A Song of Single-Mindedness: How to Have a Blessed Life
Want a blessed life of meaning and fulfillment? This message explores Psalm 1 and gives us actionable advice to multiply happiness and avoid taking the wrong path that leads to misery.
About the Speaker
Pastor Rinaldo (Ron) Macciola served in ministry since 1976. He was an Associate Pastor at Harbor Light Church in Fremont, CA, retiring in 2022 after 31 years of service. Since 1990, he has served as a Chaplain at Fremont Hospital in Fremont, CA. Ron and his wife Robin have five married sons and enjoy spending time with their 10 grandkids.
Today’s Choices Become Tomorrow’s Quality of Life
Psalm 1 Is A Guide to a Blessed Life
Always bring the word of the Lord with you; it will always bring positive returns. As we open the Lord’s songbook, the Psalms, we are greeted with a comforting word: “Blessed.” Do you see that word? Psalm 1 begins with, “How blessed is the man.” Not only does it start the Psalm but it also welcomes us into the entire book of Psalms. This gateway Psalm is here, explains Hebrew scholar James Mays, “to invite us to read and use the entire book as a guide to a blessed life.” (Psalms, Interpretation, p. 40).
The word of God will always thrive when you open it. The word of God will feed you. The word of God will keep you. The word of God will preserve you. The word of God will follow you. The word of God will heal you.
Use the word of God. James Montgomery Boice, Christian theologian and author, adds, “beginning the book with a blessing is important certainly for it is a way of saying that the Psalms as well as all scripture have been given to us by God to do us a good.” So, whenever you open the word of God, it is going to do good. The good that God pronounces in someone, however, is not given indiscriminately. It is bestowed on those in a particular direction.
Leslie F. Brandt, pastor and author, captures the heart of this Psalms message in his book, Psalms Now: “Those persons who choose to live significant lives are not going to take their cues from you, the religiously indifferent. The separation of Christians and non-Christians is growing wide. But watch, where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. And these people who are tired of the world’s message are coming to Christ. Those persons who choose to live significant lives, are not going to take their cues from the religiously indifferent; nor will they conform to the crowd, nor mouth prejudices, nor dote on the failures of others. Their ultimate concern is the will of God. They make their daily decisions in respect to such. Compare them to a sturdy tree planted in rich, moist soil. As a tree yields fruit, so their lives manifest blessings for others and are purposeful and productive. This is not true concerning the ungodly. They are like sand in the desert storm or leaves in an autumn wind. They cannot stand against the judgments of an eternal God, and they are most uncomfortable among those who demonstrate genuine faith in the God of righteousness. The children of God walk in the course that God has ordained. The children of unbelief walk in paths of self-destruction.” https://www.google.com/search?q=Leslie+F.+Brandt+psalms+now
With the overarching theme of this song, lingering in our thoughts, let’s tune in to the message of each stanza.
Psalm 1 – Plans & Destiny
As we journey into this wisdom of the Psalm, we discover that it has two groups of people. The godly (or the blessed) and the ungodly (or the wicked). What distinguishes the one from the other? The godly, according to scriptures—and particularly the Psalms—are those individuals who are in a right relationship with God through faith. They have made an unswerving commitment to obey God’s revealed instruction in his word. The godly love the Lord and his ways, and they keep them at the center of their lives. The ungodly are wicked, on the other hand, reject the Lord and his righteous decrees, setting themselves on a path marked by disobedience. They have no regard for God standards of living, essentially ungodliness is living, as if God did not exist at all.
Psalm 1 says much about the end results of both ways of living because the choices we make today inevitably become to bare on the quality of life tomorrow. Through a series of contrasts, the Psalmist laid plain the paths—or the ways—of the godly, the wicked, and the destiny of both. The Psalmist began by explaining that the godly are blessed for what they don’t do.
Look at Psalm 1:1:
“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” (Psalm 1:1, ESV).
What exactly does blessed mean? The Hebrew word ashar is actually a plural which denotes either a multiplicity of blessings, or an intensification of them, according to commentator Boice. We could render it happiness or bliss. The word implies a sense of remarkable well-being that would be enviously desired. Allen P. Ross, professor and commentator, says this, “to be envied with desire is the [person] who trusts in the Lord.”
One day, your town won’t exist, your state or region won’t exist. One day, there won’t be countries. One day, there’s going to be a new heaven and a new earth. Secure your reservation now. By the way, it’s first class and it’s out of this world.
The meaning in being blessed also includes spiritual peace and joy that result from a right relationship with God. For the Psalmist, a blessed life is a life of genuine meaning and fulfillment.
How do people become blessed?
By not doing three things:
They don’t walk in the council of the wicked
They don’t stand in the paths of sinners.
They don’t sit in the seat of scoffers.
Charles Swindoll, pastor and author, says, “in these three lines the Psalmist uses the form of parallelism that intensifies the level of involvement with the ungodly.” The movement from walking to standing to sitting suggests an insidious progression downward. From being casually influenced by the ungodly to fully colluding with them.
As the world around us darkens, growing increasingly hostile to truth, morality, honesty, and character, we need to decide how we’re going to respond to it. Sometimes we are tempted to compromise, to slip quietly into the crowd by slowly adjusting our expectations and standards to that of our cultures. But once we’ve excepted this accommodation theology, softening and blurring the clear mandates of God‘s word in order to get along, we slide downhill fast to convolution with evil. Accommodation leads away from godliness and lands us far from lasting happiness. One comedian said “if you had it all, where would you put it?” Isn’t that the goal? Get as much as you can. OK, where do you put it? As the godly are blessed for not following the ways outlined in verse 1, they are also blessed for following the course described in verse 2.
Delight In the Law of The Lord
“but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).
First, the godly delight in the law of the Lord, which is generally understood to be God’s will, or instruction as revealed in his word. What is it about God’s word that brings delight and blessing? It provides necessary absolutes in a world without them. I know that my redeemer lives. Stick with God; he’s a winner. It gives us a meaningful view of life in a world that’s futile, empty, and filled with cynicism. It tells us the truth in a world that’s awash in lies and uncertainties.
In this first part of verse 2 the Lord is emphasizing what blesses the individual who grows to more deeply appreciate both the temporal and eternal values of submitting to God’s word.
How Do You Meditate Upon God’s Word Day and Night?
Secondly, the godly and blessed person meditates day and night on the truth of God’s word. You ever wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about stuff? Yes, we do that. Why not mix God into that and pray in those moments?
How do you meditate upon God’s word day and night?
We do this through reading, studying and memorizing, and applying God’s word. If you memorize the word of God, it’ll come back to you when you need it. We take this challenge to heart and we find peace in its promises. This is what Paul was talking about when we spoke of being transformed by the renewing of our minds in Romans 12:2. We become different people when we let God’s word permeate our minds and hearts.
What Are the Results of Delighting in And Meditating on God’s Word?
Look at verse 3.
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:3).
We’ll be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and then whatever he does, he prospers. So, we’re likened to a flourishing tree; a common metaphor in scripture. It’s found in Proverbs, Jeremiah 17, and Ezekiel 47. The godly person’s roots are firmly planted. They’ll never change and they’ll never rot. We’re firmly planted, stable, and strong. We are able to withstand life’s storms. The godly life is planted near running water, continually receiving rich nourishment from the Scriptures. And it’s blanketed with abundant foliage and fruit in its season.
Psalm 92 provides a parallel image of the blessed life of the godly person.
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green” (Psalm 92:12-14).
Even in old age, a person who has invested his or her life in what is eternal will still be very fruitful to God. God is not done with you yet. Trust him. Growing old is hard. I didn’t know it was gonna be so hard growing old, but thank God we’re here.
The ungodly (or wicked) have something else in store. The Psalmist now paints a grim portrait of a life lived apart from God. The verse literally begins, “the wicked are not so.” All the blessings that were described are not for the wicked. They are not to be happy many times over. They are not directed in the ways of truth. They will not become as a firmly planted tree, stable, nourished, and fruitful. Rather, the wicked will be like the wind-driven chaff, insubstantial, useless.
Are You on The Road to Genuine, Lasting Fulfillment?
Verse 4: but they are like chaff the wind drives away. It sounds a bit bleak, doesn’t it? Chaff. The word is abrasive, transient, abrupt, so like the life it represents. Here one day, and at the slightest breeze, gone the next.
Pastor Ray Stedman, former founder and pastor at Peninsula Christian church in the bay, gives us a firsthand description of what chaff is like:
“I do not think you city folks understand chaff. In Montana every fall we had harvesters who came around with a thrashing rig. The bundles of wheat would be thrown into this machine. The straw would be blown out onto the stack and the wheat would come dribbling out to be poured into trucks or wagons and taken away to the granary. But floating around in the air everywhere was chaff. It was the awfullest stuff you ever saw. It stuck to the skin wherever you sweat; on the back of your neck and down your shirt. It created frightful itching. It was universally regarded as the most worthless stuff there ever was.”
The only thing they could do was let the wind blow it away. That’s true of the nature of the ungodly life; no roots, no value, no lasting contribution.
The godly enjoy meaning and fulfillment and deep roots, rich fruit. But not so the wicked; they are blown away like dust. The ungodly don’t always look that unstable on the surface. Many live well. Often, they represent the main stream of wealth and influence in our society. They drive expensive cars, live in luxury homes, travel all over the world while many godly believers do their best to simply pile the family into the old car and go to church on time. What gives? At a glance, the eternal timeframe might help answer that. The ungodly may have some material success, but they won’t experience genuine, lasting fulfillment. and those who turn their backs on God will ultimately be found wanting in the life here after.
The Connection Between Devotion and Destiny Is Not Negotiable
Notice the transition in verse 5.
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (Psalm 1:5).
The Psalmist predicted certain peril for unbelievers when they come before the holy God. Unlike the righteous who will stand tall in the grace of Jesus Christ, the wicked will bow in shame to receive their just an eternal sentence.
As commentator Walter Brueggemann notes: the connection between devotion and destiny is not negotiable. Their temporal prosperity does not mean that they are exempt from judgment here on earth. Their judgment has simply been deferred to the future.
Which Way Will You Choose?
The last verse of Psalm 1 gives us our final contrast.
“for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:6).
The Psalmist uses the most intimate of words to describe the relationship between the lord and the righteous. He knows their way. I’m other words, the Lords primary concern is for the ultimate well-being of the righteous. Look at what a wonderful Savior we have. In Psalms 56:8, he says that he’s God and symbolically bottle is your tears. Symbolically. Isn’t that a God who’s intimately acquainted with you? When’s the last time you cried? God saw it. He bottle of those tears symbolically. In Matthew 10:30 he’s numbered the very hairs of our heads. God has the very hairs of your head numbered. He is a wonderful Savior. He knows you that intimately. He cares for you not only here, but in the hair after. In contrast the way of the wicked will perish. The day is coming when all people will stand before the Lord as judge. You don’t need to rush that process. You just need to proclaim the goodness of the Lord. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. He who knows us from the inside out who discerns the motive behind our actions, and who knows truth from error will judge the godly and the ungodly. The godly will be blessed. The ungodly will be able to stand. Those who have chosen to live their lives apart from God’s goodness will perish; separation from God without parole. The way of the wicked will perish. The deathly judgment of the wicked is no less certain than the blessedness of the godly.
Two ways to live. Two destinies. Both sure. Which way will you choose?
Moses’s last words to the Israelites are:
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
God wants you to choose him because in him, our blessing, delight, meaning, and life.
“in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
Will you choose the way of the blessed? It’s the path blazed by God, who wants you to do good.
What’s the message of Psalm 1 in a nutshell? Multiplied happiness comes from being single mindedly committed to the Lord. God‘s not done with you, don’t be done with yourself. Trust him. Serve him. Be faithful to him.
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