Father, we ask that as we come to open up Scripture together,
that you would warm our hearts by your Spirit to hear you,
to receive your word, and to trust in you and walk with you more faithfully today.
This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Please be seated.
Always a bit of a struggle for me with the lighting, but I think we're good.
My title, I think, is up there.
Maybe. I don't know.
It's The Way of Blessedness, as you'd expect, from Psalm 1.
And automatically we want to ask, well, what is blessedness?
And how can we find it?
I like how Martin Luther, in his commentary on Psalm 1,
describes two groups of people who are looking for blessedness.
That is, they're looking for all things to go well with them in this life.
But who miss it in the end?
The first group that ends up being the furthest away from the blessed life
includes those learned philosophers, he says,
who try to pursue godliness through sheer willpower
and the cultivation of habits and virtues,
but who in the end actually deprive themselves of the blessings of this life
as well as those of the life to come.
As Luther learned through deep personal struggle,
that way of pursuing blessedness really only led to despair.
Despair because holiness does not come through the performance of religious works,
but only by turning to Christ in faith.
Last month I had the privilege of spending two and a half weeks over in Germany,
in Wittenberg, as part of a center for reformation studies,
in those towns where Luther experienced that spiritual breakthrough
that led finally to him having a sense of assurance of God's love and pardon.
He came to find great relief and comfort in Paul's teaching
that the just shall live by faith.
Recall Romans 1, 16 to 17,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
a verse we often repeat here at Messiah,
for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,
as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.
Luther mentioned a second group
that finally missed the way of true blessedness.
It included simple folk
who imagined that the way of blessedness
had to do with the pursuit of carnal pleasures.
Unlike the first group,
these at least enjoyed those physical pleasures in this life
insofar as they are to be had.
But like the first group,
they also missed God's blessing and favor in the end.
The alternative, says Luther,
is what the teacher,
and he's referring to the author of Psalm 1.
He writes David in his commentary,
but we don't know that it was David.
We just say the author of Psalm 1, the psalmist.
The teacher, he says, derives his doctrine from heaven.
Glorious phrase.
But before we turn to that,
let me mention a third group
that remains far from the way of blessedness.
I think I came across it when I wandered down to Prague,
not just after I was in Germany.
It's a kind of cross between the two groups
that Luther mentions.
As I wandered through those city streets,
I came to a large square.
And just in front of a large monument to the reformer Jan Hus,
you may have heard of,
someone had erected a stage.
And on that stage was a speaker from Russia.
The man seemed to be an evangelist,
because in the distance I caught phrases like,
turn to Christ,
and do great things.
And when I got closer and tuned in to what he was actually saying,
though,
I heard him preach a way of blessedness
that combined all the material blessings
and prosperity that God wants for everyone now,
there's Luther's second group,
with a method or practice
for achieving or for earning it,
Luther's first group.
What was that method?
Well, it was fairly simple as I stood there to listen.
First, acknowledge that your true nature is divine.
So we're not sinners in need of a savior.
Second, learn that the real Christ
is not tied to any historical figure.
And finally, fix your eyes on Christ
and contemplate him
and you will prosper and do great things.
That was his message in a nutshell.
And I would say to you this,
nothing could be farther
from the biblical apostolic good news.
Or from Jan Hus' message, for that matter.
Where he was hoping to speak
in the spirit of Jan Hus, the reformer.
Because even from Jan Hus,
we would learn that Jesus is the Christ
and that Christ is none other than Jesus
and that the way that leads to life
is found only as we acknowledge our sin
and need for him and his mercy.
But there was nothing of that
in that message given from that stage.
So back to our psalm,
given from heaven,
as Luther says,
in the way of sin,
and not through the inventions of men.
In just six verses,
the psalmist presents to us
life's basic alternatives,
which turn out to be not many,
but two.
The way of blessedness
and the way of death.
So let's go through that psalm together.
Verse one said this,
Blessed is the man who walks
not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers.
You'll notice I emphasize the verbs there deliberately,
and there are two reasons,
at least I think we can say.
First, the verbs here,
walk, stand, sit,
highlight a very public nature of ungodliness.
The stress is on what ungodliness looks like in practice,
out there in the open.
And that's the right place to start talking about ungodliness,
because the ungodly person
loves to put what's in his heart immediately on display,
to make a show of it.
Luther says that the ungodly,
with confident security,
arrogate to themselves
all those things that are good
and refer all that is evil to others.
In other words,
as they point out how bad others are,
they actually draw attention to their own virtues.
But they remain in sin,
in the sin of unbelief,
as they govern themselves
by their own counsel
and their own ideas.
Worse still,
they take the things of God
and presume to give them a firmer foundation
than they already have.
And how so?
Well, by erecting a kind of fence around the law,
creating extra rules
that they can require of others,
and
as if to obey those rules
is to obey God himself.
There's a second reason
to highlight the verbs as I have,
and it's because they reveal
a kind of progression.
First,
the ungodly man accepts
bad ideas and advice
as he walks in it,
in the counsel of the ungodly.
Second,
he becomes
firm
or fixed
in those ideas
as he stands there
in the way of sinners.
Finally,
he actually draws others
into
falsehood
as he sits
in the seat
of scoffers,
the scornful,
those who
ridicule
the godly.
Not so
with those who are blessed.
What does verse 2
tell us
about the godly?
Well, it says
that they delight
in the law
of the Lord,
and in that law
they meditate
day and night.
Notice the verses,
the verbs there.
Delight,
meditate.
The emphasis here
is on the inner life,
isn't it?
We shift from
public action
of the ungodly
to the inward
spiritual
habit
or condition
of the godly.
Why is that?
Well,
I don't think it's
so that we can say
that godliness
is simply about
hidden things
that you can't see,
the hidden sphere
of the soul.
rather,
I think it's
so that we'll
get things
in the right order.
It's so that
we'll get the heart,
get to the heart
of the matter,
the heart
of the human problem,
precisely
that place
that God
applies the remedy
to.
And that's why
Paul prays
for the church
in Ephesus,
I beg your pardon,
as he does.
I pray,
he says,
that out of
his glorious riches
he may strengthen
you with power
through his spirit
in your inner being
so that Christ
may dwell
in your hearts
through faith.
Ephesians 3,
16 to 17.
He prays this way
so that they will
truly grasp
God's love
for them,
find their only
comfort,
as those of you
studying the
Heidelberg Catechism
have been putting it.
And from there
to live
this out publicly
through godly unity
and obedience
to God's commands.
So what is the law
that the righteous
meditate on?
Well, quite simply,
the law is everything
that God commands
in His Word.
And as we're working
through the Psalms
this summer,
it's good to
turn to other Psalms.
It's clear from
Psalm 19,
which I believe
Matt will be speaking
on,
soon.
David says
that the law
of the Lord
is perfect,
refreshing the soul,
that the statutes
of the Lord
are trustworthy,
making wise
the simple,
and that the commands
of the Lord
are radiant,
giving light
to the eyes.
Everything
that God commands.
We don't ordinarily
think of commands
and rules
as things
that give light,
wisdom,
or refreshment
to our souls.
But when we consider
that God's law
or His Word
is manifested
and summed up
in Jesus
and that to serve
Him is true freedom,
then we might begin
to see how God's law
is something
that the blessed
find delight in.
True delight
values the object
of delight
for what it is
in itself.
Luther makes
a point
of underscoring
this.
He said,
the blessed
delight in God's
Word,
not focusing
primarily on
the promises
or the warnings,
but because
it is holy,
righteous,
and good.
We delight
in God's Word
because of what
it is.
It is holy,
righteous,
and good.
And as
the godly
meditate on it,
they consider it.
They reflect
on it.
They discuss
it with others
so that they
learn something
of its richness
and its depth.
So,
for instance,
I'm staying here
with Luther still,
the law thou
shalt not kill
in the whole
counsel of God,
in the whole
witness of Scripture,
is not just
about not letting
your hand perform
a certain action,
but about
not despising
and seeking
to injure
others in any
way.
Instead,
to bless them
and to do
good.
Now,
what happens
when we don't
delight in
God's law?
That's the
immediate question,
isn't it?
For most of
the time,
we're distracted
and we are
maybe approaching
God's Word
feebly
and we feel it.
What happens
when our desire
is so weak
that we wonder
whether
it isn't
more a question
of delight
so much
as just
plain duty.
And here
I think
even the
awareness
of the ways
we fall short
can itself
be a blessing.
I know this
true in my
own life.
In the midst
of our
distractions
and wandering,
God can show
us where
our selfish
imaginations
lead us.
And so those
very things
are the things
that God uses
to bring us
back to himself.
And really,
if we're honest,
too often we're
looking just
within.
We're looking
to our feelings
and our desires
and our intentions
to see if,
am I really
striving after God?
But in fact,
to bring Luther
in again,
if we're looking
within,
we're actually
looking in the
wrong place
because deep
inside,
we actually
hate the law.
we actually
rebel against
it.
We need to
look to Christ
and to his
righteousness,
asking God
again and
again to
keep us
in that
righteousness
like a
mantle.
It's only
there that we
begin to
understand,
I think,
what it means
to meditate
on God's
word day
and night
because we
might be
wondering what
in the world
that could
possibly mean.
This is not
about emptying
the mind
through some
kind of endless
mantra that we
would recite,
and it's
not even
primarily about
any kind of
method or
technique.
With God's
word,
we're talking
about a
reality that
comes to us
before we
even think of
coming to it.
We're talking
about something
objective outside
of us that
God has revealed
that we have
the privilege to
consider and
ponder and
listen to as
God himself
works in our
hearts and
minds through
it.
And what is
that work?
Well, it's
his work of
making us
attentive to
his word,
grateful for
his blessings
so that we
can enjoy the
relationship that
our meditations
bring us into.
Verse 3,
we read there
that the one
God blesses is
like a tree
planted where?
Well, by
rivers, by
streams of
water.
And this
tree yields
fruit in
season, in
its season, and
its leaf does
not wither.
The same
promise is
there in
Jesus' words.
Remain in
me as I
remain in
you.
No branch
can bear
fruit.
By itself, it
must remain in
the vine.
And neither
can you bear
fruit unless
you remain in
me.
John 15,
verse 4.
Notice here
how we're
looking outside
ourselves.
We're not
planting
ourselves, since
God is the
one who takes
care of that.
In fact, God
transplants us,
says Luther,
out of Adam
and into
Christ.
And I like
how Charles
Spurgeon
describes the
fruit God
causes us to
produce in
season.
Patience in
the time of
suffering,
faith in
the day of
trial,
and holy
joy in
the hour of
prosperity.
Not so
with the
ungodly,
verses 4 and
5 tell us,
bringing us
back to the
present condition
of the wicked.
What are they
like?
Well, they're
like the
chaff that
the wind
just drives
away, like
dust, of
no use,
right?
the way
the fruit
that we
bear
blesses
others.
Well, the
chaff is
of no use.
It says,
therefore, the
wicked will
not stand
in the
judgment,
nor sinners
in the
congregation
of the
righteous.
In other
words, without
a foundation,
without grounding,
their end is
death, because
they won't be
able to stand
on the day
of judgment,
nor participate
in the
fellowship of
the godly.
There will
be no word
spoken on
their behalf.
They'll be
without excuse,
as Paul says.
And what is
their present
condition?
Well, they
may have the
appearance of
godliness,
they may
imagine
themselves to
be godly
and set
apart, but
in reality,
they're far
from its
fellowship and
its blessings.
The last
verse, verse
six, completes
the picture for
us.
The Lord
knows the
way of
the righteous,
but the
way of
the wicked
will perish.
The picture
is here
complete.
Why?
Well, because
it states
the end
of those
who will
not stand
when the
day of
judgment
comes.
But most
importantly,
it gives
us the
whole basis
for
blessedness.
The
blessed
man or
woman is
the one
whose way
God knows.
God is
actively at
work in
planting
him where
he can
be
nourished.
God is
actively at
work preparing
his path,
preparing it
so he can
walk on
it, shining
light on
it so that
he will not
lose his
way,
shielding
him from
landslides,
if you like.
This kind
of knowing
speaks of
God's
providential
care for
those who
trust in
him.
God is
not.
By contrast,
the way
of the
ungodly
is not
a way
that God
knows.
Psalm 34,
15 to
16 says,
David,
in there,
David tells
us that
while the
eyes of
the Lord
are on
the
righteous,
his face
is against
those who
do evil.
God is
trying to
apply it
to our
own lives
today.
I think
we can
say at
least three
things about
how it
applies and
how it
challenges us
in three
areas.
I think the
first has to
do with how
we think of
life itself.
Is life a
good thing in
itself, a
gift from
God to
accept with
gratitude and
to rejoice in,
or is it
a means to
an end that
you and I
have invented
for ourselves.
And there,
the difference
is crucial.
Either we
take, either
take his
care for us,
his favor,
his word,
for granted,
or we
don't.
Darkened in
our minds as
we are by
the culture
of death,
as Pope
John Paul
II said in
an encyclical
some years
ago, it's
common to
think of
life as
something that
can be
sacrificed
to some
higher good
like convenience
or my
individual
rights or
even
preferences.
Either way,
life ceases
to be sacred
and a gift
from God.
Let me
illustrate.
Some years,
not so very
long ago,
Al Mohler
commented on
two news
items that
came across
his desk
in the
space of
just an
hour.
One lamented
the plight of
a woman who
was expecting
a baby
with Down
Syndrome,
but who
couldn't
remedy what
she supposed
to be a
problem with
an abortion
in her
particular part
of Europe.
The other
story featured
a woman who,
when informed
that the baby
she was expecting
had Down
Syndrome,
took the
opposite approach
and said,
we had a
chance to
bring this
child into
the world
to make the
world a
better place.
definitely
our family
will embrace
this gift
and face
it all
together.
Two ways,
one of
convenience
and self-determination
if you like,
and the other
of gratitude
and dependence
on God.
One of these
ways seems
right for a
while,
as Proverbs
14, 12
teaches us,
but in the
end it leads
to death.
This brings
me to a
second way
that Psalm
1 can
challenge us
today.
It has to
do with
what it
means to
say as we
find in
verses like
Psalm 103
9,
the Lord
will not
always
accuse,
nor will
he harbor
his anger
forever.
The fact
is,
many are
now inclined
to use
such verses
to argue
for a
kind of
hell that
is really
only limited
to our
present
experience,
or that
will eventually
be emptied,
if you like,
through a
back door
that opens
into heaven.
Our age is a
sentimental one,
if there ever
was one,
where we're
guided by our
feelings primarily,
rather than what
God's word has
to say on a
given issue.
We've been doing
a lot of
downsizing
theologically,
haven't we?
Instead of sin,
we have said
mistakes.
Instead of hell,
we think of some
kind of after
school detention,
a place I got to
spend a couple
of occasions
back in Mexico
in after school
detention,
feeling like a
young criminal.
It could very
well be that
we have God
himself
downsized,
so that he
fits nicely
into our own
sense of
justice.
The truth
is,
nowhere in
scripture do
we find that
hell is some
kind of warning,
but with no
teeth,
with no
substance.
Quite the
opposite.
Jesus himself
says,
these will go
away into
eternal punishment
in the parable
of the sheep
and the goats
in Matthew 25,
but the righteous
into eternal
life.
So when we
read in
Psalm 103
of God's
boundless mercy,
we give thanks
and we acknowledge
that his mercy
is far more
merciful than
we can imagine.
We also know
that his justice
is far more
just than we
could ever
imagine because
he always does
what's right.
We also know
that when he
says,
from everlasting
to everlasting
the Lord's
love is there,
it's with those
who fear him
and his
righteousness
with their
children's
children,
with those
who keep
his covenant
and remember
to obey
his precepts.
Now we know
we can't do
this in our
own strength.
None of us
can do this
in our own
strength.
We trust
in God's
mercy and
in his
power.
A third
way that
Psalm 1
can challenge
us today
is this.
I think
it can help
us to
confront
head-on
that false
way of
blessedness
such as
I think
I found
it preached
in that
square in
Prague
just a few
weeks ago
and in
other places
where we
might hear
a similar
way of
blessedness
taught to
us today.
it teaches
us essentially
to put
our hope
in our
own efforts
and in
our own
capacities.
Luther says
that the
whole Psalm
though is
directed,
is to be
understood in
relation to
Christ.
And he
continues,
he is the
mark or the
goal to
which the
man that is
blessed is
to direct
all his
aims.
So Luther
is helping
us to
read the
Psalms
Christologically
to point
us to
Jesus
through them
even though
we can
speak of
a Psalm
as very
much the
gospel in
a nutshell
in the
form of
praise.
So where
can we turn
in Scripture
to see
something of
how the
fount of
every blessing
we sometimes
sing about
is none
other than
Christ Jesus.
I can't
think of a
better place
than Ephesians
where Paul
begins by
saying that
we who've
been included
in God's
family through
the preaching
of the
gospel have
been blessed
with every
spiritual blessing
in Jesus
Christ.
We've been
chosen to
be holy
and blameless
for a
definite
purpose in
other words.
We were
predestined to
be adopted
so we're
redeemed,
forgiven,
given to
understand God's
purpose for
the world.
All of this
in and
because and
through Jesus.
And it's
all for him
too because
God's purpose
is to bring
all things
in heaven
and on
earth together
under one
head who
is Jesus
Christ.
We're
talking here
this is the
big word
that Irenaeus
used the
summing up
the recapitulation
summing up
of all things
under Christ
the head.
What was our
condition before
God called us
through the
gospel?
Chapter 2
tells us
we were dead
in trespasses
and sins.
We followed
the course
of this
world
obeying the
spirit that
is now at
work in
the sons
of disobedience.
But then
Paul goes
on.
God being
rich in
mercy
because of
the great
love with
which he
has loved
us.
Even when
we were
dead in
our
trespasses
made us
alive in
Christ,
together with
Christ,
so that he
can say,
by grace
you have
been saved
and raised
up with
him.
In fact,
we read
God has
seated us
in the
heavenly places
in Christ
Jesus in
Ephesians 2
6.
Well,
to what end
has he
seated us
there?
It's in
the same
chapter in
verse 10.
We're included
in Christ's
life.
We're seated
with him
so that we
might live a
life of
obedience to
him because
it says we
are his
workmanship,
created in
Christ Jesus
for good
works,
which God
prepared
beforehand.
And here's
another verb
we've seen
so that we
might walk
in them.
Sit,
walk.
If we're
looking for
Paul's letter
to complete
the metaphor
that the
psalmist gave
us, well,
we won't be
disappointed.
Watchman Nee
wrote years
ago and
others have
noticed the
same.
In chapter
6,
in verse
10,
Paul challenges
us with
these words.
Be strong
in the
Lord and
in his
power.
And then
he adds,
put on
the whole
armor of
God that
you may
be able
to stand
against the
schemes of
the devil.
Verse 11.
Then again
in verse 12,
he says,
take up
the whole
armor of
God so
that you
may be
able to
withstand
in the
evil day
and having
done all
to stand.
So we've
got sit
walking
and standing.
God
is this
vision of
blessedness
diametrically
opposed to
what I
heard in
Prague.
Well,
for starters,
there's no
Gnostic split
between Jesus
and the
Christ,
a split
which yanks
us right
out of
history and
God's saving
events in
real time
and space.
There's no
Gnostic
division that
makes salvation
all about the
liberation of
the mind
through this
or that
method so
that the
mind can
return to
its source.
We know
that blessedness
in Jesus
has all
to do
with the
resurrection
of the
body as
his as a
pledge of
our own
and about
a world
made new
fit for
eternity.
In the
second place,
the way of
blessedness in
Ephesians is
opposed to
that alternative
because it
teaches us
that in our
sin,
we are far
from God,
unable even
to take the
first step.
in that way
of blessedness.
The world
will think
this is,
well,
baloney,
right?
How negative
a view of
humanity,
folks will
say.
Or they
may say,
yes,
there's plenty
of evil
stuff out
there,
but they'll
never locate
the problem
in the human
heart itself.
Human
motives,
intentions,
and intuitions
will always be
seen as
more or
less decent,
authentic,
more or
less pure,
corrupted only
by the wicked
stuff that's
out there.
But we
know from
God's word
that the
heart is the
source of the
problem.
Jesus himself
tells us that.
He says,
what comes out
of the person
is what
defiles him.
for from
within,
out of the
heart of
man come
evil thoughts,
sexual
immorality,
theft,
murder,
adultery,
coveting,
wickedness,
deceit,
sensuality,
envy,
slander,
pride,
foolishness,
all these evil
things come from
within,
and they defile
the person.
Finally,
the way of
blessedness in
Ephesians and
the Psalms is
diametrically opposed
to what I heard
in Prague,
because the
call to
contemplate
Christ,
which of
course we
do hear in
Hebrews,
for instance,
fix your eyes
on Jesus,
is not a
call to
imagine the
Christ any
way we like.
In fact,
it's not
primarily a
matter of the
eye, but of
the ear.
We can put it
this way,
we can't seek
his face if
we don't give
ear to his
words.
And as we
seek him,
we seek him
for who he
is.
As we
noted earlier,
we don't
seek him with
the idea of
getting some
important blessing.
He himself set
the example,
didn't he?
He set his
eyes on his
goal, the joy
set before him,
Hebrews 12,
2 tells us,
and he endured
the cross,
despising the
shame.
So let me
finish, let me
conclude.
God's law,
everything he
commands,
stands.
There's no
running from
it.
God's grace
if we hope
to live.
But the
mercy that
flows from
God's grace
is there for
all who will
call upon
him.
There is
now no
condemnation,
says Paul,
in Romans
8, 1 and
2, for
those who
are in
Christ Jesus,
because through
Christ Jesus,
the law of
the spirit who
gives life
has set them
free from
the law of
sin and
death.
So,
brothers and
sisters,
may we not
harden our
hearts, but
rather turn to
the one who
alone has the
power, in the
words of Psalm
103, 4, to
forgive all our
sins, to
heal all our
diseases, to
redeem our
life from the
pit, and to
crown us with
love and
compassion.
Thanks be to
God.
God bless you.