Psalms 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; 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. 

    In the Hebrew language the word “blessed” means happy. It carries with it the idea of being made happy by the LORD. When one is in the center of God’s will, God will bestow happiness upon him. Men try many things in order to find happiness without success. As the childhood song says, “Happiness is the LORD.” True and lasting happiness can only be found in the LORD and in obeying His Word. The first Psalm certainly reveals the secret of genuine happiness, which is what everyone really desires. Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. The real secret of being happy is to seek the LORD and then He will make you happy! 

    I know a man who always says, “Well blessed” when you ask him, how are you doing. I once saw a license plate with the word, “Blessed.” Are you blessed, well blessed? Are you really happy? If not read and heed the first Psalm! 

    The United State’s constitution guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It doesn’t guarantee happiness but the opportunity to try to find happiness. But the first Psalm guarantees happiness if you are what God wants you to be and do from the heart what He wants you to do. If you are not “... blessed... with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” it is no one’s fault but your own. Let’s look at the procedure of not only being pursued by happiness but having happiness catch you. Happiness and blessness is in hot pursuit of you. You do not find true happiness, it finds you. This is not the American dream but it is Christian reality!

 BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT IS SPIRITUALLY STABLE (BALANCED) VV. 1, 2 

    This means don’t be a religious radical. You should be not singing the same old song constantly nor always beating the same old drum. It used to be said that those with mental problems were mentally unbalanced. They say that a balanced diet is important. How much more is living a balanced spiritual life important. 

    Today the concept of being always positive is in the limelight. But if you are always positive you are unbalanced in your living. The same thing is true of always being negative about everything. There needs to be a balance between the negative and the positive. There are positive things that must be done and there are things that never should be done. This is the first underlying theme of the first Psalm. 

    In this first Psalm we find a balance of the negative and the positive which must be observed in order to be blessed by God. A Christian should never walk with the ungodly, nor stand and fellowship with them, much less set down and buddy with them. Psalms 1:1 This involves the negative side of Christianity. While on the positive side one must find his delight...in the law of the LORD Psalms 1:2 

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS SEPARATE FROM THE UNGODLY V. 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. 

    If the Bible teaches anything it teaches separation from the world. This may be a negative teaching but it certainly has positive results ending in being blessed by God. It means the difference between being happy and unhappy. This is the teaching of both the Old and New Testaments. Deuteronomy 22:9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. 10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. 11 Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together. Separation is plainly taught in II Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, One will never really be happy or blessed by God as long as he tries to hold on to the world with one hand and to God with the other hand. No wonder some church people are so unhappy! Hold onto God with all your might and live the separated life that is blessed by God. You are not being stuck-up you are being obedient to your Master. 

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS SATURATED WITH THE SCRIPTURES V. 2 ...his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 

    Having one’s heart and mind completely saturated with the Word of God is something almost unheard of in our age. Modern minds and hearts are full of foolishness, hatred, prejudice, sin, and all kinds of worldly and even demonic thoughts. This includes church people and us ministers as well. Oh, the tragedy of the loss of godly mediation. 

    When one’s mind is distracted from the scriptures and God then one loses true and lasting happiness. The best times of my entire life have been when I got lost completely in the Word of God. Happiness pursues you and finds you when you forget the problems of the world as well as your own personal problems which are of little importance. 

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS SITUATED BY THE RIVER V. 3a “...he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water…” In order for a tree to thrive it must have constant moisture. The Pecos river runs through the dry New Mexico desert. It is only along the river where the trees grow to any size. In order for the child of God to grow and thrive he must stay close to the LORD. There are too many dried up and parched people in Baptist churches today. If you want happiness to find you then live close to the LORD and thrive in this dusty, dried out spiritual world.

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS SEASONAL V. 3b “...that bringeth forth his fruit in his season…” No tree bears fruit all twelve months of the year. I live in an area with many cherry, apple, and peach trees. I always look forward to the time of year when the trees start bearing their fruit.  When I first started preaching I had the idea that I would constantly see fruits of my ministry. Was I surprised. Sometimes, you have to wait for years and years before you see any fruit. But it is worth waiting for. This is when the blessing of bearing fruit which has been pursuing you catches up with you. This is what brings true happiness and not the pursuit of it. As long as you are chasing happiness it can not catch up with you. It is like goodness and mercy in the twenty-third Psalm, surely it has been following you all along. It has been behind you all the days of your life. Slow down and let it catch up with you!

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS STEADFAST, STEADY, AND STAUNCH “...his leaf also shall not wither…” This refers to an evergreen tree which is always green regardless of the time of year. There are evergreen Christians and then there are those with dried out leaves who look dead. The happiness of an evergreen Christian doesn’t come and go. He is not moody, but always the same. He always looks like He is alive. This involves stability. 

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS SUCCESSFUL V.3 “...whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” He doesn’t necessarily have success as the world sees it, but he has spiritual prosperity and success. He lives a rich and full life. He is thriving and flourishing, spiritually. He gets the most out of life. HE’S ALIVE! 

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS SOLID (GROUNDED) V.4 “The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” Many today are blown around and about by every idea that comes along. I am shocked by how many, including the older generation (my generation) who have accepted old Eastern religions which have absolutely no foundation whatsoever. I am talking about such things as reincarnation.  Then there are the use to be Baptist who have accepted nondenominationism which also has no Biblical foundation. I guess they heard the wind blow from the mouth of some self appointed false religionist. Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO IS SECURE (ETERNALLY) V.6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  The very best thing that an individual can possibly have is the knowledge of knowing that he is eternally secure. I am glad to know that when I leave this life behind that I will spend eternity in heaven. John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. You can know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life now! If you do you are blessed and you should be happy. If you want the greatest blessing of all, trust Jesus Christ as your very own personal Saviour and start living the “blessed” life. Are you “blessed”? Are you happy? If not do what the first Psalm tells you to do and happiness will catch up with you!!!