The First Hymn In The Hebrew Hymnbook
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 2/9/03
Plalm 1
I love singing and hearing sung the hymns of the faith.
Ardith Cutsforth sang one of my favorites last week: We Shall Behold Him.
Last year Linda, Karla, Sarah and I had the opportunity to vacation in
England. While I have been there several times before I never had the
opportunity to visit Olney, England. So, what is important about Olney
England? John Newton and William Cowper lived there. Newton was the pastor
of the church and Cowper was a parishioner, who lived across the field
from the church. Each week Pastor Newton and William Cowper would meet in
the garden cottage and compose a new hymn for the congregation to sing
that week. In this little cottage, only big enough for two people, these
two men composed scores of songs and ultimately published them in a hymnal
titled The Olney
 Hymnal.
Some of my favorite compositions are There Is A Fountain Filled With
Blood, Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken and Amazing Grace,
which was originally titled Faith’s Review and Expectation.
In our message today, we are going to look at the first
hymn from the Hebrew hymnbook, called the book of Psalms.
First, let’s consider the books name – Psalms.
Psalms is the name our Lord called these hymns
in Luke 24:44 "And he said unto them, These are the words
which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the
prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." The word
psalms is a translation of the Greek word
qalmov psalmos. The
Hebrew calls it Tehillim, which properly signifies Psalms of
praise, because many of them are songs of praise. But Psalms
is a more general word, meaning all metrical compositions fitted to be
sung, which may be historical, doctrinal, or supplicatory, as laudatory.
The purpose of singing the Psalms was not only to express praise to the
Lord, but also to assist the memory, and both to express and to excite all
the gamut of emotions. Colossians 3:16 makes it clear that we are
directed not only to praise God, but to teach and admonish ourselves and
one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.
The book includes one hundred fifty independent
compositions. Most often there is no connection between one Psalm and the
next. The Jews divided it into five books, corresponding to the Five Books
of Moses (First, Psalms 1-42; Second, Psalms 43-72; Third,
Psalms 73-89; Fourth, Psalms 90-106; Fifth, Psalms 107-150),
many attempts have been made to discover, in this division, some critical
or practical value, but in vain.
The penman of most of them was David the son of Jesse,
who is therefore called the sweet psalmist of Israel, 2 Samuel
23:1. Some that do not have his name in their titles yet are ascribed to
him in other places, such as Psalm 2 (see Acts 4:25) and Psalm 96 and 105
(see 1 Chronicles 16). Psalm 90 is clearly said to be the prayer of
Moses. Some of the Psalms were penned by Asaph (see 2 Chronicles
29:30), where they are said to praise the Lord in the words of
David and Asaph, who is there called a seer or prophet.
Some of the Psalms seem to have been written at the time of the Babylonian
captivity. An example is Psalm 137.
With this as our background, let’s take a closer look
at the first hymn in the Hebrew hymnbook,
Psalm 1.
Early writers looked at Psalm 1 as an introduction to the book. Whether
that is true or not, it does pack a powerful message, and that message is
how to have contentment and peace of mind.
As we begin, we need to look at key word in this psalm,
blessed. In many of the translation it is translated by the
word happy. My dictionary defines happy as "the
pleasurable sensations derived from the gratification of sensual appetites
render a person temporarily happy. This is what most people think of when
they think of being happy. However, real happiness, permanent happiness,
referred to as blessedness in Psalm 1, refers to a person
who enjoys peace of mind because they are in the favor of God.
Let’s examine Psalm 1 and see how to have
contentment and peace of mind.
- Reject The Advice of Those Who Ignore God & Disregard
His Word
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly…"
Psalms 1:1a
Those who will have contentment, peace of mind and
fellowship with God must not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
What does that mean? It means, rejecting the advice of the
world, which is diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Word. When I
refer to the advice of the world, I have in mind the beliefs and
philosophies the world.
How are these beliefs and philosophies promoted?
Two of key promoters of worldly beliefs and philosophies are the
entertainment industry and television.
What is the purpose of the counsel of the ungodly?
It is to recruit followers to rebel against the Lord as we read in Psalm
2.
Those who will have fellowship with God and those who
will have peace of mind will reject the counsel of the ungodly.
- Refuse To Adopt The Habits of The Unsaved
"…nor standeth in the way of sinners…"
Psalms 1:1b
The word standeth carries the idea of
being a servant of. Next, consider the word way. It means
habit; pattern of life; moral character. If you will have the
blessing of God on your life, you must refuse to adopt the habits,
lifestyle and character of the unsaved!
- Resist Giving Any Ground To or Associating With
Skeptics and Scoffers & Their Teachings
"…nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."
Psalm
1:1c
"Sitting in the seat…" to settle, to marry, and to
dwell with. Scornful means a scoffer or a mocker. In focus are
those who associate with those scoff at the teachings of the Bible. They
are friends with this crowd.
Let’s review the negatives we have covered. If you
will be happy and have the blessing of God on your life you must… 1)
Reject The Advice of Those Who Ignore God & Disregard His Word 2)
Refuse To Adopt The Habits of The Unsaved 3) Resist Giving Any
Ground To or Associating With Skeptics and Scoffers & Their Teachings
These first three things are negative, however our next
point is positive.
- Refresh Yourself In The Word of God
"But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth
he meditate day and night."
Psalms 1:2
The word delight means to take pleasure in; to long for; to
desire. The word meditate means to study; to mull over in your
mind.
- Results Contrasted Between The Righteous and Ungodly
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of
water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall
not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly
are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth
away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the
judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6
For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of
the ungodly shall perish." Psalms 1:3-6
What results do you desire?
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye
in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting
strength:" Isaiah 26:3-4
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