Introduction
Each of us have a ‘happy place’ -- a place where we can retreat; a place of quiet meditation; a place where we can be ourselves, a happy place. For some of it could be tinkering around in the man cave; for some cooking up a storm; for some hanging out watching a game or stuck to a gadget. Growing up my happy place was an upturned barrel stored on the balcony of our first-floor house. That was my Old Faithful on which I have spent hours sitting, watching and thinking. Perched there I could look out and watch people walk by and tell me their stories without speaking. I could look up by day, and watch eagles, as they soared on the rising summer currents. I have watched cloudless skies and wondered about rapture. Talking about rapture, I have wondered if I would bump into those eagles on my way up; or if I would be able to grab them on the go. By night, I have gazed at the stars and wondered why God would hang them up so high, or if it was His way of fairy-lighting a bland night sky. I have wondered, if stars were actually holes in a dark tarpaulin covering the sun? I sat there looking inward and have had conversations with “friends”, written poems, came up ideas that have landed me in trouble later. And when it did, the Old Faithful would be waiting, as a little boy’s only refuge.
I grew up on the Old Faithful. I can still feel, if I linger long enough in my memories, the warm breeze against my face, as I sat there through long days and lonely nights. That was my happy place; and I believe each of us have our own ‘happy place’. I thank God for that Happy Place.
Happy place for a Christian is the Scripture, and for many it is the Book of Psalms.
Which Christian has not found solace in Psalms; or has sung it as Praise from his or her grateful heart? A Psalm is read when a baby is born; when child is sick; when a teenage is leaving for University; at a wedding; at a celebration; when a new house is bought or a home established. It is Psalm that often brings comfort to the dying and courage to the grieving. It is the hope of those standing by the graveside and joy to those sitting around at family reunions. There is a Psalm for the lonely and a Psalm for the congregation; there is a Psalm for the young and a Psalm for the old. There is a Psalm for the repentant, and a Psalm for the Wicked, even though it brings him or her no solace.
Psalms is the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament – about 40% of all OT references. Our Lord Himself quoted the Psalms more often than any other OT book.
The Psalms has the simplicity to capture the reality of our human experiences and circumstances, and the expertise to express our deepest emotions, which we are often unable to voice.
We can all be thankful for the Book of Psalms. Though written thousands of years ago, it is still relevant to us today.
It is our happy place, because here our simple hearts see with crystal clarity the face of our Shepherd – our Saviour – Our Shield – Our Solution - Our Satisfaction – Our Sovereign.
I began a personal study of exploring Psalm to build a composite of my Lord in the Psalms – studying especially the Messianic Psalms.
Together, we will embark on a journey through the Messianic Psalms.
The Book of Psalms is a buffet.
Book of Psalms can be a wonderful dine-in experience. It can be your appetizer, your entrée, your steak you can sink your teeth in, or the dessert for your soul.
There’s a Psalm for every occasion and every person and we can only be thankful therefore for God’s great provision in the Psalms.
Historic: Psalms that tells us about God’s goodness in dealing with His people.
Penitential: Psalms that expresses repentance for both national and personal sins.
Pilgrim: Psalms of pilgrims going up to Jerusalem (Song of Ascents. Ps 120-134). Gives us the wonderful sense of drawing close to God.
Praise: Praise, thanksgiving and Hallel Psalms (Ps 113-118). Psalms sung or read on joyous occasions.
Messianic: Psalms that look beyond the writer and pointing to someone into the future. Psalms we know as referring to Christ Himself.
The Book of Psalms is a finely cut gem
When we read a Psalm, we must consider it as a multi-faceted, finely cut gem. And see through different eyes as it were.
Let’s take the example of Ps 23:
Author’s Perspective: The perspective of the author that inspired the Psalm. David knew at a personal level when he wrote "the Lord is my Shepherd" (Ps 23).
National Perspective: This Psalm gives us Israel’s experience with Jehovah as their Shepherd. The promise of care and protection and history reminds us that He has.
Personal Perspective: There is also the perspective of the reader. Think of the so many who have learned the truth that “The Lord is MY Shepherd”.
God’s Perspective: For we have a God who revealed Himself as our Shepherd. We know the Lord Jesus Christ-In Ps 22, He is pictured as our Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us;
In Ps 23, He is our Great Shepherd who cares for us; and
In Ps 24, He is pictured as our Chief Shepherd who is coming back for us.
Messianic Psalm
So we turn our eyes to the Messianic Psalms.
There are over one hundred references in the New Testament pertaining to Christ from the Psalms. (http://biblicaltruth.info/Articles/Booklet%20PDFs/Messianic%20Psalms.pdf]
In the narration of the couple from Emmaus couldn’t help but trek 7 miles back to Jerusalem, in spite of the lurking dangers of the dark. To think they just had an evening of conversation and dinner with the risen Lord. When they got back they realized that the disciples were abuzz themselves --Simon was granted a private and personal meeting with the Lord. And right there as if on cue, the Lord appears in their midst. I like the phrase “in their midst”- He refuses to be peripheral to anything; He must be the central figure for He is and must be the chief occupation.
And what is their reaction? They are startled. No amount of testimonies, women by the grave; couple from Emmaus; even that of Simon’s does not seem to be enough to convince that crowd. In fact, even when He appeared in their midst, we read, “they were too joyful to believe” (vs.41). That is our equivalent of “Kick me, or pinch me. I can’t believe this is for real”. He then has a meal the second time that evening, to show He is for real and not some apparition. Hear now what He says, in Luke 24:44.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Luke 24:44. [emphasis mine]
Law of Moses, Prophets and Psalms cover the entire OT; that is how the Jews had divided their scripture.
Here the Lord is saying the Psalms speak about me, no wonder we are drawn to the Psalms; drawn both by its content but mainly by its main Character.
Messianic Psalms paints a composite of Christ
Our endeavor will be to spend some time studying the Messianic Psalms, because in here we can sketch the biography or paint a composite of Jesus Christ.
We will find that the Messianic Psalms covers the:
Nature of Christ
Work of Christ
Rejection of Christ
Suffering and death of Christ, and
Resurrection and reign of Christ.
How do we recognize a Messianic psalm?
“A Psalm or a passage of a Psalm affirmed elsewhere in the Scripture as pointing to the Messiah and is almost always referenced in the New Testament to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The reason I say almost always is because not all Messianic Psalms are referenced in the NT. Three Psalms can be given as examples.
Psalms 24. Speaks of the King of Glory.
Psalms 72. Outlines the Millennial reign of Christ, the greater Son of David.
Psalms 89. The fulfillment of the Davidic covenant by the Messiah.
In our study we hope to cover each of these individually.
Amount of Reference
When we consider the Messianic Psalms we must note that it is not necessary for the whole Psalm to be speaking about the Messiah.
Messianic Psalms are usually a tapestry of writer’s personal experience and national reference, woven with the promise of the Messiah.
Therefore the amounts of reference to the Messiah vary for each of the Messianic Psalms and the reader is called to discern these references during his or her study.
See for example:
Whole Psalm Ps 22.
A passage Ps 40:6-10.
Several individual verses Ps 69:4,9,21.
Single verse Ps 41:9.
List of Messianic Psalm
List of Messianic Psalm
We must also note that the Messianic Psalms are not listed in the sequence of Messiah’s activities – birth, life, rejection, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, return and reign etc. They are interspersed to match, I believe, the writer’s need of the hour and that the Holy Spirit provided comfort though they did not understand fully what it meant.
Since it is easy for us to follow sequence and chronology we will flip-flop through the Book of Psalms as we study the revelation of the Messiah in the Psalms.
So in the sequence we wish to follow in our study, they are:
(This is laid out to my understanding; and I acknowledge that others may have a different outlook)
1. Psalm 2. Messiah’s Sonship. The Official Glory of the Eternal Son.
2. Psalm 40. Messiah’s Obedience. The Incarnation.
3. Psalm 69 Messiah’s Sorrows. The zeal
4. Psalm 91 Messiah’s Temptation. The deliverance.
5. Psalm 41 Messiah’s Denial. The Betrayal.
6. Psalm 102 Messiah’s Humiliation.
7. Psalm 22 Messiah’s Sufferings. The Crucifixion
8. Psalm 16 Messiah’s Resurrection. The Resurrection.
9. Psalm 68 Messiah’s Ascension. The Ascension.
10. Psalm 110 Messiah’s Judgment. The Priest-King-Judge.
11. Psalm 45 Messiah’s Divinity. The King-Bridegroom.
12. Psalm 24 Messiah’s Glory. The claim.
13. Psalm 89 Messiah’s Throne. The Davidic Covenant
14. Psalm 72 Messiah’s Reign. The Millennial Reign
15. Psalm 8 Messiah’s Dominion. The Last Adam.
16. Psalm 118 Messiah’s Exaltation. The Headstone of the Corner.
Let us begin…
Four Reasons For Beginning at Psalm 1
Psalm One is not generally considered to be a Messianic Psalm. However, there are four reasons I wish to start here as we begin a study on Messianic Psalms:
1. Hebrew Bible: In the Hebrew Bible Psalm 1 and 2 are combined as one.The Talmud states that the first Psalms were counted as one since David opened (and closed) his favorite psalms with the word “ashrei” – or praises.So in some way if we were to look at the first Messianic Psalm we should begin at the beginning.
2. A reminder: The beginning of Genesis can be compared with that of the beginning of Psalms.
Psalm has five books, each book of the Psalm corresponding to the five books of the Pentateuch.
Further the sequence of events of Genesis is similar to that of the beginning of Book One of Psalms.
• Genesis begins with the narration of Adam, perfect in creation.
• Psalms begins with the blessed man, or the “iysh”, which can mean, person, human, man, husband or an ‘ideal’ man.
• Both narrations revolve around what each of them did with God’s Word. Adam and Eve disregarded God’s Word and was deceived, but the blessed man delighted in the Word and flourished.
• The next human event in both Genesis and in Psalms is the rebellion of man.
Psalms begin with the same reminder that God is a God of second chance. It is important therefore that we capture the entire message of God’s grace and goodness.
3. Prologue: Psalm 1 is considered to be the Prologue to Book 1 of Psalms. Psalm 1 is the introduction to the rest of Book 1 of Psalms.
Book 1 is from Ps 1- Ps 41. It is like reading a book; we can’t get much of the context without the prologue. Psalm 1 is the text that sets the context for our study.
4. Picture of Christ: When we read Psalm 1, we come away knowing that the Psalm intentionally draws our attention to the only perfect example we have available in Jesus Christ.
When we read of the blessed man “whose delight is in the Law of the LORD and on it he meditates day and night”, we are reminded of what is said of Lord Jesus later in the Book of Psalms, “I delight to do Thy will O LORD”
And yet Psalm 1 is not a taunt, a challenge, or impossibility, it is a promise of possibility for the one who delights in the Law of the LORD and meditates on it day and night.
As Spurgeon puts it:
"It is not 'Blessed is the king, blessed is the scholar, blessed is the rich,' but, 'Blessed is the man.' This blessedness is as attainable by the poor, the forgotten and the obscure, as by those whose names figure in history, and are trumpeted by fame." (Spurgeon).
Read Psalm 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; [Ps 1:1].
Notice 3 things about the Psalm
The Message of the Psalm. The Psalm contrasts two ways--The way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. It is black and white with no shades of gray. That’s true even today, no matter what the world tells you. There is a way to life and a way to destruction; two ways, one choice that is the message of this Psalm.
The focus of the Psalm as we saw previously is the keeping of the Word of God. The Psalm tells us that how we deal with the Word of God is what determines the road we take.
Narrative style. The Psalm begins in the negative. “Thou shall not” seems to be the tenor of the Scripture –the Garden of Eden; Ten Commandments are couple of examples. I want to argue this is to our advantage and has in fact a flavor of Grace.
Let me give you some examples:
a. Policy Writing: I sit on a board where we were discussing governance and whether we ought to be a Policy Board or otherwise. If we were to go that route of governance, the policies that we were to write up for the functioning and the role of the CEO would all be written in the negative or as limitations. For example:
“No amount over $5000 will be spent without the express approval of the board.”
By listing what they cannot do, it frees the CEO to operate without fear of a rap on his or her knuckles. So in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve knew the one thing they shouldn’t be doing everything else was allowed. Isn’t that true liberty? We aren’t tripping ourselves at each step but living in Grace.
b. Giving up before the Receiving: Second reason why beginning in the negative is important is because we have to first give up before we can accept anything else.
I remember the summer vacations we would visit my Mom’s hometown. As kids we would be playing in the dirt and that is when my Uncle would have cut open a delicious and fully ripened jackfruit-one of the best fruits on Planet Earth. One call it all it took for us to come running to where he was, but he wasn’t ready to give it to us. He would have us go wash up, dry up and wipe coconut oil on our hands. No amount of cajoling would change that. If we wanted to eat, we had to learn to first give up our play and our mud pies, and secondly, we had to prepare ourselves to receive the jackfruit. In hindsight, it is easy to see the reason why; the sap of the jackfruit could leave a lasting stain and a sticky mess on your hands. However, at that time the delay felt unfair and mean.
This Psalm reminds us that we cannot have it both ways.
We are either on one, or the other and we have to make an active choice --The way of the wicked, or the way of the righteous.
The pivotal point of Psalm One
A. Walk, Stand, Sit
Notice the three progressively convenient actions that leads to destruction – Walk, Stand and Sit. Hebrew uses three different words to describe them. We have heard many sermons on this… [Read: Walk, Stand, Sit by Watchman Nee].
We are often given Peter as an example to explain what is happening here.
In denying the Lord we know, Peter walked or followed at a distance and later sat with them [Matt 26:58]. Peter sets himself to fail.
While there is truth in Peter’s folly we must realize that exegetically Psalm 1 is speaking more than the literal walking, standing and sitting.
Psalm 1 is dealing with lifestyles, mindsets and decisions we make as a result.
So what is the passage telling us?
The three things that the righteous person does not do are:
1. Walk: This talks to us about agreement.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed? [Amos 3:3].
• “Halak”, is the word for walk. It means to proceed, to live, manner of life.
Mannerisms and the lifestyle choices of the Righteous and the Wicked cannot be in agreement. It is that simple.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked...”
2. Stand: To stand in the “way of the sinners” does not mean standing in opposition but instead “standing in support” or “stand alongside”.
• “Amad”, the word stand means to “take one’s stand”; or “become a servant of”
“…Nor stands in the way of sinners,…”
The Righteous will not stand in support with or become a servant to the convictions of the Sinners.
3. Sit: This talks to us about participation – being a part of; being involved.
• “Yashab”, used to describe sit; means to dwell, to marry, to live, to inhabit.
“…Nor sits in the seat of scoffers;”
Do you see the moral decline?
We read in Romans…
“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done…(goes to explain their actions and then it says) Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. [Romans 1:28-32]
Those who did not acknowledge God in their lives (the ungodly) soon gave approval to its practice (the sinners); and we see that it won’t be too long before they join in the practice (the scoffers).
That is the Principle of “Walk – Stand – Sit” or “Agree”-“Support”-Participate.
So what’s the lesson?
Increasing Involvement with Decreasing Effort
Once on the track involvement is inversely proportionate to effort. It is a snowball effect.
• The progressive lifestyle of sin - ‘agreeing’, ‘supporting’ and ‘participating’ takes a decreasing level of effort – ‘Walk’-‘Stand’-‘Sit’.
• Who has not realized that each repeated sin is easier to commit than the one before? That is the truth about sin – the spirit is quenched and the conscience seared.
The message is clear don’t get on that road.
Way of the wicked is a toll road to destruction. It takes a terrible toll—death.
B. Delights and Meditates
When we read the Psalms we must remember we are reading Hebrew Poetry. One of the tools of Hebrew Poetry is to use contrast.
• Structure broken
In Psalm 1 we see contrast - the two ways contrasted. The three aspects of the unrighteous way must now be contrasted with of the godly way, instead we read:
“but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night...”
As Don Carson puts it, “the structure is broken to focus on one sole criteria – The Law of the LORD.
• Psalmist’s challenge
The Psalmist is challenging us. You want to be the person who…
“…walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Then, we must learn to “delight in the law of the LORD and meditate on it day and night”.
It is only by doing delighting and meditating are we able to discern and thus reject the counsel of the wicked.
• Blessedness is for those who desire the Word and not just that, but also have the discipline to meditate on the law of the LORD.
There is no other alternative.
Psalmist leaves no doubt that this is the hinge on which the door turns.
Question we need to ask ourselves is:
• “Is the Word of God, our delight, our daily staple, our mindset, our lifestyle; or is it a cake for special occasion; and sometimes even that?”
This multiple-choice question has only two options. And without apology, Psalm 1 divides us into two camps – The blessed and the Scoffer and the pivot that determines the two is what we do with the Word of God.
Let’s get real. On which camp are you numbered?
Application
Application is important.
There is a story I heard of a customer struggling to understand the reason for the "Please wait to be seated" sign that was placed outside a washroom of a particular restaurant. Some employee had moved the sign out of the way and in front of the washroom door without realizing what they were doing. This particular customer was not probably the first to notice it, but only he stopped to ask the implication.
• Do we Delight [chephets: Desire or longingly delight] in God’s Word?
• Do we Meditate [hagah: Groan, muse, meditate] on God’s Word?
The lesson here is that the desire for the Word must be combined with the discipline of meditating the Word.
Many read the Bible but few meditate.
Reading impacts the mind, only meditation can feed the soul.
Let’s Ponder
In this Psalm, the Psalmist takes pain to explain this contrast.
1. In Ps 1:1-3, the Psalmist first addresses it negatively [vs.1], then positively [vs.2], and finally metaphorically [vs.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.” [vs.3].
Notice the use of some of the words.
• Planted: “Shathal”. A transplanted tree. This is not the work or the natural setting of the tree. It is a tree that has been acted upon.
It is a wonderful imagery of the Christian who is replanted by God Himself, isn’t it?
• Fruit in its season: “'Eth”. “Fit” or “in proper time”. Sometimes the seasons are far apart for it takes time to mature; and it takes patience, much patience.
• Wither: “Nabel”. Be “treated as foolish”; or “disgraced”; or “wither”.
John reminds us of the words of our Lord Jesus,
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" [John 15:8].
Fruit bearing brings glory to God the Father, proves we are Disciples of Christ and evidences the indwelling of the Spirit.
2. In Psalm 1:4-6 we find the Psalmist proceeding to tell us of the consequence of those who choose one way over the other.
So what is our take away from Psalm 1?
We will stop here and ask ourselves what is our take-away.
• There are two ways, and what makes the difference between which road we are on, lies on the desire for the Word of God and the discipline we have of meditating on it.
Psalm 1 therefore sets the pace for the rest of the Psalms by showing both the blessing and the contrast with regards to the issue of what we do with the Word of God.
If Psalm 1 is the prologue, we see that this message of the importance of the Word of God is kept up in the rest of the Psalms. Here are some examples:
• Ps 18:30. This God--his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. [Ps 18:30].
• Ps 19:7-8. 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; [Ps 19:7-8].
• Ps 33:4. For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. [Ps. 33:4].
• Ps 119:9. How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. [Ps 119:9].
• Ps 119:11. I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. [Ps 119:11].
• Ps 119:105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. [Ps 119:105].
The two questions that makes all the difference and hopefully challenges you:
• Delight: What evidence do I show that I delight in God’s Word?
• Discipline: What measures do I take to meditate on God’s Word?
And the Psalmist reminds us that there is no other alternative to be truly blessed.
No Excuse
In closing, I want to challenge you [besides the Psalmist] by leaving you with some startling information: The Worldwide Status of Bible Translation (2013). http://www.wycliffe.org/About/Statistics.aspx.
Over 7 billion ...the population of the world.
6,900+ ...the number of languages spoken in the world today.
1,010 ...the number of languages that have some portions of Scripture available in their language (one or more books)
2,167 ...the total number of current translation programs around the world*, on behalf of 1.9 billion people.
1,707 ...the number of those current translation programs that are being facilitated by Wycliffe, SIL, or other partner organizations.
1,294 ...the number of language groups that have access to the New Testament in their heart language, representing 598 million people.
513 ...the number of language groups that have access to the entire Bible in the language they understand best.
1,900+ ...the number of languages without any of the Bible, but with a possible need of a Bible translation to begin.
180 million ...the number of people who speak the more than 1,900 languages where translation projects have not yet begun.
211 Versions of English Bible
The Bible you hold in your hand is the one that many people are crying to receive and we have 211 different versions of the Bible in English language alone.
Here is the other reason for meditating and studying God word: No excuse.
Earlier we saw we have no alternative, here we are reminded we have no excuse.
Would you be the Blessed man or woman of Psalm 1?