Jesus Is The Man Of Righteousness Series

Introduction

We are continuing in our short series of sermons that I am calling “Jesus in the Psalms.”

We are looking at a few different psalms in the Psalter because they are particularly clear in pointing to the person and/or work of Jesus.

Last week I mentioned that there are 150 psalms in the book of Psalms. I also mentioned that there are seven different types of psalms. The ESV Study Bible, however, lists nine different types of psalms, and categorizes the different psalms as follows:

1. Laments, whose primary function is to lay a troubled situation before the Lord, asking him for help….

2. Hymns of praise, whose primary goal is to call and enable God’s people to admire God’s great attributes and deeds….

3. Hymns of thanksgiving, which thank God for his answer to a petition….

4. Hymns celebrating God’s law, which speak of the wonders of the Torah (the Law of Moses) and help worshipers to aspire to obey it more fully….

5. Wisdom psalms, which take themes from the Wisdom Books (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) and make them the topic of song….

6. Songs of confidence, which enable worshipers to deepen their trust in God through all manner of difficult circumstances….

7. Royal psalms, which are concerned with the Davidic monarchy as the vehicle of blessing for the people of God….

8. Historical psalms, which take a lesson from the history of God’s dealings with his people….

9. Prophetic hymns, which echo themes found in the Prophets, especially calling the people to covenant faithfulness (Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible [Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008], 940).

Psalm 1 is of course the first psalm in the book of Psalms. It is a wisdom psalm.

“But,” as one commentator says, “Psalm 1 is more than this. It is the father of all the wisdom psalms” (James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005], 14.)

We don’t know who wrote Psalm 1. Some scholars say that Solomon wrote Psalm 1, and he intended it to be placed at the front of the entire book of Psalms.

The great 19th century Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, called Psalm 1 “The Preface Psalm,” adding, “It is the psalmist’s desire to teach us the way to blessedness, and to warn us of the sure destruction of sinners. This then, is the matter of the first Psalm, which may be looked upon, in some respects, as the text upon which the whole of the Psalms make up a divine sermon” (C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 1-26, vol. 1 [London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.], 1).

Some time ago, I came across a poem that I believe is titled, “Don’t Grieve for Me.” It reads as follows:

When I’ve been to my last service, / And fades softly on the air, / The notes of the last song for me, / And then the final prayer.

When friends arise and slowly walk / Down the long church aisle, / For that last look at my cold corpse, / As they pass in single file.

There may be words of flattery, / And some may even sneer, / Some may sob, and some may cry, / Some may not shed a tear.

But be what may, this much I know, / I will no longer care; / No earthly voice can reach my ear, / As I climb that “Golden Stair.”

Now, pen in hand, I’m writing you / This is my last request, / Don’t grieve for me; don’t wish me back; / For I am one most blessed.

I have a hope beyond the grave; / I am secure in God’s great love. / I leave this world with all its cares / For a mansion up above.

Though it be hard, please wear a smile; / Rejoice, and praise our God! / ’Tis only this old shell of mine / You place beneath the sod (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times [Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996], 311).

The line that caught my attention was this one: “For I am one most blessed.” The author of this poem is most blessed because he (or she) is in the presence of the Savior. That will be true for every believer when he or she dies and passes into the presence of Jesus.

But, for the believer, that blessedness does not only begin in glory. It begins here on Earth. It begins the moment we trust Jesus to be our Savior. We who know Jesus are most blessed.

Today, I want to look at Psalm 1 because this psalm shows us the path of blessing and fulfillment in life.

Scripture

Let us read Psalm 1:1-6:

1 Blessed is the man