Sermon -- 6th Sunday after Epiphany (February 16, 2025)

PSALM 1

BLESSED IS HE WHO DELIGHTS IN THE WORD OF THE LORD.

In the name + of Jesus.

     The very first Psalm sets the tone for the entire book of Psalms.  The focus is on whose words you listen to.  We all listen to someone.  When you were little, you listened to your parents.  They set the rules, and they disciplined you when you did not follow them.  They taught you good manners and to say, “Please” and “Thank you.”  They taught you to fold your little hands and showed you how to pray.  And, of course, they showered you with love and attention.  The love that parents have for their children made it easy for the children to listen to their parents and to love them in return.

     When you got older, you began to listen to other voices.  They weren’t all bad.  You listened to your teachers at school who exposed you to math and history and science.  Many parents recall their children coming home from school and saying, “My teacher said such-and-such,” as if nothing the teacher said could ever be challenged.  As you advanced in age, you began to listen more to friends, professors, politicians, political analysts, and celebrities.  What they told you may have been good or bad.  Their words influenced you.  If you liked what they said, you internalized it, repeated it, and defended it.  And again, that may have been good or bad.  But the point is, there is always someone talking to you.  We are influenced by words, and by those words we establish what we believe is true and moral versus what is evil and unethical.

     The Psalmist, presumably King David, states emphatically that there is only one word on which we are to build our lives.  “Blessed is the man [whose] … delight is in the teaching of the Lord” (Psalm 1:1-2).  And this delight means more than giving it a quick listen and then moving on to more important things.  The word of the Lord IS the important thing, and it is given to direct everything we do at all times.  That is why he writes, “On his teaching he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).  Blessed is he who delights in the world of the Lord.

     One of the reasons the Psalmist encourages meditating on God’s word day and night is that the word of the Lord is not the only word we hear.  We are bombarded by many voices all day long.  Many voices compete with God’s word.  Some outright deny it.  The devil is very good had making what is evil seem reasonable, desirable, and commendable.  Americans, in particular, celebrate the freedom of doing whatever we want.  The devil promotes this freedom.  By contrast, he portrays the Lord as a killjoy and a hater because the Lord sets limits on you.  How many Commandments begin with the phrase, “You shall not…”?  And the devil and the world retort, “Why won’t he let you?”

     Unfortunately, you and I have a sinful nature which concurs with these words, because our sinful nature does not want any limits put upon it.  The sinful nature declares, “If it feels good, do it.”  But feelings are not how we are to determine good and evil.  The Lord sets the standard, and he is the judge.  Therefore, his word overrules all feelings and opinions.  The Lord clearly states that certain actions and attitudes are evil, no matter how good they feel.  God’s word proclaims one thing.  Other voices claim another.  Both demand our attention and insist that they are right.

     The Psalmist illustrates how the devil seduces us with words and strives to influence our lives.  Listen how we can become more and more entrenched in sin.  The Psalmist writes, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the advice of the wicked, who does not stand on the path with sinners, and who does not sit in a meeting with mockers” (Psalm 1:1).  First, we get advice.  Advice seems harmless enough.  You can take it or leave it.  But the advice from the wicked seduces us into wickedness.  And again, it is presented as reasonable, desirable, and commendable.  Eventually, when we find our sins enjoyable, we stand on the path with sinners and imitate their ways.  We celebrate the so-called freedom to do whatever we want.  From there, we sit in with mockers, that is, we make ourselves right at home with our sins.  We join in with those who mock God who doesn’t understand what real freedom is and who would withhold from us happiness and pleasure.  We regard sins as reasonable, desirable, and commendable, and we embrace them warmly.  God has no blessing for those who are seduced by wicked words.  And it is certainly not freedom; for it chains us to death and damnation.  And still, the devil lies, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).

     Blessed, rather, is he who delights in the word of the Lord.  The Psalmist explains that abundant life comes to whoever listens to the word of the Lord.  He states, “He is like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and its leaves do not wither.  Everything he does prospers” (Psalm 1:3).  When we hear the word “prospers,” we think of money, popularity, or promotions.  Now, if our goal is to build a kingdom for ourselves in this world, that conclusion would be reasonable, desirable, and commendable.  But our goal is not to build a kingdom in a world that is passing away or to gain glory which will perish, spoil, and fade away.  Our goal is to have a place in the heavenly kingdom.  Therefore, we give heed to the word of the Lord so that we live under God’s blessing.

     Those who delight in the word of the Lord are like a tree that has been transplanted next to a canal or a channel.  Even if everything around it is dead, the tree thrives because it is nurtured by the waters.  In the same way, even if the world is filled with mockers who are dead in sin, the Lord still nurtures you with his word.  He produces in you the fruits of faith.  In this way, you prosper with good works which honor God and benefit your neighbor.  By his word God blesses you, and his blessings rest upon you.

     Blessed is he who delights in the word of the Lord.  But there is no blessing for anyone who does not delight in God’s word.  There is only judgment.  The Psalmist declares that the wicked “are like the chaff which the wind blows away” (Psalm 1:4).  In the days of King David, stalks of grain were laid out on a threshing floor where something heavy was rolled over them.  The kernels of grain broke loose, but they also had husks around them—chaff.  Think of them like the popcorn husks which get stuck between your teeth.  They are annoying and useless.  To get rid of the chaff, the harvesters at the threshing floor would take shovels and fling the grain into the air.  The heavier grain would fall right back to the threshing floor, but the chaff would be swept away by the wind.  This is what the wicked are like before God.  “The wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous” (Psalm 1:5).  They are swept away in God’s wrath, and they perish. 

     So, why won’t you be swept away like chaff?  After all, you and I have taken the advice of the wicked, thinking that it is unreasonable that God would withhold something from us.  We have stood on the path of the sinner, saying that it was undesirable to do good to people who are rude or ungrateful.  We have sat with the mockers who believe it is commendable to support people in their sins because it makes them happy.  There is no blessing for those who think and act this way.

     When the Psalmist began the Psalm with the words, “Blessed is the man” (Psalm 1:1), there is a man who has fulfilled all these things.  Jesus Christ was not seduced by warped advice.  He did not go down the path of the wicked.  He did not settle in with those who mocked God’s commandments.  Jesus’ delight was in God’s word—the promises, the prophecies, the commandments, the admonitions, all of it.  He not only delighted in it, he did it.  Jesus fulfilled all the Commandments of God, living the righteous life we have not.  Jesus did not consider it drudgery to attend services at the synagogues.  Jesus devoted hours in prayer to his heavenly Father.  Jesus did good to all people, even when he was criticized for doing it on the Sabbath or accused of using the powers of Satan to exorcise demons.  Although people responded to Jesus with slander, Jesus still prospered in good works.  Jesus rightly earned blessing from his Father.  Just as Jesus delighted in the word of the Lord, so also the Father delighted in Jesus.

     “The Lord approves of the way of the righteous” (Psalm 1:6).  This approval and this righteousness have been delivered to you through your baptism.  Jesus has cloaked you in his innocence and credited you with his obedience.  This is why we delight in the word of the Lord.  There, we hear how Jesus has purified us so that we will not be like the chaff which is blown away and driven from the Lord’s presence.  There, we also hear how the Lord Jesus delivered us from the judgment that we have earned.  Bearing our sins, Jesus stood under God’s judgment for us.  At the cross, Jesus was consumed in God’s fiery wrath.  There were no words of comfort or mercy for Jesus when he was forsaken by the Father for our sins.  In turn, God speaks to us tenderly and mercifully.  He pours out his blessings and promises us a kingdom of unending glory, peace, and purity.

     Blessed is he who delights in the word of the Lord.  You need this word throughout your life so that you are not seduced by demonic reasoning or sinful desires.  Those voices will never stop.  The devil employs the entertainment industry, political rhetoric, business practices, and friendly advice to turn you away from the Lord.  Many of those voices do not hide their promotion of evil.  Those voices are so common that we have accepted their sinful influence as normal.  Other times, we are tempted by surprising sources, just as Jesus was by Simon Peter.  People whom you love will offer you friendly advice to turn from God’s word because doing what is wrong is easier than doing what is right.  The point is, there is always someone talking to you.  We are influenced by words, which can be good or bad.  By words, we establish what we believe is true and moral versus what is evil and unethical.

     Not all words have blessing in them.  No matter what promises or proclamations the world makes to you, they all end up being silenced by a grave.  But blessed is he who delights in the word of the Lord.  For, this is the word of the Savior who lives to deliver you from the grave and promises the resurrection to life everlasting.  In his word, God declares you righteous for Jesus’ sake, and he leads you on paths of righteousness for your eternal good.  Blessed are you who delight in the word of the Lord; for the Lord’s delight rests upon you.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.