#2
BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO
LIVES BY THE BOOK
Psalm
1:1-3
(First
Baptist Revival 11/6/05)
Thanks to Ken Trivett
Outline
I) A GUARDED LIFE
A) A Progressive Decline
That’s Illustrated
B) A Perpetual Defense That’s
Indicated
II) A GUIDED LIFE
A) His Pleasure in the Word
B) His Pondering over the Word
III) A GLADDENED LIFE
A) A Planted Tree
B) A Prosperous Tree
1) This morning we began to look at a phrase that’s found on several
occasions in the Bible.
It’s the phrase “Blessed is the man.” In this phrase we find the
secrets to real happiness.
The word “Blessed” speaks of a tremendous and intense happiness.
The order of the Hebrew language in the sentence
emphasizes the
happiness.
You could translate the words, “O, how exceedingly happy is the man.”
2) Someone has given us the following ten rules for living happier.
* Give something away (no strings attached).
* Do a kindness (and forget it).
* Spend a few minutes with the aged
(their
experience is a priceless guidance).
* Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel).
* Laugh often (its life’s lubricant).
* Give thanks (a thousand times a day isn’t enough).
* Pray (or you will lose the way).
* Work
* Plan as though you’ll live forever (because you
will).
* Live as though you’ll die tomorrow (because you
will on some
tomorrow).
3) I think those are good rules and if applied would make your life
happier.
However, the best rules to follow are God’s rules.
If you really want to be happy, God tells you how to be happy.
He’s given us the secret to real happiness in His
Word.
When you find the phrase, “Blessed is the man,” we find a person who’s
found real happiness in their life.
4) This morning we saw that the really happy person is someone whose
sins have been forgiven.
Tonight, I want you to see that a happy person is
one who lives by
the Book.
By the Book, of course, I mean the Bible.
As we look at the blessed man of Psalm 1 we see that
the Bible has
a special and significant place in the life of the
person that’s really
happy.
5) Let’s look at the first 3 verses of Psalm 1 and notice the person
who lives by the Book.
Psalm 1 is the epitome of all the Psalms.
Its six stanzas set the tone for
all 150 Psalms.
One writer said that Psalm 1 is the text and the rest of the Psalms are
the sermon.
6) In the Psalm you find that there are only two kinds of people.
There’s the godly and the ungodly.
You could say, there are the saints and there are the ain’ts.
In the Psalm we see a contrast between the two.
This contrast is seen in the first and last words of the Psalm.
The godly are “blessed” and the ungodly shall
“perish.”
7) The Psalm speaks of two ways or two directions in life.
There’s the way of the godly and
there’s the way of the ungodly.
8) The really happy person is the one that has chosen the high
way—God’s way—and that’s a way of living by the Book.
Notice the Psalm and first consider with me that the
life of the
blessed person is:
I. A GUARDED
LIFE
1) In verse 1, we see that the blessed person is one who purposefully
and deliberately chooses to take certain steps in their life and to
avoid certain things in their life.
The blessed person is one who carefully guards their
steps from a
potential danger that’s faced.
Let me explain by first noticing:
A) The Progressive Decline That’s
Illustrated
1) In verse one there are three words that are used to describe those
who aren’t saved.
There are the words “ungodly,” “sinners” and the
“scornful.”
The word “ungodly” denotes the person who has no place for God in their
life.
They’re un-god or without God.
The word “sinners” speaks of one who has taken a way opposite to God’s
command and has chosen to live the way they do.
The word “scornful” speaks of someone who laughs, ridicules and sneers
at God, His ways and word.
2) You also see three words in verse one that describes a progressive
decline.
They are the words “walketh,” “standeth” and
“sitteth.”
In these words we see a downward path or a spiritual decline.
Follow this progression with me and the movements of
decline
illustrated by these three words.
3) In the word “walketh” you have the idea of a casual acquaintance
with the “ungodly.”
Remember the ungodly are those who have no place for
God in
their life.
As Christians we’re around people like that every day of our lives.
We work with, go to school with, and live beside
people who
aren’t saved and people in whom God has no place in
their lives.
We walk among
that kind of people all the time.
4) In the word “standeth” we see a change taking place and there’s a
closer association with “sinners.”
There’s no longer a turning away
from sinners but a
stopping and intermingling with
them.
One is being drawn in and drawn to the ways of sinners.
5) In the third word we see this decline going further.
Now the person “sitteth” among
the “scornful.”
In this word we see a complete absorption into their ways and
activities.
They’ve now become one of them.
They’re now
sitting among them.
6) I think of people who’ve got away from God.
No Christian just suddenly gets
away from God.
It’s a progressive matter.
They walked among those without
God, but then
found themselves stopping and
standing among them.
There was a fascination with the world which led to them eventually
sitting among those who don’t know God, have no place for God, and
could care less about God.
Association
leads to fascination and fascination
leads to
integration.
7) Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Be not deceived: evil
communications corrupt good manners.”
The word “communications” means more than having a
conversation. It speaks of “companionship.”
Companionship with the ungodly, sinners
and the scornful always leads in a downward
path.
8) I like this quote by Charles E. Jones. He said, “You are the same
today that you are going to be in five years from now except for two
things: the people with whom you associate and the books you read.”
I love that and the reason I love it so much is
because it’s so true.
I think of how books can change your life. I’ve found that just one
good book can change your life.
I have over 3,000 books in my personal library, but
there are 3 or 4
that are special because of the impact they’ve had
on my life.
9) I’ve also found that the people you meet and are around can change
your life.
You can associate with people
that’ll either lift you or will
lower you.
This is precisely the point the Psalmist is making.
You associate with the ungodly, sinners, and the
scornful it’ll
always take you down.
10) Secondly, you not only see the progressive decline that’s
illustrated, but also:
B) The Perpetual Defense That’s
Indicated
1) We hear a lot about positive thinking.
As you look at Psalm 1 you see that an important key
to success is
the accentuation of the negative.
The godly person recognizes the significance
of not doing certain things.
2) Notice the accentuation of the negative in verse 1.
We read that the blessed man “walketh NOT in counsel
of the
ungodly, NOR standeth in the way of sinners, NOR
sitteth in the
seat of the scornful.”
There are three things that the blessed man doesn’t do.
There are three things that the blessed man is
constantly and
perpetually guarding against.
3) First, the blessed man doesn’t walk in the “counsel of the ungodly.”
The word “counsel” means “advice.”
The blessed man doesn’t live by or follow the advice of those who don’t
know God or have no place for God in their life.
4) Secondly, neither does the blessed man “standeth in the way of
sinners.”
To say it very simply, the
blessed man doesn’t hang around
those who live in sin and have a
lifestyle that’s ungodly
and sinful.
5) Thirdly we see that the blessed man doesn’t sit “in the seat of the
scornful.”
The word “sitteth” actually means
“to dwell, remain.”
The blessed man doesn’t allow himself to become fascinated with the
ways of the ungodly which eventually leads him to become a part of the
same.
The blessed man puts up a defense
and is always on guard
from these dangers.
The really happy person is one who lives a guarded life.
6) The Christian must counter the song of the world with the song of
the redeemed.
We must close our ears to the
counsel of this world and tie
ourselves to the rock of ages
lest we walk, stand and
eventually find ourselves sitting
among the world.
The blessed man—the happy person—is one who lives a guarded life.
Does ONLY good for God and others
Says & Speaks ONLY good about God and others
Lives his life for ONLY God !!
7) Secondly, notice with me that the blessed man not only lives a
guarded life, but also:
II. A GUIDED
LIFE
1) In verse 1 we see what the blessed man must not do.
In verse 2 we see what the blessed must do.
We read, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law
doth he meditate day and night.”
The “law of the LORD” refers to
the Scripture.
The Bible is the guiding influence of his or her life.
The little children’s song describes well the guide
of the happy person’s life:
The B-I-B-L-E
Yes, that’s the book for me.
I stand upon the Word of God
The B-I-B-L-E.
2) Do you stand ALONE on the Word Of God?
3) The Bible is the guide that leads us to victory and real happiness.
The Bible that you own must become more than a book
that’s left
lying on the coffee table or the back seat of the
car.
It must become a source that you rely on as a guide in life protecting
you from the dangers that surround you.
5) D.L. Moody used to say, “The Bible will keep you from sin or sin
will keep you from the Bible.”
Psalm 91: 4 says, “His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”
6) Every Christian who has let God’s Word be the guide of
their life, has found the Bible a strong and sufficient guide for life.
It’s indeed the guide for an intensely happy life.
As you look at verse 2 you see the place the Bible has in the life of
the blessed man.
First, notice:
A) His Pleasure in the Word
1) We read that “his delight is in the law of the LORD.”
The word “delight” is a word that speaks of
“pleasure.”
The law of God brings great pleasure to the blessed man.
The blessed man doesn’t see God’s Word a set of
rigid standards
and restrictions that bind life.
He sees it as a source of life that liberates life and results in great
happiness.
2) To many the Bible is a melancholy, not a merry book.
It’s associated with gloom, not
gaiety.
It’s looked upon as legalistic in
spirit, not life-giving.
It’s seen as a burden and not a
blessing.
The Psalmist said in Psalm 119:54, “Thy statues have been my songs in
the house of my pilgrimage.”
The Bible is a book, if followed
and obeyed, fills the heart
with singing and joy!
3) The Psalmist said in Psalm 19:10 that God’s Word was to him “sweeter
also than honey and the honeycomb.”
The Bible is a book to be read
with delight.
It’s a book to
be studied with joy.
It is a book to follow with great pleasure.
4) Secondly, you see also:
B) His Pondering of the Word
1) In verse 2 he not only delights in the God’s Word, but we also read
that “in His law doeth he mediate day and night.”
The word “mediate” is in interesting word.
It literally means “to murmur” or “to moan.”
You could translate the word “hum.”
I love the way
black believers moan or hum when
they sing and
worship.
Jews were known for their moaning. If you were to go the Waling Wall in
Jerusalem you wouldn’t be able to understand a thing they’re saying.
They’re talking to themselves, moaning, and humming.
Meditation is moaning to
yourself.
The Psalmist talked to himself about what God says in His Word.
2) I once heard someone describe this word as ruminating.
You know what ruminating is.
It’s what the
cow does when it’s chewing its cud.
The cow never seems to be in a hurry but chews and chews and chews the
grass it’s eating. It’ll swallow it and then later resurrect it (best
word I could think of for a Revival Service) and chew on it some more.
It’s getting everything it can out of what it’s
eating.
FOLKS, that’s meditation.
It’s chewing the Word over and over so that it becomes a very part of
who and what you are.
3) We’re fast food Christians.
We quickly read 3 or 4 chapters
bolting down what we
read.
We race
through our Bibles but when we’re through
we can’t
remember one thing that we’ve read.
4) The blessed man chews on the Word.
He assimilates
what he reads.
There’s nothing in the Bible that benefits you unless it’s transmuted
into life, unless it becomes a part of yourself, just like your food.
Unless you assimilate it and it becomes body, bone,
and muscle, it
doesn’t do you a bit of good.”
Meditation is transmuting the Word into your spiritual life.
It’s thinking about it, turning
it over and over in your mind
so that it gets into you and is
real in your life.
5) Are you letting the Bible be the guide of your life?
The blessed
man guards his life by guiding his life
by God’s Word.
It’s one of the secrets to real happiness which leads me to my final
thought.
We not only see a guarded and guided life, but also:
III. A
GLADDENED LIFE
1) As we’ve seen, the phrase “Blessed is the man” indicates that this
is an extremely happy person.
A guarded and guided life results in a gladdened
life.
Now as you look closer we see a description or the results of this
happiness.
We read in verse 3, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers
of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in season; his leaf also shall
not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
2) First, we see that a happy person is compared to:
A) A Planted Tree
1) We read “he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters.”
There’s stability about the life of this happy
person.
Their roots go down deep and draw nourishment from
the rivers of
waters.
The storms may rage and the sun may scorch, but such
a person is
happy.
2) Someone has said that happiness depends on happenings.
Real happiness doesn’t depend on what’s going on
around you.
You can be in the middle of a
storm and still be happy.
It depends on where your source of happiness is.
If being happy depends on good things happening to
you then bad
things will make you unhappy.
But if the source of your happiness is the river of God ....... your
happiness isn’t dictated by what’s happening around you or to you.
3) Secondly, the happy person is compared to:
B) A Prosperous Tree
1) We read that the happy person “bringeth forth his fruit in season;
his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
The prosperity described here is one of spiritual
productivity.
This person isn’t only blessed but they’re a blessing to others.
They’re fruitful and productive
with others enjoying the
blessings that flow from the life
they’re experiencing.
2) The really happy person overflows.
Someone has said that happiness is the seed and happiness shared is the
flower.
A happy person produces flowers
for others.
They bear fruit and they prosper in all they do.
3) Quite often we envy the rich, famous and powerful.
We think that if we had what they
had or were who they
were we’d be happy.
But like I said this morning, if you asked the rich, famous and
powerful if they were happy you might get a different answer.
Six weeks before he died, a reporter asked Elvis Presley, “Elvis, when
you first started playing music, you said you wanted to be rich, famous
and happy. Are you happy?”
Elvis was certainly rich. No doubt about that. And he was definitely
famous. He’s still so famous that you can often see him in a Shoney’s
somewhere.
But was he happy. Listen to his reply to the
reporter who asked him
if he were happy. He replied, “I’m lonely as hell
itself.”
4) Do you want real happiness?
Then here is one of the secrets
of real happiness:
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.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night.
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.