Little bit of an intro here. This is the beginning of a new series I am doing with my Monday Night Bible study. I thought since I am preparing it anyway, why not share it with you all as well? I have found the study a blessing as I have dug into it. I haven’t decided as of yet, but my guess is that this will be a three week study. I hope its an encouragement! Feel free to use!
Psalm 1:1-6
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.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 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.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Study Introduction
Psalm one is really a key part of the formula for a strong Christian life. If the advice in this passage is followed it will establish your Christian life in powerful way.
One thing we sometimes forget is that God is not a cosmic killjoy. God wants us to live a life that is filled with peace. It has been said before, but the Bible is the greatest love letter that has ever been written. God has given us His truth, ultimately so that we can behold his glory and worship him. However there is so much more to His divine purpose. He wants us to experience joy. He wants us to experience peace in our hearts. He wants us to know the fullness of Joy that comes from a life that is made free. David said it this way: In thy presence is fullness of Joy.
Experiencing the presence of God and the blessing of a life filled with the joy of God is not an accident. God has given us a clear pathway in His word for experiencing His presence. The word of God tells us that closeness with God begins with reconciliation with God. Our relationship with God must be restored through faith in Christ. (John 3:16) Once this has occurred God doesn’t want us to just go off and do our own thing. He wants us to stay close to him is a relationship that is characterized by holy, set apart living. (Romans 12:1) When our lives do not reflect this reality, we will not experience the joy that God wants us to experience. We all know from experience that a life bound by a dirty conscience is not a happy life. Likewise a life that is destroyed by wrong choices is not a happy life. God wants us to have joy! This is a big part of why Psalm 1 is written.
Overview of Psalm 1
Psalm 1 is broken down to several sections. First, we see in verses 1 and 2 what the blessed or happy man does. Second, we see in verse 3 the results of his righteous life. Third, in verses 4-5, we see the fleeting nature of the ungodly and their lifestyle. Finally we see a summary of the entire chapter in verse 6.
What Does a Blessed Man do? Psalm 1:1-2
A blessed man is one who listens to the advice of the right kind of people. He doesn’t order his life after the advice of ungodly people. He chooses to listen to the advice of those who know God and want to serve God. His closest advisers are the ones who are closest to God. Because he is listening to people who are godly, he makes godly choices. As a result, he doesn’t fall into the foolish and hurtful circumstances.
When I was younger I remember getting some bad advice. We were shooting clay pigeons at a friends house. One of the guys suggested that one of us go down range and throw the clays towards us to mimic the birds flying in. It was a really bad idea! What was even worse is that we listened to him! The first round of clays went well. On the second throw, one of the guys aimed too low and fired. This put an abrupt end to days activities as we had to rush our friend to the hospital to get birdshot pulled out of his skin. It was a bad day, but this mishap illustrates how important it to surround yourself with wise counsellors!
Application
How many times have you been pressured into a bad idea? So often we fear the opinion of people more than we fear what God thinks. Listening to advice from the the wrong kinds of people will put us into situations where its hard to make the right choice. Thankfully, the opposite it is true when it comes to listening to good people. Good people will put the right kind of pressure on us to do good things. This is why it is so important to have a good set of friends and counsellors to hang out with.
The second thing we see is that a blessed man is one who doesn’t hang out with the wrong kinds of people. This means he doesn’t spend large amounts of time with people who are characterized by sinful living. Whether or not we like it, we are influenced by the actions we see. When others around us do good, we are encouraged to do good When others around us do bad, we tend to follow that as well. No one likes to be the odd one out. Peer pressure is a powerful force. That is why it is so important to have good friends who encourage us by their example to do the right kind of things.
When I see something neat it makes me want to try it. When I’m by the lake and someone drives by in a nice boat it makes me want to join them. When a friend posts pictures of them doing something cool like traveling in the a foreign country or climbing a mountain it makes me want to join them. I tend to be influenced by the actions of others, perhaps even more than their words. This can be a very good thing or a very bad thing. It all depends who I am hanging with.
Application
In your life are your friends those who lead in the right direction by example? Or are they leading you away from God? Do you need to pick some new friends?
A blessed man is one who is not characterized by a scornful attitude. The idea of being scornful is having a cynical and critical fault-finding attitude towards life and other people. This is a kind of attitude that tears down people and movements for no good reason. This kind of attitude is poisonous to a Christian who is trying to do right. Often a sincere Christian who wants to serve God can be drawn into a critical group, become discouraged and find himself joining the negative group. This is what this passage is warning against.
Growing up I went to a Christian high school. It was interesting to see how this principle played out in my school. There was a group of “cool” kids there who didn’t have a heart for God. They scorned what the school stood for. I found when I hung with them, I adopted that same kind of bad attitude. It was very detrimental to my spiritual walk. This is the problem the verse is addressing.
Application
Are your closest friends those who want you to serve God? Or are they critical of you when you start to move forward in your spiritual walk? Those who do not love God will not help you serve God. It is so essential to have a friend group, a support group who is encouraging you to take the right kind of steps. Do you have that in your life right now?
Conclusion
Here is a quick review of the three principles we see in the first two verses of Psalm 1. A happy man is someone who listens to the advice of Godly people, hangs out with godly people, and chooses to develop a non critical spirit that builds up instead of defaulting to finding fault. Seek to establish these principles in your life and you are well on your way to living a prosperous, holy and happy life. To be continued next week!