The Book of Psalms – Part 1

The Blessed Life – Psalm 1

Crosspoint – Dave Spooner – June 7, 2026

Introduction

• Today, we begin a new sermon series through the book of Psalms. I am really looking forward to this series because the Psalms are unlike any other book in the Bible. The Psalms are Scripture, but they are also songs. They are theology, but they are also prayers. They teach us what is true, but they also give us words for what we feel.
• There are many places in Scripture where God speaks to us. But in the Psalms, in many ways, God gives us words to speak back to Him. He gives us words for when we are on the mountaintop and words for when we are in the valley. Words for when our hearts are full and words for when our hearts are empty. Words for every season of the soul. The psalms have been treasured by God’s people in every generation.
• In our series, we are going to walk through twelve of the one hundred and fifty Psalms from different categories and places. They will help us to know God and learn how to live before God.
• We are also recommending a book for those who want to go deeper during this series: Treasuring the Psalms by Ian J. Vaillancourt. There is a link to this book, along with some helpful overview videos from the Bible Project, and our song list in the Thursday edition of Crosspoint Connection. We will view one of the videos this morning that focuses on Psalm 1, and then I hope to show an overview video of the Psalms next week.
• So today we start where the Psalms start: Psalm 1. Psalm 1 is the front door into the whole book. It tells us how to enter. It tells us who is blessed. It tells us what kind of life is stable and fruitful before God. It tells us that there are really only two ways to live. There is the way of the righteous, and there is the way of the wicked. There is the way of the rooted tree, and there is the way of the windblown chaff. There is the way the Lord watches over, and there is the way that perishes.
• The main thought of Psalm 1 is this: The blessed life is found by being rooted in God’s Word, planted in God’s grace, and walking in God’s way. So before we read Psalm 1, we are going to watch this short video from the Bible Project.

Psalm 1 NIV (Page 463)

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

The Blessed Life Begins with What You Refuse

• Psalm 1 paints a picture of the contrast between a life that is blessed and a life that is condemned, and how to live a “blessed life.” We must understand that a “blessed life” doesn’t mean that everything will go well for you, nor that your life will be free of pain or problems. What it does mean is that your life will be fruitful in every season and that you will stand not only in this life but also in the judgment to come.
• Psalm 1 first describes the blessed life by what it refuses. “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.” Notice there is progression here. Walk. Stand. Sit.
• First, you walk in step with the wicked. Then you stand in the way that sinners take. Then you sit in the company of mockers. Sin has a progression to it. It starts with listening (walk). Then it becomes lingering (stand). Then it becomes belonging (sit).
• First, you are just walking along and listening. You are letting someone else tell you what they think life is about, what matters, what is good, what is worth pursuing, and what is worth ignoring.
• Then walking becomes standing. Now you are not just listening to the way of sin; you are pausing there. You are considering it. You are staying there. You are becoming comfortable there.
• Then standing becomes sitting. Now it is not just a path you are considering; it has become your seat. Your identity. Your community. You have moved from listening to sinners to sitting with mockers. And mockers are not just people who sin. Mockers are people who have become proud in sin. They no longer simply disobey God; they laugh at His Word and those who believe it. They treat godliness as foolishness.
• This psalm is telling us that the blessed life begins with a holy refusal. There are some voices you cannot let disciple you. There are some paths you cannot walk. There are some seats you cannot take. There are some forms of counsel that will not lead you to life, no matter how attractive, intelligent, successful, popular, or “normal” they may seem.
• The truth is that every day, someone is telling us how to live. Everyone and everything you listen to, read, sing along to, watch or look at is forming and shaping you. The world is not neutral. It is constantly preaching. It is constantly forming. It is constantly inviting you to walk, stand, and sit.
• And Psalm 1 asks: Who gets to shape your soul? Whose counsel do you trust? Whose approval do you crave? Whose imagination of the good life are you following? The blessed person does not drift with every voice. The blessed person does not simply absorb the assumptions of the culture. The blessed person learns to say no.
• No, I will not build my life on the counsel of those who leave God out. No, I will not normalize what God calls sin. No, I will not sit in the seat of mockers who make light of what is holy. No, I will not let my soul be shaped by voices that lead me away from the Lord.
• This does not mean we withdraw from the world. It does not mean we do not love people. Jesus was called a friend of sinners. He moved toward people with grace and truth. But he never walked in step with wickedness. He never stood in the path of sin. He never sat in the seat of mockers. He was fully present with sinners and completely faithful to God.
• Psalm 1 is not calling us into isolation; it is calling us into holiness. Not pride. Not withdrawal. Not contempt. Holiness. The blessed life begins with what you refuse.

The Blessed Life is Formed by what You Delight In

• Verse 1 tells us what not to do, and then verse 2 tells us what to do: “but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” Here is the heart of the blessed person: delight. Not mere duty. Not mere discipline. Not mere information. Delight. “Whose delight is in the law of the Lord.”
• The blessed person delights in God’s instruction because the blessed person delights in God. That is key. You will not delight in the Word of the Lord if you do not delight in the Lord of the Word.
• If we think of the Bible merely as rules, we will resent it. If we think of it merely as information, we will neglect it. If we think of it merely as religious material, we will keep it at a distance. But if we receive Scripture as the voice of the God who made us, loves us, saves us, corrects us, comforts us, and leads us into life, then his Word becomes precious.
• The blessed person does not say, “How little Bible can I have and still be okay?” The blessed person says, “Lord, speak to me. Teach me. Search me. Correct me. Feed me. Lead me. I want to know you. I want your Word to become the deep root system of my life.”
• This is where Psalm 1 begins to challenge us at a deep level. Because it does not simply ask, “Do you agree with the Bible?” It asks, “Do you delight in the Word of God?” Many of us would say, “Yes, I believe the Bible.” Good, but do you delight in it? Do you love it? Do you return to it? Do you meditate on it? Do you let it shape the way you think, choose, speak, spend, forgive, parent, work, rest, serve, and suffer?
• Verse 2 says the blessed person “meditates on his law day and night.” Meditation in Scripture is not emptying the mind. It is filling the mind with God’s Word and turning it over until it works its way into the heart. It is reading, remembering, repeating, praying, pondering, applying, and carrying the Word with you. It is meant to be read in the morning, chewed on all day, and remembered at night.
• This is especially important in our time, the “information age.” We have more words coming at us than any generation before us. But much of what comes at us is shallow, angry, anxious, fearful, trivial, or manipulative. And if we meditate on those things day and night, we should not be surprised when our souls become shallow, angry, anxious, fearful, trivial, or manipulated.
• Meditation is formation. What you meditate on is making you into something. If you meditate on outrage, you will become outraged. If you meditate on fear, you will become fearful. If you meditate on comparison, you will become discontent. If you meditate on bitterness, you will become hard. If you meditate on yourself, you will become self-centered.
• But if your delight is in the Word of the Lord, and on his Word you meditate day and night, something else begins to happen. Over time, your roots go deeper. Your desires are reshaped. Your imagination is renewed. Your instincts are trained. Your loves are reordered. Your mind is transformed. Your life bears fruit.
• Over time, formation becomes transformation. This is discipleship. This is the work of the Spirit through the Word. Jesus called us to make disciples of all nations, not converts. And disciples are those who have been taught to obey everything that Jesus commanded us (see Matt 28:19-20).
• The blessed life begins with what you refuse, and it is formed by what you delight in.

The Blessed Life Becomes Fruitful Because It Is Planted

• Verse 3 gives us the picture: “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.” This is one of the most beautiful images in the Psalms. A tree planted by streams of water. The image is stability, fruitfulness, endurance, and life.
• A tree planted by streams of water has roots that go down deep. It is not blown around by every gust of wind. It is not dependent only on the weather of the moment. It has a hidden life. It is nourished below the surface. That is important because most of the Christian life is formed below the surface.
• People see the fruit. But life comes from the roots. People see the words you speak, the choices you make, the patience you show, the love you give, the forgiveness you extend, the courage you have, the generosity you practice, the faithfulness you display. But those things grow from roots that are hidden: prayer, Scripture, repentance, worship, obedience, fellowship, trust, humility, abiding in Christ.
• We often want fruit without roots. We want peace without prayer. We want wisdom without meditation. We want courage without communion with God. We want spiritual strength without spiritual discipline and dependency. We want public faithfulness without private rootedness. The only way to have a fruitful life is the “rootful” life.
• And notice, this tree yields “its fruit in season.” The fruit of your life will be there, it will show up, sometimes and most times, maybe not always as fast as we want it to. But look for growth in your life, little buds popping up. Keep focused on the foundation of formation, of abiding in Christ, and the fruit will follow.
• The psalm says, “whose leaf does not wither.” That does not mean the righteous never suffer. The righteous suffer. The faithful lament. The godly grieve. The obedient are sometimes opposed, misunderstood, weary, and wounded. Psalm 1 does not promise that life will be easy. It does promise that a life rooted in God will not finally dry up or wither away.
• The seasons may be hard. The heat may come. The drought may feel long. The winds may blow. But the one planted by the stream has a source of life deeper than circumstances.
• This is why believers can walk through suffering and still have life in them. They grieve, but not without hope. They are pressed, but not crushed. They are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Their leaves do not wither because their roots are drawing from a stream that is beyond and before this world. The blessed life becomes fruitful because it is planted.

The Rootless Life Cannot Stand

• Verse 4 gives us the contrast: “Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” The psalmist could not make the contrast stronger. The righteous are like a tree. The wicked are like chaff. A tree has roots. Chaff has no root. A tree is planted. Chaff is blown. A tree bears fruit. Chaff is empty. A tree endures. Chaff disappears.
• Chaff is the husk separated from the grain during threshing. It looked like something for a moment, but it had no weight, no substance, no life. When the grain was tossed into the air, the heavier grain would fall, and the chaff would be carried away by the wind.
• So do not build your life on what the wind can take away. Do not build your identity on what can change. Do not build your hope on money, image, achievement, politics, comfort, control, popularity, pleasure, or even family. They will be blown away and burned up in the end.
• Psalm 1 ends with judgment: “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”
• There is a judgment. There is a day when every life is seen for what it is. There is a day when the difference between tree and chaff becomes abundantly clear. There is a day when the righteous stand and the wicked do not.
• Psalm 1 tells us that our choices are not meaningless. Our loves are not meaningless. Our habits are not meaningless. Our meditations are not meaningless. Our paths are not meaningless. The way we walk is going somewhere.
• The wonderful news is that “the Lord watches over the way of the righteous.” He knows your way. He sees your path. He is not indifferent to your obedience. He is not blind to your struggle. He is not unaware of your tears. He is not absent in your suffering. He watches over the way of the righteous. He is with you in every season of your life.
• Psalm 1 says: the Lord sees. The Lord knows. The Lord watches over the way of the righteous. Not just the destination. The way. He watches over the road you are walking. He watches over the daily obedience. He watches over the slow growth. He watches over the roots. He watches over the seasons. He watches over the fruit. That does not mean the way is always easy, but it means the way is never abandoned. He will never leave you or forsake you.

Conclusion

• Psalm 1 is the doorway into the Psalms, and it places a question before every one of us: Which way are you walking? There is the way of the righteous, and there is the way of the wicked. There is the way of the Word, and there is the way of worldly counsel. There is the way of rootedness, and there is the way of rootlessness. There is the way watched over by the Lord, and there is the way that leads to destruction.
• This is where Psalm 1 ultimately leads us to Christ. Do these things, and look to Christ who did them perfectly. His Spirit is in you, to help you to desire, do, and delight in meditation of the Word and the application of the Word. This will transform our very being to be more and more like Christ, who is the beginning and the end, the purpose and sustainer of all things.
• So come to Christ. Trust Him. Abide in Him. Let His Word dwell in you richly. Let Him plant your life by streams of water. Look to Him, follow Him, treasure Him. Live in Him, with Him, and for Him.
• And this week, take one simple step: read Psalm 1 every day. Slowly. Prayerfully. Ask the Lord to show you what has been shaping you. Ask Him to help you refuse the counsel that leads away from Him. Ask Him to renew your delight in His Word. Ask Him to deepen your roots in Christ. May your fruitfulness and steadfastness bring joy to your heart and blessings to the neighborhood and the nations.

Our prayer team is available to pray with you after the service, near the “prayer” sign at the front of the sanctuary, and in the prayer room next to the offices. Also, you can send your prayer request to prayer@crosspointrockford.com

Questions for Growth Groups

1. Psalm 1 begins with the word “blessed.” Based on this psalm, how would you describe the blessed life in biblical terms?
2. Psalm 1:1 describes the blessed person by what they refuse. What are some voices, influences, or patterns in our culture that can quietly shape us away from the Lord?
3. The sermon asked, “Who gets to shape your soul?” How would you honestly answer that question based on what you give your attention to during a normal week?
4. Psalm 1:2 says the blessed person delights in the law of the Lord. What is the difference between reading God’s Word out of duty and delighting in God’s Word?
5. Biblical meditation is not emptying the mind but filling the mind with God’s Word and turning it over throughout the day. What would it look like for you to meditate on Scripture “day and night” in a practical way?
6. The sermon said, “Meditation is formation.” What are you most tempted to meditate on besides God’s Word, and how does that shape your thoughts, emotions, or actions?
7. Psalm 1 compares the blessed person to a tree planted by streams of water. What is one specific practice this week that could help you become more rooted in God’s Word and more fruitful in your life?