Psalm 1 “The Battle for Your Soul”

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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We have wrapped up 1 Peter now, and we're going to spend the rest of this summer, as

Derek mentioned, in the Psalms.

I am really excited about this.

For me, Psalms has become, over the years, my favorite book in the Bible.

Psalms is the hymn book of God's people.

It's poetry sung to God, words that are prayed to God, touching on the full range of emotions

that we feel, covering the full spectrum of life experiences, anything you've dealt with

the Psalms deal with.

I love that Psalms gives me words when I don't know how to talk to God.

I love that Psalms gives me permission to be honest about my struggles and the hard times,

and it helps draw me back to a faithful God and a place I can rest.

I love that Psalms helps engage my heart for those of you like me who have a tendency to

think with your head and to lead with this intellectual theology and sometimes lose sight of my personal

relationship with a personal God.

Psalms helps us.

So if poetry or singing or feelings are not your thing, you're not alone, you're in Huntsville,

hang in there.

God wants to help.

He made you.

He loves all of you, every part of you, and He wants to shape your heart,

not just your head to follow Him.

In fact, there is a battle going on day in and day out for your soul, for the deepest part

of who you are, and God is fighting for you, His children.

That is such good news.

There's so much different poetry in the Psalms, so many different kinds of songs.

They don't all just say praise God and sing to Him a new song and shout for joy,

although we'll talk about some of those.

But over the next few weeks, we're going to sample some different kinds of Psalms

because we don't have time to cover 150 right now.

This morning, we're going to look at Psalm 1,

which leads us into the book as a whole with a song about wisdom.

Wisdom for living in covenant relationship with God.

Wisdom Psalms answer things like,

how has God made us to live?

What can relationship with Him look like?

What is the result of living with Him day by day?

Read with me hymn number one in God's holy word,

given to shape your heart and your life.

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.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on His law he meditates day and night.

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.

The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

This is God's word.

Let's ask for His help.

Father, we give You thanks

that You would not only enter into relationship with us,

but then tell us what that is to look like.

That You would not only create us,

but then tell us how we're supposed to work.

Would we hear You clearly this morning,

by Your word, by Your Spirit,

directing our lives after You?

Give us ears to hear.

Give us hearts to listen and obey.

Change us and mold us after the image of Jesus,

we ask in His name.

Amen.

Amen.

Wouldn't it be wonderful?

Wouldn't it be wonderful

if when a neighbor was sharing a struggle with you,

you know, work is frustrating,

or marriage is just not working out,

or life is hard and it just doesn't make sense right now,

if you were really able to listen instead of rushing away?

Rather than feeling equally hopeless yourself,

if you were able to tell them that you were praying for them

and actually expect that God would show up and work in their lives,

if rather than forgetting them in the pursuit of your own priorities,

you remembered and followed up

and shared the hope of God's faithful presence in your life

and similarly hard times,

and you shared that with your friend,

wouldn't it be wonderful

if that was your normal life?

Wouldn't it be wonderful

if when your child is being disrespectful,

I know, just imagine, if,

if you didn't lose your cool,

if you didn't start feeling resentful

because it makes you feel like a bad parent,

if you didn't shame your child

into treating you the way that you deserve,

but instead, if you calmly pointed your child

to the love of God,

clearly shared with your child

and your need for God's direction in all of life,

and patiently showed your child the grace of God

to meet disrespectful people right where they are?

Wouldn't it be wonderful

if when you saw your friend's new clothes

or home

or Insta vacation pics

when you're scrolling through,

you didn't immediately compare them to yours?

Wouldn't that be great?

If you didn't feel inferior

or resentful

or covetous

or self-righteous,

if you didn't make a snide comment

to another friend,

but instead,

you felt genuine joy,

you rejoiced with them,

you were excited for your friend,

and you still felt excited

about your decision

to sacrifice the next thing

on your wish list

to give to the neighbor

whose needs

you've recently learned about?

Wouldn't it be wonderful

if when life starts getting frantic

and you start feeling anxious,

the first things on your heart

were not your need for control,

your pressure to perform well in the clutch,

your desire to impress others

so that you get ahead

and your whole body

is feeling the tension of this stress,

some of you feel it right now?

But rather,

the first things on your heart

were God's sovereignty

and your shoulders relax.

God's steadfast love for you

and you start breathing again.

God's presence with you

and a smile crosses your face.

And the next day,

then an opportunity to serve comes up

and you feel not stressed

or anxious,

but eager to use your gifts

to serve God's kingdom

and love others.

Wouldn't it be wonderful

if that's what life was like

all the time?

Some of you chuckled a couple of times

at that idealistic picture of yourself.

But part of singing Psalm 1

is to help us see as wonderful

living with God like this.

Not that it's merely something to chuckle about,

but that it is really the way we can live.

To embrace that such a life

is not a life without hard things,

full of easy days

and constant successes all the time,

but that it is actually,

living with God like that

is actually,

even when things are hard,

true blessing,

real happiness,

the height of flourishing

that we would read this,

have it shape our hearts

and we would long to live like that.

That's why God's people sing Psalm 1.

because he gave it to us

for that reason.

The psalm begins

with the first of three contrasts.

Contrast about the good life,

so to speak.

It begins by considering

what fills us up.

That's a question I want you to

consider honestly this morning.

What actually fills you up?

What satisfies you?

What is shaping your heart?

What's that thing

that's becoming more

and more valuable to you?

It's influencing

what you most want

in a good life.

The psalmist says first,

the blessed, fulfilled,

happy member of God's people,

man or woman,

does not walk

in the counsel of the wicked,

stand in the way of sinners,

or sit in the seat of scoffers.

What is shaping you

when you roll out of bed

in the morning?

When you sit in the carpool pickup line?

When you daydream at work?

When you talk with your friends?

It could be the counsel

of the wicked

that you regularly live in.

Telling you to chase after other things.

Your own image.

Not God's image in you.

Chase after your own image,

your own possessions,

your own passions and pleasure.

So that you begin to find yourself,

having listened to that counsel long enough,

standing in the way of sinners,

planting yourself on a path

where it starts to feel comfortable

to heed that advice.

To go your own way.

To pursue your own happiness.

You're entitled to that, right?

Regardless of what God says,

that just begins to seem normal.

After all, I mean,

since when did being a goody-goody

get you the girl that you like?

Right?

Since when did being honest

get you ahead at work?

Come on.

I mean, you'll bend

or even contradict God's word

if it gets you what you want.

And that,

all the voices around you whisper,

is the good life.

What you want.

You know it is, right?

That's what you need.

Life seems to go pretty well for you that way.

You lay back and relax.

You're enjoying things.

Eventually,

sitting yourself

in the very seat of the scoffers

who started this process for you

by telling you

that God was not important

to the good life anyway.

Now you're the one saying that.

Scoffers in the Bible,

in Hebrew wisdom literature,

have cynically decided

that they're hopeless

about God making a real difference

in the world.

And they've pridefully decided

that they don't need God

in their lives anyway.

Proverbs 21, for example.

Scoffer

is the name of the arrogant,

haughty man

who acts

with arrogant pride.

That's what it means

to be a scoffer.

Perhaps the psalmist

starts here

by assuring us

that this is not

the way of blessing

because it so easily

feels like it to us,

doesn't it?

You don't have to look hard

to get the counsel

of do what feels good,

be true to yourself,

be whoever you want to be.

We wake up looking out

for number one, right?

Many of the people

in Huntsville,

most people in America

will encourage you

to chase your dreams

with no regard

for what God might say

about it

or your life with Him.

Most social media wisdom,

which I'm aware

could be considered

an oxymoron,

it will tell you

how to be better you

by looking where?

Inside yourself,

of course.

Scoffing at the idea

of God knowing better for you.

Who could know better than you

what you need?

And if that starts

filling us up,

if that shapes our souls

ten hours a day,

we may come into a room

like this once a week

and gather with the people

of God,

but the battle for our souls

will be lopsided,

heavily invested

in other influences.

Kids, it's part of why

your parents care so much

about your friends

and what values

they speak into your life,

because we know

how easily our hearts

are led astray

even by people

who care about us.

But then those three verbs,

walking

in the counsel

of the wicked,

standing

in the way of sinners,

sitting

in the seat of scoffers,

are contrasted

with verse two.

His delight

is in the law

of the Lord.

On his law,

he meditates

day and night.

This is how we know

that this walking,

standing,

and sitting

are not mere

outward actions,

but these are really

soul-level challenges

to us.

What delights you?

What do you meditate on

over and over?

What actually fills you up?

The psalmist says

the good life

is when you are

filled up

by the law

of the Lord.

And maybe that sounds

weird to you

because you hear a word

like law

and you think it means

being obsessed

with a bunch of rules

and making sure

you never violate

a thou shalt not.

That's only a piece of it.

The word is

Torah,

meaning

the instruction

of Yahweh.

Some of y'all

have been learning

about this

in a Leviticus class

recently

how God's Torah

is not just

specific do's

and don'ts.

It is the covenant

story

of His creative

power,

His gracious

redemption,

His glorious

purpose He has

for you as His people.

All of that

is Torah.

All the stories

of God's work

in relationship

with you,

His people.

Not just the

Ten Commandments

He gave them,

but the relationship

He brought them

into with Himself

first.

That's the thing

that the blessed

one can't get over.

Doesn't want

to get away from,

can't go a day

without contemplating

deeply

because it's

His great joy.

See,

Psalm 1

in talking about

Torah

is showing us

that the Psalms

are to instruct

our hearts

to,

right?

To shape

our delights,

to teach us

how God

would have us

shape our lives

so that we too

love

what He does.

I hope you're

hearing this.

God's Word,

His truth,

the Gospel story

must invade

your soul

more often

than during

a weekly sermon,

right?

More often

than during

a weekly sermon.

It must guard

your hearts

more than

five minutes a day.

It must shape

your life

more than

just when

crisis hits.

This Psalm

echoes God's

words to Joshua

as His people

are entering

the promised land.

God says,

this book

of the law

shall not

depart

from your

mouth.

You shall

meditate on

it day

and night

so that you

may be

careful to

do according

to all

that is

written in

it.

The book

of the law

never leaves

you on

your tongue,

in your

heart,

on your

mind,

all the

time,

and it

changes you.

It changes

your life

in every

situation

you encounter,

even the

mundane ones,

the ordinary,

day in and

day out.

How am I

supposed to

live?

Listen to

just some

of the

ways that

it impacts

you.

Psalm

19,

the law

of the

Lord is

perfect,

reviving

the soul.

The testimony

of the Lord

is sure,

making wise

the simple.

The precepts

of the Lord

are right,

rejoicing the

heart.

The commandment

of the Lord

is pure,

enlightening

the eyes.

The fear

of the Lord

is clean,

enduring forever.

The rules

of the Lord

are true

and righteous

altogether.

More to

be desired

are they

than gold,

even much

fine gold,

sweeter also

than honey

and drippings

of the

honeycomb.

Are you

hearing this?

Do you

know what

the law

of God

does as it

shapes your

heart?

It wins

the battle

for your soul,

brings revival

there.

It makes you

wise and

full of joy.

It helps

you see

all of life

clearly,

opens your

eyes to

what's going

on around

you,

and it

does all

of that,

get this,

whether you

realize it's

happening or

not.

Isn't that

so,

whether you

know what's

going on,

whether you

understand how

God's using

it,

that's why it

is so

precious to

us.

I'm going to

point you to

one other

place to camp

out,

another wisdom

psalm about

God's word,

extolling the

law of the

Lord,

is Psalm

119.

Yep,

you heard me.

The big one,

the one if you

are on the

Bible reading

plan,

you are currently

trapped in the

middle of for

the rest of the

year,

not quite that

long,

but it feels

like it.

Psalm 119

is a super

acrostic

psalm.

You know what

an acrostic

is?

It's like when

somebody writes

you a note

and they use

your name,

W-I-L-L,

wonderful.

Intelligent,

loving,

laughable.

That's usually

what they write

on mine,

but one letter

at a time.

You know,

they're telling

you wonderful

things about

you.

Psalm 119

does that,

but every

letter in the

Hebrew alphabet

gets a full

stanza.

That's why

it's so long.

Let me give

you just a

sample of its

riches and

then I want

to give you

a challenge.

It's called

the Psalm 119

challenge because

I'm that

creative.

There's a

variety of

words for

the law of

the Lord,

for God's

word,

for the

instruction God

gives for

our lives

in Psalm 119

saying that

we are blessed

if we live

by it.

It's where it

starts,

verses 1 and 2.

It's worth

delighting in

more than

riches at

all times,

verse 16,

as a

counselor,

24,

with the

love of

your heart,

47.

It causes

marvel and

wonder,

18.

Awe,

even while

I'm being

persecuted,

awe,

161.

God's

instructions

are songs

for my

heart when

I wander

away from

whom,

verse 54.

They're

worthy of

my

meditation,

15,

37,

97.

God's

word,

you'll know,

is a

lamp to

my feet

and a

light to

my path,

105.

It's

eternal

and

unchanging,

89.

It's

what I

need when

I stray

from God

because I

will,

176.

It's

worth

praising

God

for

seven

times a

day.

That

means

all the

time

it ought

to cause

us to

be

praising

God.

That's

164.

I'm

going to

stop for

now because

you're

going to

get to

explore

yourself.

Our

souls need

to meditate

here,

not just

two minutes,

but much

longer.

Whether

you're

doing the

reading plan

right now

or not,

you need

God's

word

delighting

and shaping

your soul.

So I

want to

challenge

you.

Here's

the

challenge.

Through

the end

of July,

just a

few weeks,

while we're

in the

Psalms,

to

meditate

on one

stanza

of Psalm

119

each day.

There are

22 stanzas,

so there's

plenty of

grace days

in there

if you get

off.

Do it on

your own

schedule.

What I

mean by

that is

read it.

In the

morning,

read it.

Keep the

Bible open

on your

kitchen table

or on

your phone

and come

back to

those verses

when your

mind is

wandering.

Don't scroll

Facebook.

Go scroll

back to

those verses

and just

let them

wash over

you.

Listen

to them.

That can

be really

helpful.

And then

read them

again and

pray through

them perhaps

at night

before you

go to

bed.

Kids,

you can

do

something

fun.

I think

it's

fun.

You

can

make

an

acrostic

with

the

word

psalm.

Just

don't

forget

it

starts

with

p.

Right?

All

those

famous

words

that

sound

like

s

and

start

with

p.

That's

p.

Psalm.

Words

for

God's

word

that

you

find

in

Psalm

119.

See

if

meditating

there

doesn't

shape

your

soul

in a

different

way.

Let

God's

word,

the

grand

story

in

which

he

has

placed

you,

his

instruction

for

your

life

and

his

world

fill

you

up

rather

than

any

of

those

other

inputs

that

draw

you

away

from

him.

Two

more

brief

points.

And

then

we'll

come

to

this

table

together.

What

fruit

does

what

fills

you

up

yield?

Different

inputs

lead to

different

outputs.

Different

loves

to

different

lives.

If

it's

the

path

of

wickedness,

sin,

and

scoffing,

verse

four

says

you'll

become

like

chaff.

That's

a problem

see

because

our

lives

are not

lived

merely

for

ourselves.

We're

to

bear

fruit

for

others

but

no

one

benefits

from

chaff.

That's

the part

you can't

eat when

you're

winnowing

the wheat.

It just

blows

away.

In

contrast,

however,

if you're

being filled

up by

the law

of the

Lord,

the

agricultural

simile

here in

this

psalm is

quite

different.

You

remember

the

redwoods

from

a

couple

weeks

ago

perhaps?

A

firmly

planted

tree

by

streams

in

the

desert

and

yes

standing

firm

in

God's

word

is a

great

image

but

the

image

here

is

even

more

about

the

fruit

isn't

it?

Timely

helpful

fruit

that keeps

coming

lasting

green

leaves

beneficial

to all

you come

in

contact

with

in

every

situation.

See it's

not

merely

the

good

life

is

not

merely

you

and

Jesus

enjoying

the

good

life

over

here

all

by

yourselves

just

you

and

him

no

no

no

God's

people

are

blessed

to be

a

blessing

to

others

you

are

to

be

sharing

with

those

around

you

who

aren't

yet

filled

up

with

God's

word

their

souls

are

just

like

yours

they're

battle

grounds

you're

enjoying

this

blessedness

the

deep

fulfillment

of

your

neighbors

your

kids

your

co-workers

your

friends

they need

it too

wouldn't

it be

wonderful

if your

life

normal

life

day in

and day

out

became

a

blessing

to

them

too

delighting

in

God's

law

now

now

you're

able

to

give

life

the

fruit

of

the

righteous

a

tree

of

life

healing

peace

blessedness

flowing

out

of

you

that's

what

we're

to

long

for

the

final

contrast

lets us

know that

these two

ways of

living

last

beyond

this

life

those

who

choose

to

live

on

their

own

apart

from

God

will

not

only

be

blown

like

chaff

here

and

now

but

also

not

stand

in

the

judgment

that's

a

sobering

eternal

warning

about

the

seriousness

of

trying

to

fill

yourself

up

with

no

need

for

God

on

the

other

hand

while

the

way

of

the

wicked

perishes

God

knows

that

means

he

cares

for

he

protects

he

loves

the

way

of

the

righteous

being

fulfilled

by

relationship

with

God

and

his

instruction

for

your

life

promises

not

only

temporary

fulfillment

the

privilege

of being

a blessing

to

others

but

also

eternal

security

and

blessedness

now

we have

a tendency

to read

words

like

wicked

and

righteous

and

think

failures

and

successes

bad

people

and

good

people

that's

not

the way

God's

people

would

have

heard

it

to

be

righteous

wasn't

to be

a

great

performer

who

always

did

everything

perfectly

and

never

had

any

struggles

following

God's

law

rather

to

be

righteous

meant

to

know

God

to

be

covered

by a

faithful

God

who

sustained

you in

heartache

because

you'd

still

have

it

who

forgave

your

sins

because

you

would

still

struggle

with

them

who

welcomed

you

by

grace

through

sacrifices

that

he

instituted

and put

in place

for

you

into

his

family

that's

what it

was

to be

righteous

at

the

end

of

the

day

then

the

good

life

is

not

about

all

your

great

performance

it

is

first

about

God

knowing

you

before

it's

even

about

you

knowing

him

he

first

gives

himself

to

you

in

relationship

God

if you

will

fight

for

your

soul

so

now

as

he

does

that

for

you

you

realize

there's

nothing

better

than

knowing

him

living

in

relationship

with

him

you

delight

in

him

no

one

loves

you

like

he

does

and

it

delights

your

soul

psalm

one

points

us

to

Jesus

for

such

a

relationship

for

such

righteousness

which

we

certainly

need

Jesus

delighted

in

God's

law

didn't

he

doing

the

will

of

his

father

shaping

his

life

around

it

blessing

many

so

many

others

as a

result

of

living

his

life

that

way

and

eternally

sitting

at the

right

hand

of

the

father

himself

loving

enjoying

delighting

in

that

blessed

relationship

listen

faith

in

Jesus

his

perfect

life

his

death

on the

cross

in

your

place

his

resurrection

from

the

dead

is

what

brings

us

into

the

people

who

then

sing

this

song

and

long

to

live

such

a

wonderful

life

Jesus

help

us

to

live

a

life

like

that

not

to

get

into

the

family

but

because

we

are

in

with

God

and

so

wouldn't

it

be

wonderful

wouldn't

it be

eternally

fulfilling

to

live

like

that

with

him

doesn't

your

heart

long

for

that

doesn't

doesn't

listen

Jesus

promises

that

to

you

as

you

come

to

this

table

Jesus

says

in

John

6

that

he

is

the

bread

of

life

and

the

one

who

comes

to

him

will

never

hunger

again

will

be

eternally

fulfilled

Jesus

says

in

John

4

that

he

is

the

living

water

and

the

one

who

drinks

of

him

will

never

thirst

again

will

be

eternally

fulfilled

so

he

invites

you

to

this

table

to

eat

and

to

drink

and

to

remember

this

is

the

true

food

that

you

need

it's

what

he

said

to

his

disciples

on

the

night

that

he

was

betrayed

when

he

took

the

bread

and

he

broke

it

and

he

gave

it

to

them

as

I

ministering

in

his

name

give

this

bread

to

you

he

said

take

eat

this

is

my

body

given

for

you

do

this

in

remembrance

of

me

and

then

after

supper

he

took

the

cup

and

said

this

cup

is

the

new

covenant

in

my

blood

shed

for

many

for

the

forgiveness

of

sins

drink

from

it

all

of

you

because

we

every

day

need

proclaimed

to

our

hearts

the

death

of

Jesus

the

good

news

of

the

gospel

he

died

in

our

place

for

our

sins

we

can

know

God

and

when

we

do

this

we

proclaim

his

death

until

he

comes

if

you

have

settled

in

your

heart

that

Jesus

is

the

only

one

who

will

truly

fulfill

you

if

you're

willing

today

to

repent

of

those

other

places

you

find

your

heart

looking

for

fulfillment

if

you've

trusted

your

life

now