Introduction

“Blessed.” This is the first word of both Psalm 1, and Psalm 32. This word echoes throughout the entire book of Psalms. The Psalter is indeed the book for the blessed. It is the song book for those of us in Christ. The message that Psalm 1 and Psalm 32 give us about being “blessed” is the true hope of the Christian life. Psalm 1 serves to paint us an image of the “blessed man.” According to Psalm 1, the blessed man is obedient. Psalm 32 likewise gives us an image of the “blessed one.” According to Psalm 32, this man is not obedient, but is forgiven. This is the message of the Bible, and is the theme of our Christian faith. Christianity is the blessed life because it is the life free from sin, and free to obey Christ.

Blessed With Obedience

Psalm 1 states that “blessed man” does not walk in obedience, but obedience. “Blessed” does not simply convey happiness or joy, but the state of bliss. To be “blessed” as the man of Psalm 1 is blessed it to be in a state of bliss between man and God. Obedience is a blessing, and it produces a blessed state between man and God.

This is the first Psalm. It’s theme influences the entire book of Psalms. This is primarily in two ways: 1) the blessed man is walking in obedience, as we all should be, and 2) the blessed man relies on God, his “streams of water” (v. 2), to sustain him as we all should. The Psalter is our song book because we praise the God who has saved our souls and given us obedient spirits. When we were previously children of wrath (Ephesians 2) we are now God’s children. We are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6) but now able to obey Christ.

This makes God worthy of our praise. But we cannot do this alone. We must rely on our Savior. We must plant ourselves near to Him. It is obedience to cling to Him, because Christ was perfectly obedient. This is the blessed life. The blessed life is the life that does not walk in sin. The blessed life, the life the Christian should strive for, is the life of obedience. Psalm 1 teaches us that to truly be “blessed” is not to be rich, it is not to be healthy, it is not to have the conventional pleasures of the culture – but to live the blessed life is to be obedient to God.

Blessed with Forgiveness

There is a necessary flip side to the coin. Because we cannot perfectly life Psalm 1, we need a message of forgiveness. Only one man ever has perfectly obeyed God. Only one man ever has lived Psalm 1 perfectly, and therefore, in Him, we can be perfect before God. This is the message of Psalm 32. Psalm 32 shows the reader that to be blessed is to be forgiven by God through Christ.

In 2 Samuel 11 David gives into temptation, and sleeps with Bathsheeba. His sin is grievous, and it only gets worse. He hides his sin for a year, culminating in having her husband killed. God is kind to David, and reveals his sin to the prophet Nathan. When the prophet confronts David, David repents of his sin. Psalm 51 is David’s Psalm of confession, and Psalm 32 is David’s Psalm of worship. He can worship because, as verse 1 states, he has been “forgiven.”

The same David who wrote Psalm 1 wrote Psalm 32. He understood that obedience was the good life, but we could never be perfectly obedient. We need grace and mercy. David experienced this fully. He was perhaps the closest thing to Messiah Israel experienced until Jesus’ incarnation. He has all the blessings one could ever have – wealth, political-power, victory – yet he knew the blessed life was not found in these things. The blessed life is the one that is forgiven when he veers off the path. The blessed life is the life that trusts in the One who was perfectly obedient, and is cleansed of his sins.

Your Blessed Life Now

There is a line of “gospel” teaching that is famous for promising your “best life now.” The prosperity gospel promises if you have enough faith in God you can experience an abundance of blessings in this life. Or as that famous subtitle states, “7 steps to living out your full potential.” Being blessed by God with health and wealth is certainly a thing to be thankful for, but it is not the blessed life God has promised to give to every single Christian.

Instead of trying to live “your best life now,” you should just try to live your “blessed life now.” Live in obedience and rest in forgiveness when you fall short. This is all God requires of you. The prosperity gospel eventually leads to discouragement. “Have I not had enough faith?” “Am I not trusting enough?” The “blessed life” allows the Christian to rest. Walk in simple obedience resisting sin, and when you fall short, rest in the forgiveness Christ offers. Rest in His perfect obedience, and eagerly await all the blessings we will receive for His perfect life. God does not require you trust in order to receive prosperous blessings; instead, He promises that if you trust in Christ, you have already received the ultimate blessing. So, go on living your blessed life now, and trust that it is the best life you could ever have been given.

For His glory,

Alan