The Blessed Man
Part 1
THE HEBREW HYMNBOOK begins with two according to John Phillips “orphan” psalms, that is, with two psalms the authors of which are not given. During the entire Old Testament period, like its companion it stood fatherless on the sacred page. There it is, Psalms 1 without author or inscription, owning no stated author but God.
The book of Psalms is most blessed book the key verse the book of Psalms is found in Psalms 29:2
Ps 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. KJV
The Psalms are quoted more often in the New Testament than any of the book in the Old Testament
Of the 150 Psalms one third or anonymous.
73 of the Psalms songs are attributed to David.
12 are of Asaph
11 to the sons of Korah
2 to Solomon and
1 to Moses in Psalms 90 and is the oldest of the Psalms
There are five division of the book of Psalms
The last song in each division closes with the blessing and glory to God.
The first division is in Psalms 1 through 41
The second is Psalms 42 through 72
The third 73 through 89
The fourth is 90 through 106 and
The fifth is 107 through 150
The promises that God knows the way of the righteous
Psalms 1
1:1 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; (the word of God) 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. KJV
So, we start vs. 1
There are things we cannot do if we want to be blessed of God
1:1 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.
- THE GODLY MAN (1:1-3)
God finds a high note and begins there the book of Psalms begins with the word “blessed,” or as it can be rendered, “happy.” In the original it is not in the singular but in the plural. We can render the first word of the Psalms: “Oh the blessednesses of the man, or even more Happy, happy is the man, or: Oh the happnesses of the man
Phil Robertson ” Happy Happy ”
BLESSED
‘ashre “835”, “blessed; happy.” All but 4 of the 44 biblical occurrences of this noun are in poetical passages, with 26 occurrences in the Psalms and 8 in Proverbs.
Basically, this word notes the state of “prosperity” or “happiness” that comes when a superior bestows his favor (blessing) on one. In most passages, the one bestowing favor is God Himself: “Happy art thou, 0 Israel: who is like unto thee, 0 people saved by the Lord” <Deut. 33:29>.
The state that the blessed one enjoys does not always appear to be “happy”: “Behold, blessed [KJV, “happy”] is the man whom God corrected: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for he makes sore, and binds up…’ <Job 5:17-18>.
(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas ‘Nelson Publishers)
So,
“Happy, happy is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly who stands not in the way of sinners, who sit not in the seat of the scornful.
” Modem psychology tells us to emphasize the positive; God begins by emphasizing the negative.
The happy, happy man is marked by the things he does not do, the places to which he does not go, by the books he does not read, by me movies he does not watch, by the company he does not keep. Surely that’s a strange way to begin!
God begins this book not with the power of positive thinking, but with the power of negative thinking! In other words, a man who would be a happy, happy man begins by avoiding certain things in life, things which make it impossible for happiness to flourish because they are poisonous, destructive, and counterproductive.
*The Prohibitions*
- The Godly Man’s Path
He Is Separated from the World (1:1)
The blessed man is not widely ungodly man there is a definite difference
- He Does Not Listen to the Ungodly Man
“Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.”
Walk
Walk is a term that suggests passing by or “a casual movement along the way.”
With its entire phrase, it implies the idea of one who does not try to be like or go through the casual motions” of wickedness.
The word translated counsel comes from the Hebrew term meaning hard, firm Here, it means a definite, firm, planned direction. Consider this paraphrase of verse
1:Oh, the happiness, many times over, of the one who does not even casually go through the motions or imitate the plan of life of those who live in ungodliness. . ..
It is not uncommon to flirt with the wicked life, periodically imitating the motions of one without Christ. We may, joke or, refer to the fun and excitement of ungodliness-or chuckle at our children’s questionable actions.
The psalmist warns us against that. He tells us that we will be abundantly more happy if we steer clear of anything that could give the erosion of spiritual compromise a head start.
- He Does Not Linger with the Sinful Man
“Blessed is the man who.., standeth not in the way(or path) of sinners.”
Walk
Stand
The Hebrew word for “stand” has the idea of coming and taking one’s stand.
The word path or way comes from the word meaning “a marked-out path, a certain and precise way of life.”
Can you see the progressive deterioration toward more involvement in sinful living? The casual passerby slows down and before you know it, he takes his stand.
On the other hand, by taking a firm stand for righteousness, we will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water one that cannot be eroded by the winds of wickedness and unrighteousness.
“Blessed is the man who.., standeth not in the way of sinners.” There is nothing wrong with being friendly with lost men and women, of course. Jesus was.
He made friends with all kinds of people, but He did so in order to lead them to a higher, holier way of life. They called Him “a friend of publicans and sinners. If this verse teaches we are not to stand in the way of sinners; we are not to participate in their sinful activities.
Abraham stood in the way of sinners when he went down to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan, where he told Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister, and lost his testimony.
Lot stood in the way of sinners when he listened to the king of Sodom instead of the king of Salem, went back to Sodom, and lost his family.
Peter stood in the way of sinners when he warmed himself at the world’s fire during the trial of Jesus and consequently denied his Lord with oaths and curses.
3, He Does Not Laugh at the Scornful Man
“Blessed is the man who… sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.”
Walk
Stand
Sit
The next word the psalmist emphasizes is sit. This suggests a permanent settling down, an abiding, even permanent dwelling.
It is made even clearer by the use of seat, meaning ‘habitation” or “permanent residence.” Don’t miss this:
His way of life is in the sphere of the scornful,” the one who continually makes light of that which is sacred.
Can you see the picture in the writer’s mind? We shall be happy many times over if we maintain a pure walk, free from, even the slightest flirtation with evil. If we begin to walk in the counsel of the wicked,” it is easy to slip slowly into the habitation of the scornful.
“Blessed is the man who… sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.” The ungodly man has his counsel; the sinner has his way; the scornful has his seat. Look at the progression in wickedness-the ungodly, the sinner, the scornful; and the corresponding progression in backsliding–walking, standing, sitting. As the company gets worse sin increases its hold.
What the Psalmist called the “seat” referred to what we would call the “chair” of the scornful. We speak, for instance, of the professor’s chair; the Hebrews would speak of their seat: “The scribes … sit in Moses’ seat” (Matthew 23:2), under the authority, that is, they were professors of the law.
The happy, happy man avoids the seat of the scornful. he avoids the classroom of the atheist and humanist who delight to shred the faith of the unlearned.
*The Peculiarities*
- The Godly Man’s Pleasure
He Is Satisfied with the Word (1:2)
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; (the word of God) and in his law (the word of God) doth he meditate day and night.
Delight = pleasure; desire; a valuable thing;
- The Word of God Has Captured His Full Affection
“His delight is in the law of the LORD.”
He has a different counselor than the ungodly man,
He finds different company than the sinful man,
He has a different cause than the scornful man.
His first love is for the Word of God.
- The Word of God Has Claimed His Full Attention
“And in His law doth he meditate day and night.” He does not pore over the books of the scornful; he pores over the Scriptures.
MEDITATION The practice of reflection or contemplation. The word meditation or its verb form, to meditate, is found mainly in the Old Testament.
The Hebrew words behind this concept mean “to murmur, “a murmuring,” “sighing,” or “moaning.” This concept is reflected in Ps 1:2, where the “blessed man” meditates on God’s law day and night.
The psalmist also prayed that the meditation of his heart would be acceptable in God’s sight (Ps 19:14).
Joshua was instructed to meditate on the Book of the Law for the purpose of obeying all that was written in it (Josh 1:8).
The Greek word translated as meditate occurs only twice in the New Testament. In Luke 21:14 Jesus instructed His disciples not “to meditate beforehand” in answering their adversaries when the end of the age comes. The word may be understood in this passage as the idea of preparing a defense for a court appearance.
Paul, in 1 Tim 4:15, urged Timothy to meditate, or take pains with, the instructions he gives. The idea of meditation is also found in Phil 4:8 and Col 3:2.
Phil 4:8
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Col 3:2
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
The meditation the Psalmist advocates deliberately engages the conscious mind with the truths of God’s Word.
We come into God’s presence, open Bible in hand, and say, “Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.”
Then we read the Bible in a disciplined, meaningful, meditating way, seeking to understand and appropriate its truths.
We ask the following questions, for instance, when meditating the bible:
Is there any sin here for me to avoid?
Is there any promise for me to claim?
Is there any victory to gain?
Is there any blessing to enjoy?
Is there any truth I have never seen before about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, about man, sin?
What is the main thing I can learn here?
That’s meditation, especially keeping a note pad and pen handy and writing down what the Holy Spirit brings to mind as we thus ponder (meditate) God’s Word. For writing makes an exact man.
Bro Frank Holcomb said if it worth remembering it’s worth writing down. Nothing wrong with having notes. If we cannot verbalize it, we haven’t learned anything.
