In Jamey Stout's sermon on Psalm 1, he explores the theme of true happiness and misery, emphasizing the contrast between the godly and the ungodly. He draws on John Calvin's insights, highlighting the Psalms as an anatomy of the soul that represents every human emotion. Stout underscores the false facade of happiness portrayed by the world and the devil, contrasting it with the true joy found in God's kingdom through Jesus Christ. He stresses that true happiness is characterized by God's favor, being chosen, justified, and living a life pleasing to God. The sermon warns against the counsel of the ungodly, the path of sinners, and the seat of the scornful, portraying these as routes to misery. Instead, Stout encourages faithfulness, obedience, and trust in God's guidance. He emphasizes the importance of self-reflection to determine one's alignment with God’s ways, urging listeners to seek salvation through Jesus Christ as the pathway to true happiness and eternal life.
We're going to be in Psalm 1 this afternoon, Psalm 1, and we're going to seek the Lord's favor. Father, we thank you so much that you freely do give your favor to those in your dear son. What a joy it is to be in Him. That we're like Moses of old that you placed in the cleft of the rock and allowed your glory to pass by Him and then for Him to be able to see the back of you safely there. And here we are safely placed in the Lord Jesus Christ to look upon your glory.
You've allowed us to see you as you've revealed your holy self in revelation. And now here we come to Psalm 1, Lord, to continue to feast upon your goodness and who you are. We thank you. Thank you for this day. Thank you for the joy and privilege to be with brothers and sisters of like mind and Lord may we be encouraged as only you can do it for Jesus sake.
Amen. The book of Psalms. I love the book of Psalms. It has been such an anchor and rock to my soul in so many times and ways and just rejoice in these inspired poems of old. I was benefited much in John Calvin's introduction to the Psalms and four things that he lays out in his introduction as you go to study the Psalms, and here they are.
I have been accustomed to call this book, I think, not inappropriately, an anatomy of all the parts of the soul. But there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated. Number two, in short, there is no other book in which we are more perfectly taught the right manner of praising God. The third thing to keep in mind as you read the Psalms from Brother Calvin, Yet they will principally teach and train us to bear the cross.
And the bearing of the cross is a genuine proof of our obedience. Since by doing this, we renounce the guidance of our own affections and submit ourselves entirely to God leaving him to govern us and to dispose of our life according to his will so that the afflictions which are the bitterest and most severe to our nature become sweet to us because they proceed from Him, from God. Number four, we will also find that the free remission of sins which alone reconciles God towards us and procures for us settled peace with him is so set forth and magnified as that here there is nothing wanting which relates to the knowledge of eternal salvation." So this is how Brother Calvin puts the Psalms forward for us. And as you read his introduction to the Psalms, you also get to hear his personal testimony. So I encourage you, if you have a copy of his commentaries, and read the introduction to the Psalms by John Calvin.
And one of the things that he said that fitted him the most for being able to expound the Psalms was the trials that God put him through and carried him through. So there's his introduction. Psalm 1. Let's go to the Psalm and read it together. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the path of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so but are like the chaff which the wind drives away Therefore the ungodly shall 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 ungodly shall perish." Once again, I think Brother Calvin has helped us out in just thinking about this is just fruit from studying what he was saying about Psalm 1. Brothers and sisters, What we must be fully convinced about is that the facade happiness that the worldling purports and acts like he has is just that.
It is a facade. We must as the people of God be convinced that what we heard this morning that the devil's city and the devil's kingdom and the happiness that he tries to portray as being so good is a lie that only leads to hell and there is a better way and his name is the Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom is awesome and it is the best of the best and God offers it freely for all who will come and enjoy the great King of heaven in his ways. And so this is what Brother Cowen just lays out. I mean that the ungodly are of all people most miserable and that the godly are of all people most blessed, most happy. And that is the truth and we've got to be absolutely bedrock sure convinced of this truth or we're sitting ducks for the devil's ploys.
And let's not be that way. And I really think that this Psalm 1 lays before us really what Romans 6 is all about. It lays before us the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus and he is the pathway of holiness. He is the way in which we put off the old man and put on the new man and live out the new life that we have by his resurrection applied by the Holy Spirit of God. You're either united to Adam and a slave to sin or you're united to Christ and you're a slave to righteousness.
There's only two camps. There's only two people in the world. There's only two cities. You're either of the city of God or the city of the devil. And this is what's laid before us.
We have here a clear picture of who we are, what city we belong to, as it's laid before us here in the very beginning of Psalm 1. I think Matthew Henry is very helpful. He says, this Psalm of instruction concerning good and evil, setting before us life and death, the blessing and the curse that we may take the right way which leads to happiness and avoid that which will certainly end in our misery and ruin. The different character and condition of godly people and wicked people, those that serve God and those that serve him not, is here plainly stated in a few words. So that every man, if he will be faithful to himself, may here see his own face and then read his own doom.
The division of the children of men into saints and sinners, righteous and unrighteous, the children of God and the children of the wicked one, as it is ancient ever since the struggle between sin and grace, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. So it is lasting and will survive all other divisions and subdivisions of men into high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, for by this men's everlasting state will be determined and the distinction will last as long as heaven and hell." He goes on in his commentary in saying why he believes this is the first Psalm, the preface to the Psalms, and I like how he puts it, those are not fit to put up good prayers who do not walk in good ways. That is the truth isn't it brothers and sisters? And so here that the very opening of this prayer book, this inspired prayer book for us, God puts before us, listen, you must walk in the ways of God. And that's the person that's truly blessed, that truly has God's favor resting upon their head.
So that's where we begin. I would just title this Psalm, True Happiness and Misery, Psalm 1, depending on who you are in this Psalm. First of all, true happiness laid before us. We'll only be able to look at probably verses 1 and 2, and we'll camp on true happiness here. Blessed is the man.
Here's a word that means characterized by happiness and being highly favored as by divine grace. This is one dictionary another happy. And so as you trace this word through the Psalms, as you seek to get God's mind on What does it mean to be blessed? There's some things that come out crystal clear. It just says you just trace the word.
Just take a concordance and just trace this Hebrew word through the Psalms. And one of the things that comes blaring out is that it means to be chosen of God. That's what it means. It means to be chosen of God. That's what it means.
It means to be chosen of God. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own inheritance. That's Psalm 3312. Blessed is the man you choose and calls to approach you that he may dwell in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house and of your holy temple." That's Psalm 65, 4.
As you go to the New Testament And you hear Paul as he's blessing God and calling the Ephesian Church to bless God, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. And what is the very first blessing he puts on the table for us to bless God for for his blessing. The blessing of election just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. Isn't that flat-out awesome? The person who has God's favor upon him, who's been chosen before the very creation of all things in eternity in God.
Wow, it's amazing. We can't even begin to get our arms wrapped around such truth but nonetheless there it is. I like how the canons of Dorr put it about election. Therefore, election is the fountain of every saving good from which proceed faith, holiness, and other gifts of salvation, and finally eternal life itself as its fruits and effects according to that of the Apostle. He has chosen us not because we were but that we should be what Holy and without blame before him in love.
You know, all of the blessing that comes in our lives all started with the fount, right? What is that wonderful song that we sing come thou fount of what every blessing tune my heart to sing thy praise it comes from the fount That's why any good has happened in any of our lives right now today. And it's because of God putting his free favor upon such unworthy people's heads. Hallelujah, what a Savior, amen? What a God we have.
It also means to be justified by God. The psalmist says this in Psalm 32 1 to 2, blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin." Do you have that happiness? That not one single thing that you've ever thought or done is being held over your head to judge you for all eternity? Oh my, that is a blessed man indeed, isn't it?
Hallelujah for such truth that God gives us in his book. Now how in the world do I know that it's talking about justification by faith alone and Christ's law? Well, Paul the apostle expounds it in Romans chapter four, doesn't he? When he says, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. And he quotes the Psalm we just talked about.
Oh my, this is the best news that any man has ever heard in their whole life. That's what it means to be as we come to this. Blessed is the man. It's the man that's been chosen by God. It's the man that's been justified by God.
And then it also means, and you'll see this as you travel through the Psalms, the outflow of those things, the outflow of the grace of God resting upon a man. They can't stay the same. They can't stay living in the city of the devil. They hate it. They hate to see it remaining in them, and they hate to see it in their life.
They hate to see it in their children. They hate to see it in their families, and they're going out on war against sin. It's old. They're wanting to root it all out. And thus, you see this flow come out when the psalmist says, blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord.
Trusting is a part of this, 34, 8. Obeying, 119, 1. Fearing God, 112, 1. Merciful, 41, 1. So this is the outflow of the great blessing of God upon a person.
It means your strength is in God, 84.4 and 5. It means walking in the light of God's countenance, 89, 15. It means God instructs you from his law, 89, 15. I mean, excuse me, at 94, 12. It means enjoying the condition of that rule of God gives to a people under it.
I mean, it's sweet to come here and to hear talk that is not about all the dumb things of the world? But to hear the truth of the living God, and It's just a joy. It's a joy to be among the church and to hear the grace of God in action in his people. To be blessed means if we just summon all up, which I want to share Psalm 146.5 as well, it means, happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is the Lord is God. So let's just kind of whittle that down.
To be blessed means, then means that God's free favor rests on your head that produces a life well pleasing to him. That's what it means to be blessed and it just is the window of God just pouring out blessing upon us as we order our steps according to his ways because the grace poured out upon us. What a King we have. So first our psalmist here will lay before us what this blessed person will negatively avoid. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.
The man on whom God's free favor rests is characterized and conducts himself this way. And so negatively our walk here, the way we live, the way we behave in this world, the man in this gracious saved happy condition does not conduct himself according to the counsel of the ungodly." Council, going off one of the dictionary definitions that I found for it, is that for which we look to for direction or advice as a decision or course of action. And the counsel that we will not be in step with belongs to the ungodly. I found it very helpful to just go through the Psalms and just see, okay, all right God, I'm supposed to avoid this person's counsel, then who is this person? What is their counsel, right?
How can I know I'm getting wrong counsel or I'm listening to the wrong things? Psalm 10, if you go there you'll find a description in prayer against the ungodly man. You'll find him characterized in pride, he persecutes the poor. The prayer against him is for him to be caught in his own trap. He boasts of his heart's desire, he blesses the greedy, and renounces the Lord.
In his proud countenance, he does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. His ways, now here's that facade happiness, his ways always prosper. God's judgments are far above him. Out of his sight, he sneers at his enemies.
He said in his heart, I shall not be moved, I shall never be a diversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression under his tongue is trouble and iniquity. He sits in the lurking places of the villages and the secret places he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless. He takes advantage of people.
He lies in wait secretly as in a lion in his den. He lies in wait to catch the poor. He catches the poor when he draws him into his net. And he goes on. Listen to what's going on in his heart.
He has said in his heart, God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see. Why do the wicked renounce God? 10 13.
He has said in his heart, here it is, you will not require an account but if you continue on in that psalm you'll find out God will require an account And 14 through 18 lay that before us. 50 chapter 50 or Psalm 50 16 through 22 again describe this word that we're looking at the ungodly man. And just in summary bullet form here, no right to declare God's statutes or take his covenant. He hates instruction. He casts God's words behind them, approve and partake of evil, gives their mouth to evil and lies slanders thanks God is just like them forgets God so as you think about these things Ungodly counsel has this common root factor.
It ignores the weight of God and His Word. When you're receiving counsel and the person counseling you is not bringing God and His weight and who He is into the equation and what He said, I guarantee you it is not good counsel. It is not going to benefit you. We need to have a lens to where we can say, okay, where is this person coming from? Is the majesty and glory and power and grace and goodness of God here and is his ways being declared to me or is this leading me away from who God is and what he said?
Nor stands in the path of sinners, the path, the manner, the custom, the behavior, the course of conduct. You know brothers and sisters as we heard already this morning, I mean, it's just so clearly laid before us in the Bible. There is a way of the world and there is the way of God, and they are diametrically opposed to one another. So, you know, the notion that one can be as much like the world in order to win the world is a flat out lie. That's a lie.
It's a lie. It is our difference. It is our ordering our ways according to God's holy commandments that makes us different and attractable to the person whom God's dealing with to call to himself. I mean, they don't call us the whirling to hate your guts, of course. But if you're salt and you're light, there's a people out there that are called the elect of God and they're gonna come.
And our life here as a church is to be about called no matter, to come to the good city and enjoy the pleasures of God. So sinners here's one definition A person who has disobeyed any divine command or neglected any duty, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Well, that's all of us. Right? Sinners.
It's very clear from our text in 1 1, sinners have their own path. Sinners will not stand in the congregation of the righteous. We'll view that part later. Here's other texts. Check this out in 25, 8 of Psalm.
Because the Lord is good and upright he teaches sinners in the way. Hallelujah for that amen. 26 9 through 10 puts this this word with these type of people bloodthirsty men schemers, acceptors of bribes. David says he was born a sinner, 51.5, and yet holds out forgiveness for sins and the conversion of the sinner, 51.13. 104.35, the psalmist prays that they would be consumed from the earth.
And you know as you travel through Psalms, it's also the word that is used for sinning period against the Lord in the Psalms. So What's the difference? Well the one we're talking about is an unrepentant sinner. The ones that come to church every Sunday, well, we can't say it's everybody, but we're hoping, we're warning everybody, to be this type, a repentant sinner. You're either an unrepentant sinner or a repentant sinner.
Or as as brother Martin Luther would put it, you're either an unjustified sinner or a justified sinner. It's amazing how God said in His holy word that He justifies the ungodly. That's a miracle but that's what the Holy God did through His Son. And so what are you? You comfortable with sin or do you hate it?
Have you come onto God's side about your sin and you hate it along with Him or are you still toying with it and very comfortable with it? What are you? That's what we have to ask ourselves. In studying the word stand, I believe the commentaries are right. I think there's a progression, you know, with this whole matter of walk, stand, sit.
And after studying the usages of this, I think we could say it this way, that the blessed person does not fix themselves in the course of life of unrepentant sinners. The course of those who habitually disobey God's commands and neglect the duties of godliness is not where the truly happy human being establishes himself. So he does not walk in the godless council of the world and he does not fix himself on the course of lawlessness. That's not where his happiness is. He's glad there's a God in heaven who has spoken and he rejoices in that great king nor sits in the seat of the scornful.
Seat is almost everywhere translated in the Psalms. It's not every single time but many times as dwelling place. So here that's why I'm seeing this progression, this idea here of permanence. Now this person has set down in the seat of the scornful. And since this is a wisdom psalm, as you think about the different genres that come out of the Psalms, and there's quite a few, Here's a wisdom psalm for us that begins it.
We can go to the book of Proverbs to find out who is this scornful man? What is this seed of the scornful all about? Well, Proverbs 1-22, they delight in their scorning, whereas this man delights in the law of the Lord. They receive God's scorn, Proverbs 3-34. The one who corrects him gets shame for himself, 9-7.
He hates the one who corrects him, 9, 8. He does not listen to the rebuke of his father, 13, 1. He seeks wisdom but does not find it, 14, 6. He does not love the one who corrects him, and he will not go to the wise. Proverbs 15, 12.
When he is struck, a simple person will become wary. That's 1925. 2111 says when he's punished the simple is made wise. 1929 judgments are prepared for him. Now here's like a go-to verse Proverbs 21, 24.
A proud and halty man, scoffer is his name. He acts with arrogant pride, Proverbs 21, 24. Cast him out and contention will leave, yes strife and reproach will cease 22 10. He is an abomination to men. To sit down in the seat of the scornful then is to close our eyes and ears and heart to all godly counsel and say I'll have it my way thank you very much and I will not listen to you.
What a sad, sad place to be. So negatively, the truly happy man, woman, boy or girl is the one who does not conduct their life by godless counsel, lawless conduct, and stiff neck resistance to truth. That is not a happy person. That is a miserable man. That is a miserable woman.
That is a miserable boy and girl. But God offers you happiness and true happiness that will last for all eternity through his dear son that gives you the best of best, the best way to live. Two minutes, and I did not get as far as I wanted to, Pastor Scott, but I have to tell you, you guys, I've never been to a church like this. I just never have. It's just been such a blessing.
I'm so thankful to be here and to be among you brothers and sisters. And I really appreciate you guys loving myself, my family. Just wanna say that I'm very thankful for you guys. And also, as you think about this whole matter of negatively, Happiness, here's what John Calvin said, happiness is the inward blessing of a good conscience. You see the person that embraces These, this council of the ungodly, the path of the sinners, the seed of the scornful, they have to lay down at night and it's just them and God And they're miserable.
Though they try to tell themselves over and over again they're happy. And my friend, I just encourage you, Look at yourself through the mirror of the word as I'm doing myself as well. Are you this man? Are you truly blessed? Who are you?
You know you can tell who you are by who you listen to. That's what this text is telling us. And I pray that every one of you find yourself in a blessed condition and if not, the Lord says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And I plead with you to do so and you will find him to be a Savior who can handle you. Oh my, don't be so proud and stiff-necked to think that you can't be saved by this great King.
No, he's worthy and he's able and he's willing. Shall we go to him and thank him? Amen. Father, what a joy it is to be in your house. It's amazing as we think about how the brothers and sisters in here are Jews and they're being crafted and they're being fitted.
And you put us in a world where we're just bombarded with all kinds of stupidity, Lord, and thoughts against you. And you've done that on purpose so that we would cling to the Word of God and we bless you that you're fitting us and you're shaping us and we don't want to kick against the pricks Lord and we don't want to be like the horse and the mule so help us help us whole Lord tenderize our hearts May every day we open up the good book and let, O Lord, let heaven come down. Let it come down in our hearts by the rule of the Spirit and the rule of the word. And we'll give you the praise for Lord left to ourselves we would want none of it you've done it and you deserve the glory you alone in Jesus name amen