers of the sinful passions of life?
• Why should a man resign himself to digging deep into the word of God?
• Why should a man refuse himself all that his heart desires?
This is where we get to the foundational knowledge of God I promised you
Here is why:
(6) “For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Probably better understood:
“the LORD approves the way of the righteous…”
Do you understand why we prefer righteousness to wickedness?
Do you understand why we prefer morality to immorality?
Do you understand why we abstain from evil to pursue good?
The answer is
• Because the God who created us,
• And consequently the God who will judge us,
• And the God who has the power to either reward or destroy us
Said that righteousness should be selected over wickedness.
The primary reason we choose righteousness is not because righteousness is always is more fun.
And it is not because righteousness makes us feel better.
WE CHOOSE RIGHTEOUSNESS
BECAUSE GOD APPROVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
We reject wickedness because God disapproves of wickedness.
It’s as simple as that.
And that is the “blessing” that this Psalmist is talking about.
He ISN’T SAYING
If you’ll reject the advice of the wicked and dig deep into the word of God then your life will be filled with sugarplums and ease and money and good health, etc.
Everyone that interpreted Psalms like this one in that manner ends up finding themselves disillusioned when life goes south.
WHAT THE PSALMIST IS SAYING
Is that if you will reject wickedness and pursue righteousness then you will be happy in knowing that God approves of you.
And the approval of God is more important
Than any other thing you can achieve.
This, by the way, is the advice of the wisest man who ever lived.
It’s so fitting.
TURN TO: ECCLESIASTES 2:1-23
Did you hear him recount how he tried to find blessing or happiness in all that he could under heaven?
The problem of course is that
• All of those pleasures were short lived and none could transcend the grave.
• He couldn’t find anything that would last.
• It was all like trying to bottle up the wind.
And after 12 chapters of this sort of explanation
He concludes his advice to the young man like this.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
He told the young man that there is one thing
You should be acutely aware of more than anything else.
YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT BEING PLEASING TO GOD.
• All the temporal pleasures in the world are worth nothing if you end up
offending your Creator.
• True blessing is standing before God at the judgment and hearing Him
welcome you in as one who is approved.
Being known/approved by God matters.
Matthew 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
So there’s our first lesson on who God is.
• God is righteous and God approves of righteousness.
• God is righteous and God scatters the wicked.
This, above all else, is our primary motivation for righteousness.
This, above all else, is our focus as we seek to be blessed.
And certainly we remember that
This is only achievable through Jesus Christ
Who is Himself our righteousness.
He makes us pleasing to this righteous Father
Through His sinless life and atoning death.
AND THIS IS GOOD BECAUSE
OUR GOD IS RIGHTEOUS AND HE NEVER ACCEPTS ANYTHING LESS.
