The Psalm One Blessing

THE PSALM ONE BLESSING

We’re supposed to be like a tree

Ps. 1:1-6

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: BAD INTENTIONS

1. A boy wanted to get into his neighbor’s yard to climb their tree, but he was terrified of their bulldog. But one day the bulldog was absent so he jumped their fence, only to see the dog running toward him.

2. He began to scream as the dog began licking him on the face. His mother came running, “Did he bite you, Billy?” “No ma’am,” whimpered the little boy, “but he IS tasting me!”

B. TEXT

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk [in the counsel of] the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which [brings forth] its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Ps. 1:1-6, NIV. Insets are NKJV.

C. THESIS

1. In this Psalm, 2 ways of life (the Righteous & Wicked) and their 2 outcomes are contrasted. The biggest reason for their difference is their attitude toward God’s Word!

2. The psalm is divided into 3 parts; 1.) What the Righteous do; 2.) We’re supposed to be like a tree; and 3.) The outcomes of each way of life.

3. The title of this message is “The Psalm One Blessing.”

I. WHAT THE RIGHTEOUS PERSON DOES, Vss. 1-2

A. WHAT THE RIGHTEOUS DO NOT DO

1. Verse 1 portrays the REGRESSION INTO SIN. The verbs indicate the THREE POSITIONS OF DRIFTING into the company of the wicked: WALK, STAND, SIT. If you’re “walking,” you’re still mobile. When you “stand,” you become stationary. When you “sit,” you become settled.

2. Little by little we can lose our connection to God and drift into the world’s mindset and slowly begin to adopt its views.

3. “In the COUNSEL of the wicked.” This Hebrew word means, “viewpoint, way of thinking.” The Christian adopts the Bible’s worldview and rejects the culture’s. WICKED is a Hebrew word which means “to be loose, unstable;” loose in morals and loose from God – without Him as an anchor or controlling factor.”

4. “Mockers” refers to those who actively put down the things of God and His Word. Mockers not only do so by words, but also by a way of life that mocks the moral absolutes of Scripture and its roadmap of life.

5. This Scripture shows that people don’t remain passive about God. If they choose compromise – when they defend their choice – they have to contradict righteousness; they become mockers!

6. Many in the church today have been brainwashed by the information media. Polls show little difference between the churched and the unchurched. Many who call themselves Christians are materialistic, immoral or amoral, and earth-centric.

7. Martin Luther said that the Devil’s strategy is not to martyr the saints, but to get them to fall asleep! We need a revival of Bible revelation and application.

B. WHAT THE RIGHTEOUS DO

1. David said in Ps. 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Delight means to “feel the highest pleasure in.”

2. The written Word is God’s love letter to us and we’re to have a love affair with God through His Word. Just as one would read the love letters of his or her sweetheart, so are we to read and study God’s Word with the same delight.

3. If we lose our delight in the Lord and His Word, then our heart will find another object to delight in. WE DECIDE what our heart will delight in. What are YOU delighting in? David counseled us to deliberately “delight yourself in the Lord!”

4. The godly believer reads and memorizes God’s Word every day, seeking to apply it to their life. They walk by God’s Word, not popular opinion or what the culture/man’s wisdom/science is saying.

C. POWER OF THE WORD: FEW PAGES WASH ONTO BEACH

1. Vincent Quiroga in Chile found a few pages washed up on the shore after a tidal wave. He read them and wouldn't rest till he got a complete Bible.

2. He became a Christian and devoted his life to distributing the Scriptures in northern Chile. [Barclay, William; The Daily Study Bible: Timothy, Titus & Philemon, p201.]