A Jet Tour Through the Psalms #1

Well, today is an introduction to the Psalms. You can think about this as a jet tour through the Psalms. We're going to go through them from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150, and I am just delighted to be able to do that with you. The book of Psalms comprises 150 installments, each packed with godly wisdom individually, and all part of a larger message to teach us what the Christian walk should be like. And today, Don continues teaching God's people God's Word as he begins a jet tour through the Psalms, an overview of this magnificent part of the Bible. Hello, I'm Bill Wright, and Don, the message we'll be hearing over the next few days is really life-changing stuff, isn't it? Well, Bill, it's easy to study the Psalms out of context and just take an occasional Psalm here or there without really seeing how they fit together in the larger picture.

The Psalms communicate so many things to us about pursuing the righteous life, how to persevere through sorrow and confusion, to lift our eyes to God and to praise Him. I am so excited that we're able to bring this series over the next couple of days to you, a jet tour through the Psalms. Bill, let's get started. Thanks, Don.

And friend, have your Bible handy as we join Don Green right now in the Truth Pulpit. Life sometimes turns on decisions that seemed trivial at the time. Many years ago, I went to a Denny's restaurant with people I barely knew.

I met Nancy that night, and history has told the story since then, you might say. Had no idea what was going to happen that night and it didn't seem like a big deal to go or not to go, but I went and the trajectory of my life was changed. Other times, you're aware of a great moment and you feel the excitement even though you don't know all the implications of what it will eventually mean.

You take a new job. The moving truck pulls out of the driveway to the new destination. The boy shows the ring. The mom goes into labor for the first time. And you know that the implications of that day, that time, are great and significant even though you don't know how all of the details will flesh out. You're conscious of the fact that life is changing today. Well, today is one of those days in the life of our church as we start a new study that is going to transform our lives, that is going to change me, and is going to change you. And we will look back on this day, months, years from now, and say it all started right then.

And that is incredibly exciting to me. I have been looking forward to this moment over the past many, many months to start this series today with a great sense of anticipation. I don't know when I've last been this excited to be in the pulpit before you. We are starting a series today in the book of Psalms. And I invite you to turn to the Psalms with me, inviting you, as it were, to the transformation that the Psalms are going to make on our lives, first of all, and secondarily to invite you and hopefully to entice you to whet your appetite for what's going to happen.

If you are a Christian who wants to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, I'm telling you, you don't want to miss it because it is going to be a transforming, great moment that plays itself out for the rest of life to come. The Psalms are the life worship book of the Bible. And one of the things that makes it so wonderful to study the Psalms is that we see ourselves in them. We see ourselves in our joy and our sorrow, in our sin and in our repentance, in our trust and in our doubts. The Psalms give inspired voice to our life experience as we seek to walk with Christ.

We see ourselves reflected back. We see God having given to us a book that speaks and expresses the deepest things of our heart. And not only expresses it, but tells us how to get from point A to point B, to move from sorrow and discouragement to joy and triumph, to move from sin to repentance, to move from an earthly perspective to a heavenly perspective. And beloved, if you are a born-again Christian, that is what you want out of life. You want to see Christ.

You want to have your attention, as it were, someone to take your chin and lift it up, to look up, to see Christ, to see God, to see Him in His glory, and to transcend this fallen world in which we live. Well, today is an introduction to the Psalms. You can think about this as a jet tour through the Psalms. We're going to go through them from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150 today. And I am just delighted to be able to do that with you.

Trust me. The book of Psalms, as you know, is comprised of 150 individual Psalms. And the purpose of the Psalms is to call us to a life of righteousness, of praising and trusting God. That is the purpose of the Psalms.

They call us to praise the Lord. And what you may not be as familiar with, in terms of numbers, is that the 150 Psalms are divided into five different books of Psalms that were written over a period of 900 years and then compiled into a final form in which we receive them today. Moses wrote Psalm 90 about 1400 years before the time of Christ. Four hundred years later, King David came on the scene and wrote Psalms about 73, almost half of the Psalms are ascribed to David in one manner or another. Four hundred years later, after Moses wrote Psalm, his Psalm, four, five hundred years after David in the Babylonian exile, a Psalmist penned Psalm 137 and expressed the sorrow of the exile.

Moses in 1400, in exile in the 6th century. Over a course of 900 years, the Psalms were written. And as you read the Psalms, as you study the Psalms, there's something striking.

There's something very interesting when you step back and look at that fact. The Psalms as we have them today are not arranged in a chronological fashion. Psalm 1 is not the oldest Psalm.

Psalm 150 is not the newest Psalm. They have been arranged somehow. And at the same time as we're going to see today, these Psalms are not just thrown together either. It's not a haphazard collection, like somebody shuffled a deck of cards and then whatever came up, they said, here, pick your card. We'll start with this first one.

It's not like that at all. What we're going to see today, what I want you to learn today is that the very way that the entire book of Psalms is constructed is entitled to teach us. It's more than just what one individual Psalm says to us, as important and as inspired as that is, the very way that they are arranged, probably by Ezra, is designed to communicate, to teach, and to instruct us.

And that's what I want to show you here today. Psalms is a big, big book. And there is a movement, there is a broad structure there to that book, and that structure is designed to teach us. And beloved, what I want you to see, more than anything today, is that the very way that the Psalms are structured is designed to frame your entire disposition toward life.

It is designed to bring you to a point where you consciously enter into, you consciously enter into a mindset that says, this is the kind of life I am going to pursue. It consciously teaches you about the nature, the ebb and flow of spiritual life, and then it brings you to a climax which is designed to be the defining emphasis of everything that you do. From beginning to end, the Psalms are designed to teach us. What are they designed to teach us?

Well, there's five books, and so what we're going to do is we're going to have five points to this message. What do the Psalms teach us to do? Where are the Psalms designed to lead us? First of all, in a most profound way that has eternal ramifications for every one of us, the Psalms tell us, point number one, pursue the righteous life.

Pursue the righteous life. Psalm 1 is the opening Psalm, and that is exactly what it teaches us to do. In fact, Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 stand like pillars that guard the entrance to the entire 150 Psalms, and they say, you must enter through this gate. You must come to the Psalms through here. The very way that they're structured, frame the way that we are to approach life. Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 contrast the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked, and then they exhort us to pursue the life that leads to blessing.

We're going to read the text of Psalm 1 in just a moment. You see, beloved, this is really hard for most people to do, is to step back from life, to disengage from the circumstances that engage your attention right at the moment, to disengage and say, what's the big purpose of being here? What is the purpose of life? What am I supposed to do during my time on earth?

Well, look, that question is not answered by the kind of job that you have. It's not answered by whether you're happy or sad today. It's not answered by the kind of family you have or don't have today. There is a more fundamental proposition that confronts us as we enter into the Psalms. That is, what kind of person are you going to be?

What is going to be the center-defining focus, the center-defining allegiance and affection of your heart, no matter what those other things might be? Psalm 1 calls you to think at that transcendent level and says you're not righteous if you don't. Righteous not in the sense of being saved, but righteous in the sense of pursuing the life that God blesses. That's what we see when we come to Psalm 1.

It is profound. Psalm 1, verse 1. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does he prospers. Not so the wicked.

They are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

For now we're simply introducing the entire Psalter. But what this Psalm says, what it calls us to, what it grabs you as it were by the lapel of your coat and calls you to attention and says, wake up, pay attention. This is of most profound importance. It calls us to love the word of God. It says the distinguishing mark between those who are righteous and those who are wicked, those who will be blessed and those who will not be blessed. The distinguishing mark of those who will stand with the assembly of the righteous forever and those who will be judged forever. The distinguishing mark of all of that in all cultures, over all time, over every circumstance of life. The distinguishing mark is what do you say in response to the word of God?

Do you orient your life to God's word or not? That is the simple and yet profound defining mark of what distinguishes who receives the blessing of God and who is blown away in judgment. Profound.

Striking. It's arresting to realize that this book that you hold on your lap or perhaps view on your iPad screen, this book is the distinguishing mark that is going to separate humanity into one of two classes. The righteous delight in this book, everyone else doesn't and is labeled as wicked and destined for judgment. And it says, and it says, that Psalm, Psalm 1, the entire Psalm beckons you and says, be wise and devote yourself to this book. The righteous are blessed because they love the word and God will protect the righteous because he knows their way intimately.

He protects, he provides for his people who love his word and he will judge everyone who turns away and spits upon his word and says, I want nothing to do with it. I'm not interested. I've got other things to do.

Wow. From the very get-go, the book of Psalms helps us realize that we're at a crossroads. We're at a fork in the road. Will you love this book day and night or not?

And understand that there are consequences to your answer. Oh, you young people, you young people, starting right at the start of life, this is your opportunity. This is your opportunity to say, I'm going to devote my life. I'm going to pursue that book. I'm going to read it.

I'm going to love it. I'm going to know it day and night. It's going to be the focus of my mind and my affections because I want that blessing from God and I fear him enough not to trivialize with his warning that says, the wicked are going to be like chaff that the wind drives away. That the wicked will not stand in judgment.

Sinners won't stand in the assembly of the righteous because behind the authority of this word is the Lord who wrote it and he intends his word to be taken seriously. So brothers and sisters, young and old, moms and dads, boys and girls, all of us under the umbrella of the call of this psalm that says, pursue blessing. Pursue a serious mindful love of the word of God and recognize that there are eternal dark consequences if you don't. This blessed book of Psalms right from the very beginning tells us that here is how you must define your life and warns you that here are the consequences if you don't. Anyone who reads Psalm 1 has no excuse. It's profound. It tells us to pursue the righteous life.

Now, what is the defining attribute of that life? Well, Psalm 2, look at the end of Psalm 2, verse 11. What are we to do with this? How are we to respond? Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the son that he not become angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in him. See, this word of God leads you to a person. It leads you to the son and calls you to love him, to take your refuge in him. Not only your refuge in the storms of life, but take your spiritual refuge in him.

Turn to the son that you might be saved. Find your refuge, your all, your rock, your fortress in this one of whom this book speaks. You see, the Bible is a living book.

Living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It's a living book in that not only as you read it, it exposes the thoughts and directions of your mind and your motivations and all of that and humbles you under the weight of sin. It goes beyond that and points you to a living person.

And it takes you as a man. It takes you as a woman and says, honor this book. Read and meditate on this book and realize that this book takes you to a person to whom you are to bend the knee. Pursue the righteous life. Meditate on this book and you'll find it leading you to a person.

And so, notice this. Look up at Psalm 1 again. Notice the way that these two Psalms frame the proclamation of blessing upon a man who embraces this. Psalm 1 verse 1, how blessed is the man.

Look at how it ends in Psalm 2 verse 12. How blessed are all who take refuge in him. My friends, the invitation goes out to every one of you to receive this kind of blessing. This life is available to anyone. Not to a spiritual elite. It's not reserved for pastors or to theologians. This is open to you in your daily life. It is open to you. God invites you. God calls you to this kind of life where you can know for certain that your life will not be wasted.

Whether your life goes long or your life goes short, you can know for certain that you are pursuing the path of meaning, of blessing, of purpose as defined by your creator himself. That's a gracious gift. That's a gracious invitation. Isn't it? Why would you turn away from that? What possible excuse could there be for a man to decline that? Pursue the righteous life.

What's the outcome? Well, go to the end of book one of the Psalms, which is at the end of Psalm 41. And as you look in your Bibles, maybe you have, maybe you haven't noticed these book divisions. Most of your printed Bibles are going to show this.

Some of the electronic applications don't show the book divisions. But as you flash forward to the end of book one, Psalm 41, notice the way that it ends. Psalm 41 verse 13, blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen. Blessed be the Lord who is the God of his people. Blessed be the Lord who blesses those who pursue righteousness. And if you think about it as hinges, maybe, between these books, book one, book two, book three, book four, book five, what you're going to find, and I'm going to show you, is that every book ends with a doxology, a statement of praise to God.

And that is not by accident. This was the deliberate design of the final compiler of the Psalms that as he walks you through each section of thought, each section of meditation, that you would come full circle, that you would conclude that this meditation ends on the thought that I give praise and worship to God. As you pursue the righteous life, as you make a conscious decision in your mind, either to reinforce, to recommit yourself to a prior commitment to the Word of God that you've already made, and you say, yes, that is what I've chosen, but I'm going to be fresh on this now. I'm going to renew my allegiance. I'm going to re-establish my appreciation for the Word of God and pursue that as I pursue the righteous life. Scripture promises you the blessing of God, that you will stand like a tree. You will stand like a long-established oak. And side by side with that says, if you turn away from this kind of invitation, you're going to be like dust that's just tossed up in the air and the wind blows it away and there's not going to be anything left to show of you at the end. Great blessing!

Great ruin. How will you respond? The psalmist says, when you pursue the righteous life, your conclusion is going to be what's expressed in Psalm 41 verse 13. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and amen. Some of you have come out of that kind of teaching that says if only you have enough faith, your life will go well. You'll experience good health. Your family will go the way that you want.

You will have everything that you could possibly want in this earthly life. And the perversion of spiritual life that that represents is is that if you just put in your nickel of faith, God will spit out the blessings that you want. That's not true. That's a lie from hell.

Let's just be real clear and distinct about that. Pursue the righteous life. That is the first of five principles Pastor Don Green is addressing in his current series, A Jet Tour Through the Psalms.

You know, when you base your life on the Word of God, you're assured a blessing in this life and then eternal life with Christ afterward. Don will present the next two principles in part two of this series next time, and we hope you'll be with us here on The Truth Pulpit. Well, Don, while this radio broadcast is a valuable tool to help increase biblical understanding, we have other great tools available too, don't we?

That's right, Bill, we do. Friend, we want to do everything we can to help you receive God's Word into your life. And so there's a lot of resources available for you to take advantage of on our website. We broadcast our church services Sunday and Tuesday over our live stream. All of my weekly sermons are available for easy access via our podcast. And there are also free study guides for some messages to help you or your church group study God's Word on your own. You can find all of those things when you go to the place that Bill's going to point you to right now.

Thanks, Don. And friend, we invite you to visit thetruthpulpit.com and follow the links. That's thetruthpulpit.com. By the way, you'll also find information about church services at Truth Community Church. If you're in the Cincinnati area, we'd love to meet you. Again, visit thetruthpulpit.com for all the info. I'm Bill Wright inviting you back next time as Don Green continues teaching God's people God's Word here on the Truth Pulpit.