“Blessed is the one who does not walk in counsel of the wicked or stand in the path of sinners or sits in the seat of mockers” (Psalm 1:1).

Blessed – God has given us the Psalms and the Bible to show us how we might live a blessed and happy life.

The first thing God tells us about the “blessed” person is that they do NOT do these three things:

1. walk in the counsel of the wicked
2. stand in the path of sinners
3. sits in the seat of mockers

The blessed person does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. The first thing to go is our ears. Before a God-follower ever engages in unGodly practices, we give our ears to the wicked. The more we listen to and hear from the wicked, the more they begin making sense.

• “You’re right! Everyone cheats. What a fool I’ve been!!!”
• “You’re right, the company takes and takes and takes from us. It’s only right that we use the company credit card for our use every once in a while.”
• “You’re right! Who buys a car before taking the car out for a test drive. Who in their right mind gets married without testing out the merchandise?”

Gee. That’s the problem. The longer you listen, the more the wicked make sense.

The next thing that happens is that we “stand in the path/way of sinners.” Listen, if you are standing on the sinner’s pathway what road are you on? The sinner’s road!

After giving our ear to the counsel of the wicked, we start living like the wicked. We start down the same pathway.

Finally, after giving our ear to the counsel of the wicked and walking with the wicked, we end up in the seat of mockers. We end up thinking, believing, and talking just like the wicked. It sounds something like this – “God, I thought you were the God of righteousness and holiness. And here I am sinning like crazy…where’s the judgment? where’s your thunder?”

Ooh. Those are dangerous words because judgment will come. That it hasn’t yet is grace and mercy.

The life and attitude of the sinner and the wicked begins by giving our ear to the counsel of the wicked.

Before we close, look at the verbs walk – stand – sit. Do you see the progression? It is a progression toward greater defiance. Imagine a parent and a toddler at the toy aisle at Target. The kid asks for a toy. Parent says no. The kid keeps whining and asking. Parent reminds the kid they have lots of toys at home. Finally, the kid who was walking with the parent sits on the ground in a tantrum.

Walk – stand – sits. Do you see the growing defiance?

Yeah.

Blessed are you who do not give your ear to the counsel of the wicked. Blessed are you when you do not stand in the pathway of sinners. Blessed are you when you do not sit in the seat of mockers.

Blessed.

“Blessed” (Psalm 1:1).

Psalm 1 functions as the introduction of the Book of Psalms. Psalm 1 tells us what the entire psalter is all about. In fact, you could say that Psalm 1 tells us the purpose of the entire Bible.

The very opening word of the Psalm tells us the topic of the psalter – “blessed.”

The entire book, and the entire Bible, is about how a follower of God can live a life that is blessed. In the coming days we will be looking at Psalm 1 together.

Blessed – the Hebrew word for blessed is esher. It means to be blessed or happy.

• God gave us his word so that his children can be happy and blessed.
• Jesus tells us the purpose of his coming in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” And the reason God wants his children to live a blessed and happy life is that a blessed and happy life brings God delight, joy, and glory.
• Jesus tells us this in John 15:8, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit.”

The first question and answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is, “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

If our chief purpose for existing is to glorify God, what does God’s glory look like? What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear, “the glory of God?”

I don’t know about you, but I picture bright light.

But here’s the thing. Bright light doesn’t help me. I don’t know how to do bright light. I don’t know what that looks like in my life.

This is why what Jesus tells us in John 10:8 is so helpful. Jesus tells us exactly what God’s glory looks like – “That you bear much fruit.” It is when we live lives that bear much fruit, lives that are blessed, lives that are happy that God is glorified.

You see why “Blessed” and “Happy” are such important words for God? The entire Bible tells us how we might live blessed and happy lives.

Blessed. How cool is that?

How are you bearing much fruit today? How are you enjoying God and his blessings today?

“As for me, I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:16-17).

I am writing this as I work from Starbucks. Many of you know that I work out of a Starbucks a couple of hours every day. It’s not just the coffee. It’s the smells, the sounds, the atmosphere. For whatever reason I get my best work done in a cafe setting.

My wife wonders how I can concentrate with all the commotion and noise at a typical cafe.

There are around 8,000,000,000 people on planet earth right now. At any moment, there has to be thousands, if not millions of people crying out and praying to God at the same time. How is it even possible that God can hear our individual prayers amidst the noise and the cachophony of sounds of the millions of prayers? How can God separate out each individual prayers?

I think I get how that works. Starbucks shows me that every time I work at one.

You see, there are multiple conversations going on around me. There is the noise of all the workers and their machines. There is the activity of people entering and going. Yet, I have no problem concentrating.

Do you know where I can’t do this? It’s at home. It’s the church office.

I normally have music in the background because I don’t work well in total silence either. It tends to put me to sleep. Even when I wear noise cancelling headphones with music in the background, when I am at home the voices and activity penetrate my concentration. It is impossible to not hear my wife or kids. Impossible.

But at Starbucks, I don’t know any of the voices. I don’t care for the voices at Starbucks the way I care for the voices at home or in the church office.

That’s why when a parent is at a play ground and they hear their particular child cry out out of the dozens of kids at play and screaming and laughing, not only can the parent pick out their child’s particular cry but they are able to know in an instant whether the cry is a hurt cry.

Why? Because the voice of their beloved penetrates.

That’s how it is with God. Even though there are millions of voices that are lifted up, every one of those voices penetrates. God cannot ignore them. God cannot block them out because they are the voices of his beloved. And when a hurt cry is lifted up? Oh, man. God responds.

Starbucks…that’s how I know God hears our prayers.