Characteristics of a Happy Man
Text: Psalm 1:1, 2 Date: 08/07/07 Place: Childs Hill Baptist
I want us to look this evening at Psalm 1 and especially at the first 2 verses. The Book of Psalms like all Scripture is God breathed – human words but inspired by God so that they are infallible and inerrant. In other ways, as you may know, the book is unique in that it contains writings from different eras – all the way from Moses to the exile in Babylon. Like the Proverbs it is a collection rather than one book. It contains around 150 psalms arranged into a series of five books. Some of the psalms clearly spring out of personal experience but all seem to have been put into the collection with the intention of their being used in connection with Temple worship. The psalms greatly vary but they are songs to be sung and prayers to be prayed. There are prayers and songs elsewhere in Scripture but the predominance of this sort of writing is again unique. The Psalms have been of great service to God's people in many times and many situations down the years.
At the head of the psalms the compiler has placed what we know as Psalm 1. As the first of the psalms it is well known and is full of interesting elements. At least half of the psalms were probably written by David. Others were certainly written by others but for many of them we do not know who they were written by. That is the case for this psalm. We don't know its author or when he wrote, although it is most likely to be by David.
This Psalm of psalms serves as a kind of introduction to the book and what it does is very basic an general – it draws a contrast between the man of God and the wicked.
I want us to look this evening at Psalm 1 and especially at the first 2 verses. The Book of Psalms like all Scripture is God breathed – human words but inspired by God so that they are infallible and inerrant. In other ways, as you may know, the book is unique in that it contains writings from different eras – all the way from Moses to the exile in Babylon. Like the Proverbs it is a collection rather than one book. It contains around 150 psalms arranged into a series of five books. Some of the psalms clearly spring out of personal experience but all seem to have been put into the collection with the intention of their being used in connection with Temple worship. The psalms greatly vary but they are songs to be sung and prayers to be prayed. There are prayers and songs elsewhere in Scripture but the predominance of this sort of writing is again unique. The Psalms have been of great service to God's people in many times and many situations down the years.
At the head of the psalms the compiler has placed what we know as Psalm 1. As the first of the psalms it is well known and is full of interesting elements. At least half of the psalms were probably written by David. Others were certainly written by others but for many of them we do not know who they were written by. That is the case for this psalm. We don't know its author or when he wrote, although it is most likely to be by David.
This Psalm of psalms serves as a kind of introduction to the book and what it does is very basic an general – it draws a contrast between the man of God and the wicked.
First, we have the Blessed man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. His delight is in the law of the LORD, and he meditates on it day and night. This man is compared with a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers!
The wicked, on the other hand, what misery! They are like chaff blown away by the wind.
In the judgement the wicked will not stand in the judgement, these sinners when the righteous are all assembled. The conclusion is in the last verse - For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
What I want to do this week is just to look at the first two verses where we are introduced to the man of God and see the things that we can learn there. I think that the way to go about this is firstly, as with any Scripture, to see what we can learn about Christ and then to apply what we read to ourselves and ask whether we are living up to what is laid down here and if not why not?
What I want to do this week is just to look at the first two verses where we are introduced to the man of God and see the things that we can learn there. I think that the way to go about this is firstly, as with any Scripture, to see what we can learn about Christ and then to apply what we read to ourselves and ask whether we are living up to what is laid down here and if not why not?
So two things then.
1. The happy man - negative characteristics
The opening phrase is Blessed is the man or better 'Oh the happiness of the man ... '. The word blessed is not easy to translate. Basically we are talking about being happy or contented although there is more to it than just that. It comes up plenty of times in the Psalms. Cf 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Who is the blessed man, the happy man? If you ask people today they will tell you the rich man or the healthy man or the man who everyone likes. He's the blessed man, the happy man. That's why people spend so much money on the national lottery or other forms of gambling. That's why people are so concerned to be healthy and free of illness. That's why they want to be famous or popular. But a moment's thought will show that being rich doesn't guarantee happiness nor does having your health even though it ought to. There are plenty of famous just as miserable as anyone else. No, there must be more to it than that.
And so we look to the Bible. What does the Word of God say? Now Jesus begins his famous Sermon on the Mount with a whole series of beatitudes like this one. Blessed are the poor in spirit, he says for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted etc. Now a man who tells others how to be blessed surely knows how to be blessed himself and he truly was blessed. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! is said of Messiah.
We know that he was truly blessed because he meets the requirements of the blessed man set our here in Psalm 1. If we want to be blessed then we also need to be acting in line with what is found here.
So what about this blessed man? What are his characteristics? Well firstly, the writer is negative. Some wouldn't want to begin like that – 'accentuate the positive' they would say - but this writer is not nervous of that at all. We have not one or two but three negative statements regarding the blessed man.
The blessed man is a man who 1. Does not walk in the counsel of the wicked 2. Stand in the way of sinners 3. Sit in the seat of mockers.
We might shy away from using such negative language but the psalmist does not. He spells it out. Being negative is not always a bad thing. This man, like Jesus himself,
1. Happiness is not to walk in the counsel of the wicked
The opening phrase is Blessed is the man or better 'Oh the happiness of the man ... '. The word blessed is not easy to translate. Basically we are talking about being happy or contented although there is more to it than just that. It comes up plenty of times in the Psalms. Cf 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Who is the blessed man, the happy man? If you ask people today they will tell you the rich man or the healthy man or the man who everyone likes. He's the blessed man, the happy man. That's why people spend so much money on the national lottery or other forms of gambling. That's why people are so concerned to be healthy and free of illness. That's why they want to be famous or popular. But a moment's thought will show that being rich doesn't guarantee happiness nor does having your health even though it ought to. There are plenty of famous just as miserable as anyone else. No, there must be more to it than that.
And so we look to the Bible. What does the Word of God say? Now Jesus begins his famous Sermon on the Mount with a whole series of beatitudes like this one. Blessed are the poor in spirit, he says for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted etc. Now a man who tells others how to be blessed surely knows how to be blessed himself and he truly was blessed. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! is said of Messiah.
We know that he was truly blessed because he meets the requirements of the blessed man set our here in Psalm 1. If we want to be blessed then we also need to be acting in line with what is found here.
So what about this blessed man? What are his characteristics? Well firstly, the writer is negative. Some wouldn't want to begin like that – 'accentuate the positive' they would say - but this writer is not nervous of that at all. We have not one or two but three negative statements regarding the blessed man.
The blessed man is a man who 1. Does not walk in the counsel of the wicked 2. Stand in the way of sinners 3. Sit in the seat of mockers.
We might shy away from using such negative language but the psalmist does not. He spells it out. Being negative is not always a bad thing. This man, like Jesus himself,
1. Happiness is not to walk in the counsel of the wicked
He doesn't take advice from wicked people. He shuts his ears to them. There are plenty of evil people in this world and they are free about giving you their advice and council. But the godly man does not go anywhere near them. He rejects all their advice how ever well intended. When he forms his opinions and makes his plans, when he considers what he will or will not do, he does not listen to such people. He does not follow their principles.
Is that you? Rejecting the ideas of the evil people of this world, turning your back on it. That is what we must do if we are going to be blessed by God. When we see their TV programmes and films, their magazine and newspaper articles and their books we must firmly resist.
2. Happiness is not to stand in the way of sinners
Is that you? Rejecting the ideas of the evil people of this world, turning your back on it. That is what we must do if we are going to be blessed by God. When we see their TV programmes and films, their magazine and newspaper articles and their books we must firmly resist.
2. Happiness is not to stand in the way of sinners
You don't find him taking the stance that sinners take either. He doesn't stand where bad people stand. No, he is eager to turn from such ways. He does not want to get mixed up with sinners and their ways.
Again, is that you? Are you studiously avoiding sinners ways? Are you deliberately going the other way, not standing in the sinners' way as so many do? You must. However much you may be tempted to follow them, resist. Do not use those methods. Do not go that way.
3. Happiness is not to sit in the seat of mockers
Again, is that you? Are you studiously avoiding sinners ways? Are you deliberately going the other way, not standing in the sinners' way as so many do? You must. However much you may be tempted to follow them, resist. Do not use those methods. Do not go that way.
3. Happiness is not to sit in the seat of mockers
There is a build up here – first: wicked then sinners then scoffers, people who are not just bad but who mock God and his law. The latter, thankfully, are not common but they do exist.
Some just resist the idea of God.
Some live as though there were in fact no God.
Some few are like Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens and have to campaign on the subject. Some are louder in their sinning then others. In Spurgeon's words there are people who "have taken their degree in vice, and as true Doctors of Damnation they are installed, and are looked up to by others as Masters in Belial."
The blessed man avoids all forms of evil.
Also note the counsel, the way, the seat. Again note the order. There is the world's advice, the world's way, the world's attitude, each worse by degrees. Avoid it all.
Then there is also: walk, stand, sit. Again there is progression or rather regression. To walk where the wicked walk is bad but to stand where sinners stand is worse. To sit where mockers sit, seeing things from their perspective is worse again.
Also note the counsel, the way, the seat. Again note the order. There is the world's advice, the world's way, the world's attitude, each worse by degrees. Avoid it all.
Then there is also: walk, stand, sit. Again there is progression or rather regression. To walk where the wicked walk is bad but to stand where sinners stand is worse. To sit where mockers sit, seeing things from their perspective is worse again.
If we do not put up resistance from the start we can easily fall into worsening forms of sin.
Again, what about you? Are you taking great care not to even take one step on the downward track? Do not start on the road to scorning and mocking attitudes.
This is the way the Master went and this is the way that those who follow him must go too.
Again, what about you? Are you taking great care not to even take one step on the downward track? Do not start on the road to scorning and mocking attitudes.
This is the way the Master went and this is the way that those who follow him must go too.
2. The happy man – positive characteristics
But then there is the positive side. Positively we say (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. At this time the only Bible the psalmist would have had was probably just the first five books of the Bible – the Law – plus a few other history books like Joshua and Judges. The Law here is God's Word. What is driving this rejection of wickedness and sin and mockery? Clearly it is the Law of God, God's Word, which is his delight and which he fills his mind with. This was clearly so of Jesus. Everything he says oozes with Scripture. It is everywhere. It was as Christ enjoyed the word and meditated on it that he came to understand his role and what he was to do in this world. Something similar happens to all who do the same.
When the godly man wants advice then where does he turn? Not to the wicked but to the Word.
When he wants to know where to stand, he stands not in the way of sinners but where the Bible urges him to stand.
He does not seat in the seat of mockers but humbles himself before God just because his delight is in God's Word and because he meditates on what God says.
What an example there is for us here.
1. Happiness comes when we endeavour to delight in the Word of God
But then there is the positive side. Positively we say (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. At this time the only Bible the psalmist would have had was probably just the first five books of the Bible – the Law – plus a few other history books like Joshua and Judges. The Law here is God's Word. What is driving this rejection of wickedness and sin and mockery? Clearly it is the Law of God, God's Word, which is his delight and which he fills his mind with. This was clearly so of Jesus. Everything he says oozes with Scripture. It is everywhere. It was as Christ enjoyed the word and meditated on it that he came to understand his role and what he was to do in this world. Something similar happens to all who do the same.
When the godly man wants advice then where does he turn? Not to the wicked but to the Word.
When he wants to know where to stand, he stands not in the way of sinners but where the Bible urges him to stand.
He does not seat in the seat of mockers but humbles himself before God just because his delight is in God's Word and because he meditates on what God says.
What an example there is for us here.
1. Happiness comes when we endeavour to delight in the Word of God
If a man has a hobby then he loves to be engaged in that hobby. It is a delight to him. He loves spending time on it. It can become his pre-occupation. So the Word should be a delight to us. I trust that we all try to read the Scriptures daily. We must do more than that - we must seek to find delight in Scripture. Paul said of himself (Romans 7) In my inner being I delight in God's law. Do we? We must find time for this. The better we get to know God's Word, the more delight we will find in it. I heard J K Rowling, the Harry Potter author, being interviewed recently. She said that the only other person who had read the final book before publication was her husband. He's read all the books. Until they were married he had not read any but since then he has read them all. It is not had to see why. The nearer we come to God the more delight we will take in his Word and the Word will give us insights that we cannot gain otherwise.
2. Happiness comes when we also meditate on it at all times
2. Happiness comes when we also meditate on it at all times
That is what the blessed man does, he so loves the Word that he cannot stop thinking about it and chewing it over in his mind. Literally, he mutters it over and over. The obvious well known illustration is the way cows chew the cud or ruminate and they slowly digest the grass they eat. Spurgeon quotes Bartholomew Ashwood's Heavenly Trade of 1688 "Meditation chews the cud, and gets the sweetness and nutritive virtue of the Word into the heart and life: this is the way the godly bring forth much fruit". See Ps 119:97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
Too often we are content with just reading the Word. We need to get it into our minds so that we are chewing it over and over and over so that it becomes a part of us. Spurgeon once said of Bunyan's writings – you prick me anywhere, his blood is bibline. That should be true of us. In Joshua 1:8 Joshua is told Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. It's the same here. The prosperous and successful man is the one who keeps God's law on his lips and in his heart.
Here is a man then who habitually meditates on God's Words. Every day and night he does it. He takes time just to do this. He sets apart times for this very thing. He does this not only at set times but also at other times during the day when he is not occupied with other things and even during the night when he cannot sleep.
So once again, do we? Are we letting the Word of God into our minds? Is it filling our thoughts night and day? Are we immersed in it? There is no blessedness without that.
Here is a man then who habitually meditates on God's Words. Every day and night he does it. He takes time just to do this. He sets apart times for this very thing. He does this not only at set times but also at other times during the day when he is not occupied with other things and even during the night when he cannot sleep.
So once again, do we? Are we letting the Word of God into our minds? Is it filling our thoughts night and day? Are we immersed in it? There is no blessedness without that.
This calls for consideration. If we are going to find happiness in this world and the one to come then we have to be serious about two things – putting sin to death and immersing ourselves in God's Word. Without this there can be no hope. The Lord Jesus is our great example in this. Follow him.
One will re-enforce the other, the positive and the negative. Work at both at the same time. If you want a beautiful garden it is best to work at pulling weeds and planting flowers. Do both. Turn from all evil and meditate on God's Word.
