Aug 13 - Psalm 1:1

Oh, the joys of those who

do not follow the advice of the wicked,

or stand around with sinners,

or join in with scoffers.

Psalm 1:1

NLT

Psalms is the longest book of the Bible.

It is the prayer book of the scriptures.

What is its purpose?

I’m convinced that one of the purposes of the entire book of Psalms is in its third word – “joy”!

Other translations render this first verse as a beatitude – a so-called “attitudes of how to be.” How can we be “happy”? How can we be “blessed”? How can our attitude be full of “joys”? In the very first verse, the Psalms give us three suggestions:

• “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked …” (NRSV).
• “Blessed are those who do not … sit in the company of mockers” (TNIV).
• And “oh, the joys of those who do not … stand around with sinners …” (NLT).

Have you heard the phrase, “You are what you eat”? Most parents teach their children a similar principle: “You begin to resemble the people you hang around with!” That’s how the Psalms begin.

From these three examples, we now have a partial list of things to avoid, if we crave a little more joy. But here’s an equally important question: Is there anything positive we can do to encounter greater joy?

My favorite place to go to discover a positive source of joy is the Gospel of Luke. Story after story proclaims that whenever God’s reign, rule, and kingdom break into human lives, there is joy!

Take a look at these examples …

• For hundreds of years before the birth of John the Baptist, the prophets had been silent, but then an angel came to Zechariah heralding the arrival of the forerunner to the Messiah, saying, “You will have great _____ and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at [John the Baptist’s] birth” (Luke 1:14).
• When the first human encountered the Messiah at barely the dawning of this infant King’s reign, John the Baptist – even in utero – “leapt for joy”! (Luke 1:44).
• When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they weren’t just proclaiming the birth of a baby; they were proclaiming the coming of the a King: "Don't be afraid! … I bring you good news of great _____ for everyone!” (Luke 2:10).
• In the Beattitudes, Jesus tells us, Luke 6:21, that, “God blesses [those] who weep now [in this world that’s under the reign of sin and death, but when we accept the reign of Christ and enter the fullness of his kingdom,] the time will come when [we] will laugh with _____.” “Yes, leap for _____,” continues Christ the King in Luke 6:23, “for a great reward awaits you in heaven.”
• In the parables, Jesus says, Luke 8:13, that “those who hear the message [of Kingdom and Messiah] [and] believe [discover] _____.” But he simultaneously warns of the danger of “shallow roots” and “wilt[ing] when the hot winds of testing blow.”
• When “even one sinner repents,” says Jesus in Luke 10:21, “there is _____ …” Indeed that’s what the sinner Zacchaeus discovered when he opened his house and his heart to King Jesus, “great excitement and _____,” (Luke 19:6).
• At the resurrection – when the full glory of the king was being revealed – his followers were “filled with _____ and wonder” (Luke 24:41). Then when Christ the King ascended to his heavenly throne, we are told that the disciples “worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem with great _____.”

As you journey through the Psalms remember the third word – Joy! That’s the word that fills in every blank above, and that’s what fills in all the greatest blanks and holes in our lives.

As scripture tells us, you can avoid a lack of joy by staying away from sinners. Or you can discover the blessing of joy, positively, by drawing nearer to the King!

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants

to discover greater joy!