The One Who Delights in Jesus Christ Is Blessed

Psalm 1

Psalm 1 is a perfect beginning for this wonderful book! I believe it is no coincidence that this book is situated in the center of the entirety of the Bible. Psalm 119 is in the exact center.

The book of Psalms is a prophecy of Jesus Christ, an exaltation of Jesus Christ, and a promise of victory for those that believe! Martin Luther said this about the Psalms...... “We go to God’s Word as the shepherds go to the manger to find The Christ.” Another said: “By reading the written Word of God that we might meet the Living Word (Jesus Christ)!

This powerful book does just that, if it is rightly divided!

This 1st chapter does 4 things for us:

It is a picture of the ungodly

It is a picture of the Godly’

It reveals the failure of the ungodly

It reveals the fruit of the Godly

I must say here, that Psalm 2, fits in with this chapter well, where this chapter speaks individually, the 2nd Psalm speaks of the effect of nations. Most likely David wrote this Psalm, not sure.

Let’s begin by reading the first 2 verses:

Blessed is the man........you want to be in the blessing of God, this is what not to do or agree with.

The word “blessed”, we must point out, is in a plural form in the Hebrew. “Blessedness” which carries the meaning of ‘happiness’, and is also defined as “the state of a joyful mind”

The a man in a joyful state, is a person who is not in this lifestyle!

The blessedness comes to the person who does not walk, stand, or sit.......All manners of living.......A person who separates themselves from those lifestyles.

Accepting the advice from the ungodly........that word is defined as the wicked.....which all that do not believe in God or His Son, those are the ungodly/wicked

I heard it explained this way, someone saw a woman working very hard at a restaurant, and she does not believe in God, well then according to God she is of the wicked.

Therefore we do not live by their counsel or advice.....I believe we can state it this way: “We will be in a state of a joyful mind, when we do not live by the advice of people that do not believe in Jesus Christ”

Paul states it very clearly in 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

Standing in the way of sinners.....This does not mean blocking the way of sinners......this carries the meaning of being party the ways of sinners.

I heard it said on a western: “You ride with an outlaw, you die with an outlaw”

The righteous man is not afraid to take a less-traveled road, yet they desire it, because he knows it leads to blessing, happiness, and eternal life.....Matthew 7:13 “Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”

This is the confidence of those who believe and follow Jesus Christ: Psalm 16:11 “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

Sit with the scornful, meaning those who mock the believers and scoff at their faith.......

I have a great example of this in today’s time, there is a guy on a podcast that his communication is filthy, but even more than that I heard him actually scoffing (mocking) Christians for what we believe.

A theologian listened to that and defended our faith in Jesus Christ.

This podcast guy, however, is one that a lot of folks have been centering around because of some of the things that he has said about our government and their overreach!

The one that lives in a state with a joyful mind does not align themselves with the mockers of our faith in Jesus Christ!

Spurgeon said it best: “"Be out-and-out for him; unfurl your colours, never hide them, but nail them to the mast, and say to all who ridicule the saints, 'If you have any ill words for the followers of Christ, pour them out upon me … but know this - ye shall hear it whether you like it or not, - "I love Christ."” (Spurgeon)

The writer has laid out for us how you will not be in a state of a joyful mind.

Here the blessed person.....

One who delights in the law of the Lord.......Let’s for a moment talk about the Law of the Lord........

The Law of the Lord is essentially a revealing of God, His character, His power, His love, His essence.......Basically, all of the Word of God is a revealing to us that there is a God and the reality of everything about God and now that we have the New Testament, everything about the Word of God is revealed in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ!

Jesus tells us very plainly in Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”

All the Law of the Lord is fulfilled in Jesus Christ!! Let’s face it, not every word in the Bible is about Jesus but it is leading you to Jesus! Galatians 3:24-25 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

After we believe in Jesus the Law of the Lord is fulfilled in Jesus Christ for us!!

The law for us is to believe in Jesus Christ, to follow after Him, not only is Jesus the Law of the Lord, The Word of God, to the one that will live Godly, it will be their delight!

The Person and Complete Work of Jesus Christ, The Gospel, is a delight, is the source of happiness that all humans crave after but don’t realize that He is the source!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the source of happiness because of our return to our Creator! Salvation is the only route to our original happy state, salvation through Jesus Christ!

All of the other things the writer wrote in verse 1 is the result of our fallenness, falling away from God our Father!

The return to God cannot be accomplished on human effort, we already messed that up, it can only be achieved in Jesus Christ!

The person that desires to be with God delights in the way, regardless of the method or the trouble along the way, that person so desires this happiness, they have set aside their earthly life for this life!

This is exactly what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

The person desiring to be restored to God will delight in denying themselves and taking whatever comes their way in the meantime!

The person delighting in Jesus Christ meditates on Him day and night.......

Meditate carries a meaning of pondering, devising, planning.......Spurgeon and other has said: "Meditation chews the cud, and gets the sweetness and nutritive virtue of the Word into the heart and life: this is the way the godly bring forth much fruit." (Ashwood, cited by Spurgeon)

You ever watched a cow chew the cud, over and over and over again!

Day and night we chew ponder on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, getting all the nutrients and good that we can from the powerful truth!

The result of chewing on the Word (Jesus) of God is that we will be like a tree planted by the waters.....

Ever fruitful, not withering, and ever prospering!

Always producing the fruit of the Gospel, the resources are endless for the believer!

The resources are from One source! Jesus is our source, He always provides!

The problem with us is that we are looking for different fruit to produce the fruits of Jesus Christ!

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

These fruits are ever-sustaining and they are ever-productive! To see someone living in joy, peace, patience, meekness, goodness, trusting in Jesus, and is in self-control, then you are producing a fruit that the world cannot imitate!

You are a tree that has planted themselves in the river of life, Jesus Christ, and from this river flows all the sustenance anyone ever needs to live for Him!

I will say that tree will always produce, because their delight, their true happiness comes from the Word of God, Jesus Christ!

They don’t have to wait on a breakthrough, they don’t have to wait on a season, they are a tree firmly planted in the truth of Jesus Christ and they love where they are planted!

The ungodly are not like this.....they have no value, unsubstantial, worth only to be discarded!

They will not stand in judgement, they will not be approved by God......sinners will not be in the congregation of those that are in Jesus Christ!

One thing that needs to be said is that there are truly 2 ways to go, only 2. Delighting in the Law of the Lord (Jesus Christ) or living for the world.

Contrary to popular opinion they are some that will be discarded.....Yes God loves everyone, but not everyone loves God! We are all defiled and unclean, we must be washed and cleansed before we can ever be united with God as His creation! Otherwise, you will perish!

John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

The Lord knows the way of those following Jesus, because it is His Son’s way.......

This carries a meaning far greater than the Lord knows everything.......

The word know carries the meaning of to identify with! This has the meaning of an intimate relationship!

A relationship that is delighted in by the recipient of the Glories of our Father God through Jesus Christ!

John 15:1-9...........Jesus is the source.......stay there.........

If Jesus is not your source you are a producer of wickedness and sin and you will be cast away!

If you don’t won’t God, nor the fruits of God, if you desire earthly fruits over spiritual fruits, then you don’t want God and in turn He you are good for nothing and are cast in the fire and burned!

That is truth and that is reality! Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you!

Jesus is our only source, the only way is to delight in Him!

I heard a guy this morning talking about his life, he was a much sought after rocket scientist, worked in a couple of places. He said however successful he was, there was a sense of longing that could never be filled. he could buy anything and do anything, but there was still a longing that the world could not satisfy.........He then found Jesus, he realized what the longing was and that longing to be back in relationship with God was satisfied by his faith in Jesus Christ!

Jesus is the source of that longing, because without Him we can do nothing!

We must come to the realization of what reality is verses what the world (satan) presents to us, this is the only way to happiness! Jesus is the only source to “blessedness” a state of a joyful mind!