The Blessed Man; Planted in Christ

Psalm 1:1–6 (LSB)

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the way of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2 But his delight is in the law of Yahweh,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 And 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.

4 The wicked are not so,

But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not rise in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the wicked will perish.

What does it mean to be blessed?

We here people say they are blessed.

We tell people that they are so blessed.

What does that mean?

Is it about having a big happy family? Is it about being healthy and wealthy?

Are these things that the Bible talks about when it says that a man or woman is blessed?

Some might even say by living a good and moral life, an upright life. Keeping away form sinners and sinful lifestyle. Reading your Bible and going to church, praying.

And to a certain extent, those things would be true, but is that the gist of it? Is it just following a set of guidelines or standards that makes one blessed?

Our goal this afternoon is to answer this question by looking to Gods Word.

We’ll begin with our Psalm and consider some other texts along the way.

“How Blessed is the man”

The Psalmist lays out for us here a particular man. How blessed is “the man” or “that man”. And this man will be marked by two particulars: 1) what he does not do. 2) What he does do.

First, he doesn’t take counsel from the ungodly. Second, his delight and meditation is in Gods law or Gods Word. And it is constant, day and night. These things mark who he is.

And again, the Psalmist is not holding out this man as a possibility for all. He’s laying out a specific man. A looked for man. More specifically, a looked for King.

Now we have a hint that Israel was looking for and anticipating such a one.

Lets look at Deuteronomy 17:16-20 Deuteronomy 17:16–20 (LSB)

16 “Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. Yahweh has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 

17 “And he shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. 

18 “Now it will be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 

19 “And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to carefully observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 

20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his sons in the midst of Israel.

This description fits Psalm 1 very well. 3 prohibitions, and as we turn to verse 2, a positive description.

Psalm 1:2 “2 But his delight is in the law of Yahweh, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

What does the blessed man do? He delights God’s law. He meditates on the same.

The law here is not just the 10 commandments that we are so familiar with, but the entire first 5 books of the Bible. And it includes; the mighty acts of God in creation providence, his merciful deliverances of His people. It includes His promises and His character as the promise making and promise keeping LORD God of His chosen people.

This is what he does, he walks around and mutters these things, meditates on these things. And this word meditate gives us a connection to Psalm 2 and a clearer focus of the blessed man in our Psalm. It’s actually preferred to see Psalm 1 & 2 as 1 Psalm. They are one large structure bookended by the word blessed. Except, at the end of Psalm 2, there is a people group that is blessed as opposed to the one blessed man of Psalm 1. The wicked counselors in Ps 1, are found to be the ones meditating on how they might overthrow God’s Messiah. While they are sitting in the seat as scoffers, God sits in heaven and laughs. The blessed man of Ps 1, is the Messiah in Ps 2 that is to be worshipped, paid homage to and to be taken refuge in. And the assembly of the righteous in Psalm 1, corresponds to those who are pronounced blessed as those who take refuge in the Son, taking refuge in the Blessed Man.

I assume many of us have already put the pieces together by now. This Psalm is pointing us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He came and did everything that was promised of God’s Messiah. He did not heed the counsel of the ungodly. He took up God’s law and was obedient to all it’s precepts, and fulfilled all of it’s promises. He was obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. He delighted in his mission. For the joy set before him he endured the cross. And what was that joy but you and me if you be in Christ today.

And his days were prolonged. He was raised the third day according to the Scriptures. And He sits at the right hand of the Father even now, poring out blessings upon His people by His Spirit. And by the gospel, further calling men and women to forsake themselves and to trust in Him, to find refuge in Him, to be blessed by faith in Him.

And by way of conclusion. There is a warning in the text. If you are one today who is not planted in Christ, we are told you are like chaff driven by the wind, and that God’s just judgement will come upon you, that you will perish by the coming wrath of the Son. And if this you, I implore you, to forsake yourself, repent and trust in Jesus alone, for the salvation of your soul. Young or old, rich or poor, bring nothing in your hands, simply cling to Him. For He will by no means turn away the one who calls upon him by faith.

And if you are one who is found in Christ, rejoice anew at the wonderful, rich, and full salvation that you have in Him. And go forward in imitation of Him. Expect that His Spirit in you will give you the grace to walk by faith in the midst of a mocking world, and to every day delightfully lay up in your hearts God’s precepts, His marvelous works, His faithfulness to His promises, in anticipation of the glory that is to come.

Lets pray.

Matthew 5:3–11 (LSB)

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the lowly, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.