A Path Through Chapter 1

 

There's a path, let's follow it We're beginning our look at the hymn book of the Psalms. Today it's chapter one, this chapter really sets a tone for the whole book. It lays out clearly who a person in step with God is like and conversely what a person out of step with God is like.  We'll break down this chapter, have some songs together, and hear from our guest speaker. This week our guest is a great friend, a trusted co-worker, a man I have learned so much from, it's Dave Downer who is part of LifeSpring Community Church. So let's... get on the path

Psalm 1 1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with 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 yields 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.

The book of Psalms begins with 'blessed' There is no song which springs to mind from the last few months and during the pandemic than 'The Blessing' Written just as the coronavirus was starting to grip the world, it's a reminder of the immense blessing of God. What better way to start a path through the Psalms than expressing the blessing of God in song.

Blessed. What does it mean to be blessed? Is it some kind of happy feeling, a lucky charm or that time a perfect parking spot opened up just as you drove into the car park? Is that what being blessed means? It must mean more and it does.  Being blessed goes right back to the very beginning, to creation in Genesis 1. God blesses his creation, on day 5 God blessed the birds and fish, then on the 6th day he blessed mankind and said his creation was good. Here we see that blessing from God has to do with favour with God the creator and the ability to be fruitful and multiply. Later in Genesis there are blessings given to specific people including Noah and Abraham. The promise of blessing comes to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3;   “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” We see here the promises and call from God. First it is individual with Abraham, then further on that he will be a blessing. It ends with the eye-popping statement that all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. What a promise and what a blessing is given to this single man. We see throughout the remainder of Genesis how the people of God are formed through the trust and faith of Abraham following the call of God.  Ultimately blessing is about relationship with the Lord and being in favour with with the Lord. I really like what Mary J. Evans says about blessing;   'Blessing is not portrayed as a reward for keeping the law; it rests on God’s promise and is an automatic consequence of being in a relationship with him.'

So who is blessed? He or she is the one who doesn't walk with the wicked or be with sinners and mockers. This is right living, I love how the Bible is so practical. Here within the first words of this grand hymnal we hear a song that talks about everyday life with God. When in right relationship with Him we aren't doing wicked things. Wicked doesn't just mean dastardly and beyond comprehension evil acts, it does though mean sinning. It does mean doing the wrong thing and going against the law of the Lord. We see throughout the law written in the Old Testament that the instructions of God to the people were for their good, for them to have a blueprint of how best to live.  One of the key themes found throughout the Psalms and an area we'll revisit time and again is the law of the Lord. Here we see in verse two that the delight of God is in the person who keeps the law and thinks about this law day and night. I don't think it means pondering whether or not to follow the laws of God, but rather in our decision making realising that God's ways are better than ours, everytime. If, and it's a big if, we keep his law and ways we see what that person, the blessed person is like.

Like is another word that we'll cycle through time and again in the Psalms. When we see like used it's either a way to try and describe something of God that we can't put into words or it's a simile to help us understand something using imagery and nature around us. It's one of the most exciting aspects of this book, if you're into imagery like I am then you can 'see' the words on the page time and again.  Here in verse 3 of chapter 1,  David writes what the man is like who keeps the law of the Lord.    A tree that is well watered, consistently watered by the streams, a tree that is fruitful and the leaves don't wither. Whatever this person does thanks to the Lord he does he causes to prosper. Let's picture this tree, one with deep roots, one that is strong, can stand against the wind and weather. A tree that doesn't get parched but has ample water present and as a result can produce both fruit and new leaves time again. It reminds me the living water that Jesus offers the Samaritan woman in John 4, water that won't run dry. That's where this tree is located, as a result this tree has no choice but to produce fruit and prosper. That's us, we can be that tree. We can have strong roots in faith, never ending living water, producing fruit and prospering as God's favour is on us.

As we've said the Psalms are a hymn book. We can read the lyrics but don't know the tunes. Many bands have taken the words and created music around them. During our Path through the Psalms I'll try and have one of our songs based solely on that Psalm, for some that will be easy for others probably a real challenge. Here is Psalm 1 done by the Sons of Korah.

If the people who love the Lord and follow his law are like the tree, then the unlawful are like chaff that blows in the wind. Among the wheat the useful grain is found the chaff, the part that isn't real, it sits with the real food but it's not worth much. It doesn't have the staying power. The wicked aren't able to stand when it comes to judgment time, they are found guilty. Does that mean that every believer never does wrong or that unbelievers in Christ never do anything right? To me this is a massive question. Followers of Jesus do sin, we do make mistakes, have the wrong attitudes and make poor decisions. People who don't have faith in Jesus do amazing things, they help others, give selflessly to poor and needy, are loving and caring parents and so much more. To me it comes down to the relationship with the Lord, accepting of the free gift of grace of eternal life through Jesus. In the end sinners, people who don't know the Lord won't be in the cloud of witnesses in heaven with the righteous.

Now that we've covered much of this short passage, let's hear from your friend and mine Dave Downer on Chapter 1 of Psalms.

One of the overriding points in this psalm is that the Lord deeply cares for those who are righteous. Again not that Christ followers are perfect, we all know that's not true. Our shortcomings, and mistakes don't disqualify from the care of God. He is always but a prayer away, I love how God never leaves or forsakes us. We see as this passage wraps up that He watches over the way of the righteous. It reminds me that no matter what is going on in our house, with the toing and froing of life (not so much in lockdown but you get the idea) that either Rebecca or I am watching over our girls. They may be on their own a bit upstairs or in the living room but we're only a 'Mom or Dad' call away, and usually we can hear all that's going on anyway.  Let's have this big idea in our mind as we worship and pray together that God blesses those who love Him, and He so loves you, watches after you and causes you to prosper.

A great place to finish our time is with praise, here is a song called Sing Praise by Isla Vista Worship out of California.

Rather than writing out a prayer as we go through the Psalms sometimes we'll take a different approach with our prayer to finish. It's quite simple really, go back to the Psalm, instead of reading it, pray it. Allow the words to become your words to the Lord. Then off the back of that have your prayers emerge, the Psalms have a way of becoming personal. Let's see that happen as we follow a path through them.

We've started down the path:) It may be long and winding but it does lead somewhere. To a deeper relationship with the Lord, to greater understanding of His love, law and the reality of life in Christ.