Psalm 1: The Gateway into Worship and Prosperity
Please read Psalm 1 and Luke 6: 27-38, and then pray; May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14) Amen.
What do the market towns of Skipton in North Yorkshire and Burford in West Oxfordshire have in common? Both these delightful towns are deemed to be the gateways into extremely beautiful parts of England. One is the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales and the other the gateway to the Cotswolds. Being a proud Yorkshireman, I know Skipton better then I know Burford. Once I pass through the bustling market town of Skipton, I know that my next call is the village of Gargrave, where I can turn right toward the gorgeous Malham Cove or I can continue straight on to the town of Settle and then turn toward the three peaks – Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent. I am now in the heart of God’s own county and I am surrounded by magnificent countryside in all directions.
Psalm 1 is a gateway into the worship of Almighty God. It is also a doorkeeper. As I pass through this Psalm and walk past this ancient doorkeeper, I am entering into a treasure-trove of worship. Psalms is a book of worship, a book of devout prayers and hymns focused on the attributes and the glory of God. It was, and remains, the main Jewish song and prayer book, and it became the worship book of the Christian Church after the ascension of our Lord.
Psalm 1 is the first Psalm for a reason – a very good reason. It was not selected to be the first Psalm in some random kind of way. Psalm 1 contained the right content to be worthy of introducing the people of God to the worship of their God. Psalm 1 was deemed to be the perfect entrance or gateway into the entire book which would inspire and direct the worship of Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth. So, Michael Wilcock in his commentary on the Psalms writes this about Psalm 1;
We are to see Psalm 1, and probably Psalm 2, as the inspired introduction to the whole book.
Another commentator, Derek Kidner writes;
It seems likely that this Psalm was specially composed as an introduction to the whole Psalter. Certainly, it stands here as a faithful doorkeeper, confronting those who would be in the congregation of the righteous.
The content of Psalm 1 must be very important. It is a Psalm that introduces us not only to worship, it introduces us to two ways of life and living. The way which pleases God (the way of the righteous) and the way which displeases God (the way of the wicked). There is the way of worshipping and honouring God, and the way of rejecting and dishonouring God. Two ways. This is therefore similar to the story Jesus taught concerning the broad and the narrow way in his Sermon on the Mount.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7: 13-14)
John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress was built on the foundation of this story by Jesus which has so much in common with Psalm 1. The two ways.
Allow me to concentrate for a moment on Psalm 1 as a gateway into Christian Worship. First and foremost, the Christian is called to be a worshipper – and one who seeks to worship God who is spirit, “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) As Jesus taught the woman of Samaria: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
This is what the book of Psalms helps you and I to do. It teaches and guides us in the proper and appropriate ways of worshipping God.
Psalm 1 is important because it introduces to the most important foundation of true worship. This vital foundation to all true worship can be summed up as delight in and devotion to the Word of God.
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night.
Christian worship exists and thrives only because of the gracious gift of God’s Word – God’s law. In the case of the Jew, this was of course – the Torah – the first 5 books of the bible. In the case of the Christian, it is the entire bible, OT, and NT. Worship is possible because the Word of God makes it possible. The Word enables us to see who God is and what He has done as our Creator and Redeemer, and then respond appropriately. We need the Word to worship. But there must be “a delight” in the Word. The Word must be read, received and meditated upon – and then obeyed with delight and joy and thanksgiving. The proper way to approach the Word is elucidated for us in the Psalm which is by far the longest – Psalm 119. In that lengthy and magnificent Psalm, the Psalmist extols the virtues and the glory of the Word of God. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. (Psalm 119:16)
So, there is a golden link between Psalm 1 and Psalm 119 – and that is the Word of the Lord – “the law that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (119:72). Jesus said, and he was quoting Deuteronomy at the time; Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
This is why the Word takes centre stage in all true acts of Christian worship. When I prepare an act of worship, the first thing I do is to consult the Word. What are the lectionary readings for the day? What is the text of Scripture that this act of worship will be built upon and around? Today it is Psalm 1. What Scripture shall I use to call the people of God to worship? Today it was Psalm 63 v 1-5. What will be the first hymn? A hymn based on Psalm 42:1; As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. What should form the content of our prayers? Confession, Thanksgiving, Adoration, and Intercession – all of which we find in the Psalms and in so many other parts of the Bible. An offering must be taken, because worship according the Word includes “offering our bodies as a living sacrifice to God and to His perfect will.” (Romans 12: 1-3). I must spend hours prayerfully preparing the sermon which carefully expounds and applies the word of God to the gathered people of God. How do we conclude our worship? With a blessing or with the Grace (2 Corinthians 13:14) which are lifted from the words of Holy Scripture! The Word must abound in our worship. There must be an abundance of the Word and the truth of God – and remember this Word – ultimately points to Jesus.
The people of God must be fed with the Word of God or they will remain hungry and even under-nourished and vulnerable to deceit and spiritual decline. I fear for some Christians and Churches because they are malnourished. There is a famine of the Word. Do you see the vital importance of the Word? Do you understand why poor and persecuted Christian believers desire their own copy of the bible above all things? Can you grasp why I personally place such a significance on the preaching of the Word? Psalm 1 inspires me to do my job properly! Can you understand why during any true revival of Christian religion – the Word of God is “held in high honour?” (Acts 19:17)
But as well as Psalm 1 providing that amazing gateway into true worship, it is also the gateway and guide into Christian prosperity and fruitfulness. Listen again to the key verse and image of this opening Psalm;
He (or she) is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he (or she) does prospers.
Being devoted to the Word is the key to the successful and prosperous Christian life. When the word “prosperous” is used here, it is referring to spiritual prosperity and the fruitfulness and growth of Christian character – the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is not referring to what many in America and parts of Africa propagate as the prosperity gospel. Being prosperous here does not refer to health and wealth. That is a false gospel. The prosperity gospel preached by wealthy tv evangelists in America teaches that spiritual prosperity is about very healthy bodies and very healthy bank balances. This is not what this Psalm is referring to or promising.
The prosperity highlighted here is spiritual prosperity – the knowledge and the joy of God’s wonderful shalom (peace), protection and sheltering care. The prosperity here refers to spiritual strength, fortitude, and endurance. Notice, the Psalmists emphasises that “their leaves will not wither.” This is echoed in a later Psalm which teaches that even very old Christians will continue to enjoy such prosperity despite their agedness and physical frailty. This is what we read in Psalm 92:12-15 (Read)
Jesus spoke about endurance through the word when he taught about a person building their lives on the rock of hearing and obeying his word. (Matthew 7:24-27). Jesus also taught that the fruitfulness of love and obedience come through the abiding of the word in our hearts. He taught this when he spoke about the vine and the branches. (John 15: 7-8) Jesus is interested in his disciples experiencing the prosperity of mutual love, obedience, answered prayer, and effectual spiritual growth.
The second thing we can say about Psalm 1 then is this: all spiritual growth and prosperity, all enduring faith and fruit and true Christian character are brought about through our delight in and obedience to the Word. Therefore, regular personal devotional reading of the bible is a must for any Christian wishing to prosper and bear fruit. Attendance at bible studies and homes groups becomes important for one who longs to prosper and grow healthily as a Christan disciple. Hungering for the word coming through biblically based sermons is key for those aiming at living victoriously as Christian believers. How are you doing and how are progressing in this realm of Christian spiritual prosperity? Are you like a tree planted by streams of refreshing clean water? Where is your life and faith and growth rooted?
The third and final thing I wish to share about this first Psalm which opens-up this library of worship in the whole book, is the fact that it is the Word and only the Word that keeps us on the spiritual straight and narrow. It is the word of God that directs us and keeps us in the righteous way – the good pathway throughout life. Notice the Psalm contains this emphasis on the two “ways.”
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (6)
To stay on course with God and enjoy his blessings and the “blessed life,” (1:1) we must soak ourselves in and with his Word, for His Word provides all the guide-posts we require to faithfully walk in God’s ways. We either listen to God through His Word or we listen to the counsel of the god-less world. (1) It is in the famous Psalm 23 where the Psalmist reminds believers; He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (23:3) These righteous paths are carved out for us by God’s word of instruction. God says to us, through His loving Word; This is the way – walk in it. (Jeremiah 6: 16)
Who or what are you most influenced by? The Word or the world? Who or what influences and directs the way you make moral choices, ethical decisions, spend your money, prioritise your time, use your talents and gifts, devote your energy? (1) Do you pay more attention to the secular newspapers than you do to the Word of the Lord. Do you absorb tv programmes with their moral outlook or do you absorb the Word of God to know the rights paths? Have we taken note as Paul teaches that “bad company corrupts good character? (1 Corinthians 15:33) Who really inspires and guides your thinking and your behaviour? In Psalm 2, we hear how the world, with all its political leaders, movers and shakers treats God’s Word. (Read Psalm 2: 1-3) To the world, the Word with its commands of love, is seen as constricting, and as an unnecessary burden which needs to be thrown off and cast away.
Where do you get your counsel from? (1) From the world, from the wicked, the sinners, the mockers – or from the word. This is not a call to separate yourself from blatantly sinful people, for our Lord Jesus mixed with them to show them God’s love and forgiveness. But it is a call to make sure your life is guided by the Counsel of God – by the Counsellor – the Holy Spirit – who inspired and brought into being the Holy Word. As the parable of the Sower reveals, only those who receive, retain, and revere the Word will endure to the end and produce a harvest. Too many Christians fall away, through being choked by the world’s propaganda and rebellion against God and swallowing it, hook, line, and sinker. And it is a sinker, for it sinks true godliness and fruitfulness. (Luke 8:11-15)
The righteous ways of the Lord are to be discovered in the Word of God, and particularly in the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus which is why we heard the message of Jesus as recorded in Luke 6: 27-38. What are the ways we are to walk in according to the word of the Saviour who is the Word made flesh? The way of loving and praying even for your enemies. The way of being merciful and kind to all others. The way of not being judgemental when you already know you have a spec in your own eye. The way of forgiveness for others who have wronged you. The way of generous giving – giving that goes the extra mile, giving that means serious personal sacrifice for others.
The spiritual discipline that helps us, and that has helped me more than any other to remain in the ways of the Lord, to prosper as a Christian, and to be a humble, consistent, and faithful worshipper is prayerful BIBLICAL MEDITATION. Did you notice that the Psalmist specifies biblical meditation rather than bible study. The difference is this. Biblical meditation is when we open-up the bible, read its message and then meditate and prayerfully absorb that message into the depths of our heart and being. We eat the Word and digest it slowly. We chew the cud of the Word, seeking to extract all its goodness. Man does not live by bread alone – but by the Word. The Word is our nourishing spiritual food, drink, and vitamins all rolled into one. This week I meditated on Psalm 1 and especially on that wonderful image of a healthy tree planted by streams of water with all its healthy-looking leaves and enticing fruit. Can you meditate on that image and pray for it to be real for you?
This is what the Church and Christians must return to and passionately embrace. Delighting in God’s Word. Enjoying both the milk and the meat of God’s precious life-giving penetrating Word. Imbibing all the glorious and faith-building promises of God. Hiding God’s Word in our hearts to prevent us from sinning. (119:11) Building a foundation on the rock – the rock of the Word – the rock of Jesus. Psalm 1 is but a gateway – but what a gateway! It is a gateway to the glory of God. Amen!
(Revd Peter J Clarkson 16.2.25)
PS: Selwyn Hughes described biblical meditation (Psalm 1) in this way;
This Psalm explains that the secret of a spiritually fruitful life is to send one’s roots down into the word of God by meditation. Meditation is the process by which we place the word of God into the digestive system of the soul where it is transformed into faith and spiritual energy. Truth held in the mind must become assimilated by the spirit if it is to have its greatest effect and influence. Through meditation, a Christian extracts from Scripture the life and energy that God has put into it. To draw from Scripture the inspiration and power we need to stay fresh, we must do more than read it, study it, or even memorise it – we must meditate on it. As we do this, we draw upon the life of God in his word which, in turn, produces spiritual fruitfulness the Bible everywhere encourages us to reveal.