Psalm 1: Why this Psalm and What is Blessed?

Introduction

Open this evening to Psalm 1, Psalm 1.

Starting off to exposit all the way through the psalms is a doubting task, there are 150 of them and they cover just about every biblical topic. From creational, salvation, judgement and eschatological and everything in between.

I think it is vitally import we understand the nature and purpose of the Psalms in order to ground our minds in their application.

The Psalms are the divinely inspired instruction book for Congregational praise to our God.

Notice I used the word praise and not worship.

To often worship is conflated with praise.

We call our church service a worship service but not all of that service is praise.

Our lives are you be giving as a sacrifice, our live are to be that of spiritual worship to God, (Romans 12:1-2)

So while all our live are worship we still set asides a time for congregational or even personal vocal praise.

The Palms cover every method the saint my need to worship God

Do we come to God with supplication for mercy and protection.

Psalm 6 “O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger … all my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;”

Or Psalm 12 “Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.” (Ps 12:1, ESV)

Do we come to God to Praise him for his faithfulness and salvation

Psalm 3 “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill” (Ps 3:3–4, ESV)

Psalm 108 “For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” (Ps 108:4, ESV)

How about praising God for eschatological realities of his total victory of evil.

Psalm 46 “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Ps 46:4–7, ESV)

But whit there more much much more. Every type of praise, of call in need, every place where the saint will extol or petition God is covered int he psalms.

If you would praise God well saints, know your psalms.

This is eminently important.

We have talked about the regulative principle of worship.

Simply put, we are to regulate our worship by what the scripture positively instruct.

Why, this is the only way we can know our worship is pleasing to God

This is way God has acted from the beginning.

Leviticus 10:1–3 ESV

1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” And Aaron held his peace.

Where Nadab and Abihu sacrificing to another God? No, “which the Lord had not commanded”

Worshiping God in a away has has not commanded brings death.

Example, the enima and unconverted that fill the pews of church that play Hillson.

Worshiping God in the way he has commanded bring life and blessing. We are about to talk about that in Psalm 1.

How do we know we are worshiping in a way God has commanded?

Be regulating our worship by what God has positively commanded in scripture.

Example: candles.

I should not here there are some that go to far the other way, as is always the case.

They say psalms only

I respect the desire but reject the premise

“addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” (Eph 5:19, ESP)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col 3:16, ESV)

So, if you are able please stand for the reading of God’s Word

Psalm 1 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

May God Bless the Reading of His Holy, Infallible, and Sufficient Word

Let’s Pray

Please be seated

Transition

We have briefly talked about the importance of the book psalms as a whole but that should lead us to the questions, why is this psalm 1.

Creation of the book of Psalms

Some thing Ezra was the one that compiled this books final form.

The book is not in the order of psalm being writing.

It is grouped into 5 books, most bibles will have the book broken out in the table of continence.

1, 42, 73, 90, and 107

The Psalm that beings the each of the books sets the tone for that book.

So we can sum up the theme of Book 1 of the psalms as “The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked”

Each book, accept 5 and with the word and mini doxology and the word Amen. Within book five, each Psalm is a lyrical doxology for the most part.

Why is all that important. I want us to consider the profundity of the word blessed. The first word of the first Psalm and how many biblical connect we need to understand this just this first word/psalm.

Let Read verses 1 and 2.

BODY

A Biblical Picture of Blessedness

Psalm 1:1–2 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

An appropriate question is why is Psalm one Psalm one?

Why did God choose to be so that in the book which most clearly prescribes the methods of praise that are acceptable these words are the first co come to us.

I like Calvin’s answer “He who collected the Psalms into one volume, whether Ezra or some other person, appears to have placed this Psalm at the beginning, by way of preface, in which he inculcates upon all the godly the duty of meditating upon the law of God. The sum and substance of the whole is, that they are blessed who apply their hearts to the pursuit of heavenly wisdom; whereas the profane despisers of God, although for a time they may reckon themselves happy, shall at length have a most miserable end. [1]

If there is a 2 sentence exposition of Psalm 1 that was it.

The depth of the word blessed should not escape us here,

RC Sproul writes, “A stronger word than “happy” (see Deut. 33:29; 1 Kin. 10:8; 2 Chr. 9:7; Eccl. 10:17; Is. 32:20). To be “blessed” is to enjoy well-being in every area of life.” [2]

translational awareness moment (ESV Translates them all happy)

Something to note when a translation is not consistent in the translation of a word

Not knocking the ESV it has many good qualities, you need to be aware you are reading a translation

This blessed is received, this relative exist in so many place in the new for example.

“Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cringe before you, And you will tread upon their high places.” (Dt 33:29, LSB 1995)

“blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom.” (2 Ch 9:7, LSB 1995)

Isreal is blessed because of the LORD’s doing. Solomon’s servants are bless by his wisdom.

So what follows, is a bless that leads to the action not the action leading to blessedness.

The man is not bless because his “pursuit of heavenly wisdom” as Calvin put it, but he is blessed to have these things.

Think of how consistent this is, when what Paul says in Eph 1 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (Eph 1:3, ESV)

We will return to this theme in Psa 34, where David wrote, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Ps 32:1–2, ESV)

And what kind of blessedness is it.

It is not a fading or temporary happy located in things.

Its an eternal satisfaction in nothing other then God himself and sustained in God himself.

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do I have bad health, God is for me I am blessed.

Financial

Persecuted

I am that blessed man, because I am in Christ and he is the blessed man.

“The Man” is Christ.

The Hebrew word there are is definite and singular Ha,Ish

There is only one man that never walked not in the counsel of the wicked,

Never stood in the way of sinners

Never sat in the seat of scoffers

But he delighted in his God every day and every night

And his righteous work has been imputed to us.

It is not a cold distant reality but a present truth so that his righteous is effective in us so that we will make every effort be be like him.

Because God has opened our eyes through him to the beautiful blessedness that is in him and we will truly find blessedness as we “apply [our] hearts to the pursuit of heavenly wisdom”

Conclusion

Next time we will we will meditate more on what it looks like to walk in this Christ purchased blessedness, avoiding the demonic wisdom of this world and delighting in God’s perfect law and its unsurpassed wisdom.

Benediction

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

References

[1] John Calvin and James Anderson, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 1 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 1.

[2] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 832.

Bibliography

Calvin, John, and James Anderson. Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010.

Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015.