The Blessed Walk

Intro

I’ve always struggled with preaching from the Psalms. Unlike the Law where God shares His expectations of His people, or the historical books that tell inspiring stories, or the gospels that kind of do both those things, or the letters of the NT that are again instructions for the believer now in Christ and under grace; the book of Psalms is unique in that it is less theology than it is praise. It is a hymn book and it is for good reason that the word Psalm sounds close to the word song. This is Israel’s hymn book and many of the Psalms were used to praise God for various purposes and at specific points throughout the year as part of the religious practices of the people.

While we can easily find inspiration from them, there is less emphasis on instruction. Therefore, as we dive into Psalm 1 today, know that I value this scripture highly, and also strive to understand that there is good reason why this is counted among the texts that we collectively call the Bible. Our purpose this morning is to strive to understand a little of why this passage might be in the text, and to discover some more reasons to praise this awesome God we worship.

And as you might assume, the book of Psalms is a collection of songs that don’t explicitly tell a story collectively, although some individual Psalms might have narrative elements. Rather, we cannot read the book of Psalms like we might read the book of Genesis. Chapter 2 doesn’t build on chapter 1, rather they are separate songs and in many cases (talking about the collection of the Psalms as a whole) that they are written by different people at different times in Israel’s history.

Psalm 1 is a beautiful song that describes for us a blessed walk… as in walking with the Lord in contrast to walking in sin and lawlessness. This Psalm encourages the reader to obey the Word of God and to distance the reader from anything that would be contrary to God’s will. That in and of itself is some pretty good advice.

With that in mind, the main thought for the message today is that blessing and happiness result from choosing the right path… the path of righteousness.

One thing before we dive into this specific Psalm… While the book of Psalms is a collection of 150 Psalms from various authors on various topics, using various genres, the organizers of the scriptures have deemed that this is the first one. It is important therefore to consider why this one starts the Psalms and not another. The overall tone of this passage is most likely why it is chosen. It sets up a sense that the Psalms are written to encourage and uplift the readers and draw them into praise of the one true God. There is a call to righteousness and obedience, as well as a contrast to the wicked. Watch for these as we progress through the Psalm this morning.

The Path Chosen

Psalm 1:1 “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!”

Hebrew poetry is about structure over rhyme and rhythm. So, I encourage the studious and the courage among us to discover the chiastic structure of the Psalm by glancing down at verse 6 to see similarities in how the Psalmist talks about paths.

Here is an interesting saying that contrasts two opposite paths by only describing one of them. Which paths do you see laid out here? The Psalmist explicitly mentions the path of sinners (along with the counsel of the wicked and the seat of scoffers), and clearly talks about it in such a way that it is not the path to choose. But by saying those who are blessed who do not walk in those paths, the Psalmist implies that there is a better path. Those that have glanced down at verse six see that later (and in the chiastic partner of verse 1), the “way of righteousness” is explicitly mentioned.

Clearly, the main message of the first verse is to avoid wickedness, sinfulness and scoffing. But the psalmist doesn’t give reason for why righteousness is the blessed path, nor what that looks like.

Righteous Methods

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

To me, verse 2 sounds like it belongs in the Proverbs, but sure enough it fits here as part of the structural poetry. The studious among us can glance at verse 5 for its chiastic counterpart. The righteous find joy in the things of God while the wicked cannot stand in judgment.

What do we learn here? We catch a glimpse into the methods of those who follow God. Delight in the law of the LORD. It could almost be like a how-to manual for pursuing righteousness. I tread carefully here because we need to fully acknowledge that our righteousness won’t earn us salvation and that we are 100% dependent on Christ’s righteousness to enter heaven. However, our pursuit of holiness, not done out of some desire to earn salvation, but rather out of a desire to be like the One who saved us, is still important. Let me say that again, our pursuit of righteousness is still important, even though it doesn’t earn us salvation. Rather, it is one of the markers of those who truly follow Christ. As we follow Jesus, we become more like Him; as in we begin to demonstrate more and more of His righteous character.

Therefore, delight in the Law of the LORD. Meditate on it day and night. Do this and you will grow in righteousness. Simple as that. This is the method for how to walk the blessed path, and continuing on, we see the results.

Contrast Results

Psalm 1:3 “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.”

This is a beautiful picture is it not? These are the results of righteousness according to the Psalmist. To be a tree planted by water, always having exactly what it needs to produce the best fruit and so that the leaves do not wither… a beautiful picture of abundance and prosperity. And while the author probably didn’t have Canadian winters in mind when describing leaves not withering, even we can appreciate that most rivers have abundant trees and shrubs all around. The sentiment of fruitfulness is in full force.

The idea that the psalmist is trying to underscore is that the way of the righteous is the one that we ought to choose because it has the best rewards. And while we can understand this to be hinting at heaven and the ultimate reward of being in the presence of God forever where there is no sickness, death or pain… it seems that the psalmist is talking about our lives here on earth. Indeed, there are plenty of rewards for those who live righteously, even while we walk this earth in our mortal bodies. God sees what we do and what we deal with. He knows our circumstances better than we do ourselves, and that all factors into the just judgment that He is able to give.

As we reach the midpoint in the Psalm, it has reached the peak of its “chiastic” pyramid and now we begin to touch on the topics we have already looked at. Whereas we ended up talking about the results of righteousness… fruitfulness and prosperity, now we turn our attention to...

The wicked… Psalm 1:4 “The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.”

This is the right kind of season to talk about chaff as the farmers are starting to clear the fields and we see the dust fly. While farming methods may have changed, the basic understanding is still there. You have the grain (that which you desire), and the chaff (all the extra that simply gets knocked off and carried away by the wind). The wicked are the chaff that the wind drives away. They may be present today, but in the judgment at the end, their true colors will be shown for what they are and they will be dealt with decisively.

Wicked Methods

Psalm 1:5 “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.”

The Psalmist gives a look at heaven. The wicked will not survive the judgment that will separate the righteous from… the not righteous. The reward of the wicked has no eternal bearing. They will bear the full weight of the judgment and they will be found wanting. They will pay for their iniquities. The Bible is clear about hell and it is clear that the Psalmist expects the wicked to have earned their place in it. Looking at heaven, the Psalmist declares that there will be no sinners there. No greater contrast between the two could be made than that.

This glimpse at the nature of righteousness goes so far beyond just living a good life though. We know that Jesus Christ saves us from our sin. That the best we can do will never earn us a place in heaven. It is a free gift Jesus offers if we would but receive it. Upon acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are given robes of righteousness… Christ’s righteousness to wear. These robes of righteousness, freely given to us then grant us permission to come before the Father in heaven and to dwell in His presence. His righteousness is so perfectly complete that no unrighteousness can be found in His presence. The judgment will attest to this and the Psalmist is clearly pointing to this truth as he continues in his psalm.

A Tale of Two Paths

As we now read verse 6, the psalmist brings us back to where we begun… a tale of two paths. Whereas he began by describing two paths by actually only describing one, now we see both clearly and contrasted starkly.

Psalm 1:6 “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”

Is there any way to sugar coat this? Is there any way to soften the blow of the truth of this statement? The Lord is watching us and knows everything. He knows our character inside and out. And most importantly, He knows what we’ve done with His Son, Jesus Christ and He knows how we have responded to the news about His death and resurrection on our behalf.

The Lord knows the way of the righteous. And those who reject Him will find that they will share the same fate as the wicked.

Conclusion

The Psalmists ties things up quite nicely with the structure of the chiastic poem. There couldn’t be a starker contrast between the righteous and the wicked. They live different lives and have different focuses and their end result will likewise be different from one another.

So, what can we take away from this. As I mentioned early in the message, the book of Psalms is less prescriptive in nature and more reflective. It is less about teaching us how to live than it is about declaring God’s faithfulness as we live. It was written so a nation could remember what God had done and that He is faithful and true. And it was written so that the people would remember to give praise in every circumstance.

First and foremost, the book of Psalms is a book of praise and in it we find opportunity to reflect on the goodness of God and praise His holy name.

Inadvertently, this book also foreshadows Christ as the praises we sing are praises to Christ as much as to the Father and to the Spirit of God that unites us all together and leads us in this strange world we live in. Jesus would be the ultimate fulfilment of the righteous example the psalmist points to throughout the passage. It is to Christ’s righteousness that we put our hope and it is in Him that we find salvation. While the psalmist might have thought you could achieve righteousness personally, we acknowledge that true righteousness only comes through Christ. We acknowledge that our righteous acts are but a reflection of Christ who lives in us and are part of how we know we are becoming more like Him as we grow in faith and faithfulness.

Let me wrap things up by repeating our main thought for the day: blessing and happiness result from choosing the right path… the path of righteousness.