THE BLESSED MAN PSALM

Psalm 1

Growing up in a Christian family and having a father who was a pastor, I had the privilege of being exposed to the Bible very early in life. Without any doubt, God had used many of the stories I had learned as a young boy to shape and guide my life growing up. Some of the Bible characters that really stood out for me included Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, Jesus, Peter, and Paul.

Aside from Bible stories, there were also some passages in the book of Psalms that impacted my life tremendously. My most favorite ones would be Psalm 23 and 121. Both of these Psalms highlight who God is and what He could do for people who live their lives trusting and living for Him. I know these passages have provided me great encouragement time and again to keep on going despite all the challenges and difficulties in life.

I know that I'm not the only one who has been blessed with some passages in the book of Psalms. So I thought it would be a great study during our worship services to revisit some of the precious Psalms that God had used to bless us while we were growing up. If you can still remember, I sent an e-mail to our church family sometime in March asking you which of the Psalms had been a blessing to you. I gathered all the responses and made sure we cover those Psalms beginning this Sunday until the end of November.

I'm confident that this would be a wonderful study series for all of us. You see, the book of Psalms is one of the best-loved books of the Old Testament. Many believers through the ages have found great comfort from its passages in time of need. I'm praying that God will use this series to encourage and draw all of us closer to God. For this morning, we have Psalm 1 known as the Blessed Man Psalm.

The word "Blessed" is the key in understanding the passage. This is a familiar word in the Scriptures which could properly be translated as "O, how happy." What is significant about this word is that it answers for us one of our most basic pursuits, which is happiness. Have you ever met someone who wants to be unhappy?

Absolutely not, everyone wants to be happy. Somehow the Bible clearly helps us in understanding that blessedness or happiness comes as a favor from God. Now, I believe it is safe to say that God wants us to experience His blessings. Jesus himself declared this truth in John 10:10:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

I hope you don't consider God as a cosmic killjoy who has been trying His best to make our lives miserable. The truth is: He wants you and I to experience a life filled with happiness, a full life. And He wants to show us how we can have it. Psalm 1 is one of those passages which provide some guidelines for us on how we can be truly blessed in life. Let's highlight at least three guidelines:

I     HE AVOIDS UNGODLY INFLUENCES: (v.1)

In order for any person to be blessed by God, the Psalmist reveals in verse 1that the secret lies in the avoidance of some unworthy influences. This verse plainly shows us that many times we are unhappy and miserable because we have not been careful with the people we allow to influence us. First, identify the people we should not associate with:

• "Wicked" - in other translations they are referred to as ungodly. Literally, they are people who have no place for God in their lives. If we are to be happy, we cannot seek the advice or counsels from people who have no regard for God.
• "Sinners" - this word suggests being a habitual rebel against God. In other words, they know exactly that what they are doing is offensive to God, yet they still do them. We cannot afford to commune with these people.
• "Mockers" - These are the worst because they laugh, ridicule, and sneer at God.

We have to do our best not to associate with them for the simple reason that if we are not careful we eventually develop the same attitudes toward God and life. Of course, this truth is reinforced in other parts of the Bible:

Going back to verse 1, you can also find the process of deterioration. It is shown in the action works - walk, stand, sit. First, it begins with the harmless idea of simply walking with the wicked, and then he or she stops and stands around with them. Finally, he sits with them, which suggests that he or she comfortably identifies with them.

We have to be careful not to associate with ungodly influences. I know that we have the responsibility of witnessing to people who do not belong to Jesus Christ. We need to be a light to them. However, we must know our limitations. We must be there to influence them, and not the other way around. If we are the ones being influenced, we must have the courage to avoid them because this will definitely lead us from losing the favors and blessings of God. There is certainly no happiness there.

II    HE APPRECIATES GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS: (v.2)

When you come to verse 2, the word But signals a strong contrast from verse one. The Psalmist would like to emphasize that instead of enjoying your fellowship with ungodly influences, we as believers must intentionally seek communing with the Lord if we desire to be blessed. How do you do that? We can do this by spending time with Him through His Word. We must acknowledge that spending time with the Word is spending time with the Lord. There are two ways we must do this:

A. By Delighting:

A blessed man does not consider the Word of God as boring and irrelevant; he looks at it as a source of happiness in life. Now, let me ask you, how is your attitude towards the Word of God? Perhaps, you do not appreciate the Bible that much because you don't know the blessings it could bring you. Allow me to mention some:

• It is our spiritual food

• It equips us to do good works

• It keeps us from sin

• It gives us light and understanding

• It gives us the power to change

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time to go into other passages in the Bible that can show us how much we can benefit from it. I hope we will listen to the Psalmist when he tells us that if we want to be really happy in life, we must delight and spend time in the Word of God. The more you spend time in the Word, the more it can positively affect you. How do we delight in the Word? Take the second:

B. By Meditating:

This word Meditate is opposite to a haphazard, quick reading of the Bible. The Psalmist suggests a careful reading that seeks understanding. This means that we have to think through the passage we are reading over and over again so that we can gain deeper insights into it. How many times should we meditate on the Bible? The Psalmist said, "day and night." We really need to establish a discipline. The more times we go to the Word, the better it is.

The Bible is a great book because it is the living Word of God. God promises that if you take the time to study it, it can bring you so much blessings in life:

Who doesn't want to be prosperous and successful? Well, true prosperity and success can only come from God, so we need to seek His guidance in life. For this reason, God's Word is prized and sought after than any earthly treasures. Listen to the declaration of a Psalmist:

Let's all pray that we develop the same attitude towards the Bible.

III   HE ABIDES IN GOD'S INCREASE: (vs.3-6)

When a person avoids ungodly influences and appreciates God's instructions, the natural result would be fruitfulness in life. I hope you don't miss the comparison in verse 3 to the tree by the streams of water and producing fruits with the believer being closely attached to the Lord and bearing fruits. The fundamental truth is: God is our sufficient provider in life. He is the only one who can bring about our productivity. This reminds us of the words of Jesus that we tackled last month:

I believe it is too limited if we try to apply this simply with material prosperity. The main point here is spiritual productivity - a fruitful tree that is producing that which is worthwhile - His life blesses and inspires others.

I remember talking about this truth during one of our children's dedication regarding the life of Abraham. When God promised him of abundance and prosperity, the statement was he would be a blessing to others:

Notice the underlined phrases. When God blesses, they are not for personal consumption, they are to bless and inspire others.

When you read verse 4-6, you will find the Psalmist showing the exact opposite of the blessed man - the wicked man. Instead of blessedness, they will only experience disappointment and judgment. The truth of the matter is: there are only two kinds of people in the world - the godly and ungodly. Where do you belong? With the ungodly person, they are compared to the "chaff." Chaff is the waste material of the grain. They are useless and worthless, and they are only good for burning. You see, doom is inevitable for the ungodly.

I know sometimes we look at sinners and they seem to be thriving and prospering. Don't be deceived because that will be short lived. This is exactly what David had in mind when he wrote:

In your life today, you have a choice whether to live a godly or an ungodly life. If you desire to be truly blessed and happy, you must choose to be godly. You see, our true happiness comes when we learn to pursue the God who is the source of it. The truth is that we can only be truly happy when we are satisfied in God.