“WHERE’S YOUR DELIGHT?” Psalm 1
FBCF – 6/1/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Bro. Mack – dinner on the ground – “Life is short. Eat dessert first!” Then head to dessert table to get his piece of chocolate pie before it was all gone.
A dessert you often see at church dinner on the grounds is called “Husband’s Delight” or “Fat Man’s Delight” – ingredients for this deliciously sinful dessert include cream cheese, Cool Whip, powdered sugar, chocolate & vanilla pudding mix. All these ingredients mixed together & put on top of a pecan crust become a dessert that becomes a “delight” to many people, not just to husbands & chubby guys.
As we start a series in The Psalms today, this first Psalm gives us the ingredients to live a life that is blessed. And we will that the ones who are blessed are the ones who are right w/ God, the ones who “delight in the law of the Lord.”
EXPLANATION – Psalm 1
Most of us have a medicine chest/cabinet in our homes. Have OTC drugs in it (Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Pepto), prescription drugs (some probably out of date), Band-Aids & Neosporin, maybe some vitamins, & an assortment of all kinds of meds. Go to that medicine chest when we’re sick or in pain to find something to heal us, to treat our ailment or problem, & make us feel better, make us healthy or keep us healthy. From headaches to hangnails, from stomach issues to sinus problems, from bobo bandages to blood pressure meds, you can usually find it in the medicine chest.
The Psalms – “The Medicine Chest for the Soul” – You can find something to cure what ails you in your life. You’ll find all sorts of “treatments” for whatever you’re facing in your life – when you’re sick (physically or spiritually), when you’re in pain for any number of reasons, when you’re confused or wandering or struggling w/ a decision to make. Or even when things are going good & you need some words to praise the Lord & rejoice in Him.
The Psalms are just real which is why it’s one of my favorite books in the Bible. They give us permission to express our disappointments & our despair. They give us ways to express our adoration & admiration of God. They give voice to our struggles, our celebrations, our trials, & our triumphs.
- “[The] psalms are seeking to draw me into a life of faith, into experiencing life more fully & vividly b/c nothing is left out. Alongside the deepest fears & the greatest joys is the covenant God, who leads me through them all…The Psalms show me my place in the world & teach me how to live life as a covenant child of God.” (Elizabeth Robar, Foreword, Psalms in an Age of Distraction, p. x-xi)
Psalm 1 sets stage for rest of book. It lets us know that there are really only 2 ways to live – as a righteous person whose delight is in the Lord & His Word & ways, or as a wicked person who will “perish” – to put it bluntly – the Hebrew word means they will be lost forever. John 3:16 also has the word “perish” in it. And the Gk word for “perish” means the exact same thing as the Hebrew word in Psalm 1 – to be lost forever – which is why you need to come to Jesus & be saved RIGHT NOW!
APPLICATION – There’s no delight like the delight of living for the Lord.
Website I regularly visit – deals w/ church leadership – On one day there were 5 consecutive articles that each focused on 5 different men & recent things each of them had said or done.
- Jonathan Roumie – Jesus in “The Chosen” – devout Catholic – the toll his body is taking as he prepares for the upcoming crucifixion scene in Season 6
- Bear Gryllis – Outdoor adventurer – “Man vs. Wild” show – How his faith has changed him from the inside out.
- Jelly Roll – popular rapper & singer – hard life – seems to be seeking the Lord right now – He & Brandon Lake have joined up on “Hard Fought Hallelujah”
- Francis Chan – pastor & writer – article – podcast w/ Lecrae – “Thousands of people are ‘playing church’” – Chan struggled w/ how to equip & disciple people to live for & serve the Lord
- “Bro. M” – Pastor accused of violent physical, sexual, & psychological abuse of children he & wife adopted – as far back as the 1980’s.
All 5 of those men have made the decision to either delight themselves in the Lord & His Word, or delight themselves in their own sinful, fleshly desires. Can see the evidence of that in their lives. Same is true for all of us. The results of that decision will be evident to all those who observe your life.
VERSE 2 – Key to entire Psalm – To delight is to find your joy & pleasure in something – “a feeling of extreme pleasure, satisfaction, or joy.”
Whatever brings you pleasure, satisfaction, & joy is where you’re going to spend your time.
- Can be good things – family, kids, grandkids, friends, hobbies
- Can be bad things – sinful passions & activities, addictions, wrong/impure relationships
The psalmist tells us that our delight should be in the “law of the Lord” – the W of G. And delighting in the W of G will lead us to delight in the God of the Word!
- Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord…”
- Jeremiah 15:16 – “When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.” (NLT)
3 ingredients of a life that delight in the Lord:
DECIDE WHO YOU WILL HANG WITH – v. 1 – Man worked @ a factory. Walked past group & overheard conversation & knew he didn’t need to participate – “Don’t stop! Keep walking!” Later, walks same route & this time stops & stands listening. Finally, ends up sitting in middle of them fully participating in an ungodly conversation. This is the danger for the teenager to the senior adult. YOU decide who you will hang out with.
- To “walk in the counsel of the wicked” means to affiliate w/ them – to show allegiance to them. Is there any group of people that you know you shouldn’t be affiliated with? Rest assured if you’re walking w/ them, you will not experience the delight of the Lord in your life.
- If you are “standing” in the same pathway of sinners, it is clear that your heart & desires are headed in the same direction as them. “Aren’t we all sinners?” Yes, but the people in this verse are those who are intentional in their sinful desires & plans. These aren’t folks who occasionally slip & fall. These are folks who don’t want to have anything to do w/ anything that’s godly & good.
- If you decide to sit down w/ the scoffers, it shows that you are now committed to participating in their ungodly conversations & activities. Heb – “scoffer” “scorns, disagrees w/ another person’s beliefs.” Can also mean “ambassador.” These scoffers are not content w/ just disagreeing w/ godly people’s beliefs, but they actively voice their disagreement & recruit others to their side.
- Is that who you want to hang with? If so, 2 things:
o Don’t expect God’s delight upon your life
o Do expect God’s discipline upon your life
DRIVE YOUR ROOTS DEEP & WIDE – v. 3 – Some trees’ roots go deep. The tree w/ deepest roots ever recorded – wild fig tree in S. Africa – 400 ft deep.
Some trees’ roots go wide. Massive redwood trees in CA – roots can spread 100 ft from base & intertwine w/ others in the grove to provide strong stability & support.
That’s a beautiful pic of what we need to do so that we will yield good fruit, not wither, & prosper & grow in our delight in the Lord.
- Drive your roots deep into the W of G – v. 2 – “in His law he meditates day & night” – Constant intake of the W is so important. Every Christ-follower should be progressing to get off “milk” & into the “meat” of God’s Word. If you’re a spiritual baby – just recently been born again – then you need milk. But if you’ve known Jesus for any significant length of time, you should be devouring the meat of the Word!
- Drive your roots wide in your relationship w/ Jesus & into relationships w/ your brothers & sisters in Christ. Instead of walking, standing, & sitting w/ sinful scoffers who bring us down, we need to walk, stand, & sit w/ other brothers & sisters in Christ who can build us up. Just as redwood tree roots intertwine to provide stability & support for one another, so you & I need to intertwine our lives w/ each other for stability & support. While working on this sermon, a song I’d never heard popped up in my Spotify playlist – “Intertwined” (Kendrian & Lauren Alexandria Dueck) – Got my attention! Lyrics:
Intertwined, cannot separate
Your love brought us together
Come what may, cannot take away
I'm woven in the Father
I am Yours and I bear Your name
It's carved in me forever
Even death cannot take away
I'm hidden in the Father
And all of me
I wrap my heart in Yours
All my life is Yours
DETERMINE TO LIVE FOR THE LORD – v. 6 – You’ve got a choice:
- Live a life apart from the Lord & perish. Your life is nothing but useless “chaff” (v. 4) – the useless husk on the grain that the farmer gets rid of & the wind blows away. This life brings no lasting benefit to anyone. This is a futile life that has no God-reference, no firm foundation. In the end, you will “perish” & be ultimately lost.
o John 3:18 – “Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already b/c he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
- Or you can live a righteous life for the Lord & experience His delight in your heart. He “knows” your way – He sees you, watches over you, cares about you, provides for you, & has a place prepared for you in heaven. I challenge you to live for the Lord!
