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AN OPENING BLESSING (Psalm 1)

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Psalm 1 is only six verses long. But what a powerful psalm this is.

There are many psalms that are well-known. I am thinking of Psalm 23, which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd;” The longest psalm is Psalm 119. And there are many favorite psalms.

But this one is such a beautiful entry point into the book of Psalms because it gives us an opening blessing. It begins with the word “blessed.” Isn’t that what we want?

The sad thing is, we are living in a world of people who just want a shortcut today. Everybody wants the product, but nobody wants the process. Everybody wants the blessing; they just don't want to be obedient to the God who gives the blessing.

And so Psalm 1 brings us not just to blessings, but to the BLESSER. It brings us to God. And notice, it begins with, “Blessed is the man,” but it ends with, “For the Lord knoweth.”

Luther called the Psalms “the little Bible.” Jerone called it “the Bible within the Bible.” Why would they make that kind of reference?

It’s very simple. The thrust of the Psalms is the thrust of the entire scripture, which is for us to come to know God in a greater way. Psalm 1 is a good place for us to start for many reasons. First, it is the place where God begins. It is arranged first in the book of the Psalms. Second, it lays a foundation for everything else we are going to learn.

Did you know that George Washington had someone read Psalm 1 at his first inaugural? I think that was a man who wanted the blessing and who wanted everybody to know where the blessing was going to come from. It must come from God.

In every psalm, we are going to find the answers to three questions:

• Where does it point in scripture?
• Where does it point to God?
• What does it point out in my life?

Let's take those today with Psalm 1.

1. Where does Psalm 1 point to in Scripture?

Psalm 1 is a preface to the Psalms. It was written by one of two people, perhaps David. That would seem to make sense, although we don't have that inscription. We don't have that plainly given to us that it was “a Psalm of David,” so some people have suggested that perhaps Ezra was the person who wrote it. Historically, as far as we can tell, it fits just after Neh. 13:3. With that in mind, let’s look at the 13th chapter of Nehemiah.

Verse 2: “because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.” I love that only God can turn curses into blessings.

Verse 3: “Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.”

The idea here is they wanted the God of blessing. They wanted the blessing of God. So they separated themselves from the mixed multitude.

Now listen to how Psalm 1 begins. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” We are separating ourselves from those who are headed in the wrong direction. Why? Because we want to be near God. We want God’s blessing. Maybe there is a step you need to take away from others and toward God today — away from something and toward the One who is the God of all blessings.

2. How does Psalm 1 point to God?

It does this in at least three ways:

• He is the fountain of all blessings. If you are planted in God and in His Word, you are planted by the rivers of water, in the place that is going to give you the resources you need to bring forth fruit. Only God is that fresh fountain. We all get stale. But God is perennially fresh. The principle here is that the Lord will supply all you need. He is all-sufficient.
• He is also the judge of all men. As surely as He will bless the godly, He will deal with the ungodly. He is the judge of all the earth, and He will do right.
• He is the Lord of all knowledge. I love the way the psalm ends with verse 6: “For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

What does the Lord know? He knows everything. God knows you today, my friend, and he knows the deepest need in your life. And if you will let him, He will meet that need.

3. What does Psalm 1 point out in us?

Let me give you a few thoughts that God has impressed on me as I have meditated on these verses.

I need to guard who influences me. It is so easy to walk in the counsel of the ungodly; so easy to stand in the way of sinners; so easy to sit in the seat of the scornful. In life, you have your influences and your choices, and you need to choose carefully who influences you.

I need to love the Bible more. Verse 2 says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.” I need that and you need that.

Spend some time today just meditating on Scripture. And if you don't know where to start, take Psalm 1. I think it would be a good place to begin. Stay rooted in the Lord and rooted in scripture. He will be enough.

I love Psalm 1 because it gives an opening blessing. God has many blessings for us along the journey and much to teach us as we walk through the Psalms. We must begin by recommitting ourselves to God and to His Word. Would you join me in that prayer of dedication today? Will you dedicate yourself afresh to the Word of God? It will make all the difference in the world.