Tuesday, January 1, 2008

The Joy of the Journey

Couples are surprised when I introduce a common approach to Bible study as a foundational part of their premarital instruction. Some have initially thought, “We need to learn how to communicate meaningfully together, not have a course on Bible study methods.” I understand that. But two won’t communicate meaningfully for long if they don’t have a common standard by which to communicate. We all need some sort of law to govern our thoughts and inform our conscience. That is basic to any community. The better thought here, however, is not about ‘law’ or ‘no law’, but what law will satisfy the longing of the human heart? The Christian has come to the settled conclusion, having tasted the goodness of God, that God alone holds the Christian's best interest at His heart. And God meets the Christian in His goodness at the place of His law.

The psalmist exalts the goodness of God’s law—Psalm 19 declares its glory from the heart of one who experiences its delight; Psalm 37 carves out its victorious pathway for the believer living in a world filled with evildoers and wrongdoers; and Psalm 1 tells of the happiness that belongs to the man whose mind is given to keeping God's law as the Prophet wrote, “Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusts in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

Psalm 1 is the place to begin. Before praise, and before preservation, there must be presence. Psalm 1 is the presence of mind that results in both praise and preservation—knowledge always goes before experience. It is from knowledge that good experience flows in its fullness.


The theme of Psalm 1 can be stated as, The Mind of the Happy Man. That theme is expressed in the first line, “Happy is the man who…” The author is exuberant about his theme. The Hebrew expresses it by the use of a plural intensity, “Happiness is the man who…” We can approximate the sense of the author's message in this way: “O how happy is the man … for in the law of the Lord he takes his delight!” The way of the happy man is fully described in verses 1-3. Verses 4 and 5 take the contrasting side in an antithetical parallel thought, “O how miserable will be the man who…” And verse 6 sums up the entire psalm in one contrasting parallel thought. H.C. Leopold translated the psalm from the original Hebrew in this way:

The Way of the Happy Man 1-3
O happy is the person who has not shaped his conduct
after the principles of the ungodly,
Nor taken his stand in the way of the sinners,
Nor taken his seat in the assembly of scoffers!
But it is in the law of the Lord that he takes his delight;
And on His law he keeps pondering day and night.
And he will be like a tree planted by the side of streams of water,
That yields its fruit in its season;
Its leaves also do not wither;
And whatsoever he undertakes, succeeds.

The End of the Miserable Man 4-5
Such is not the case with the ungodly,
But they are like the chaff which the wind scatters.
On this account the ungodly shall not be able
to maintain themselves when the judgment comes.
Nor sinners, in the congregation of the righteous.

The Sum of it All 6
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous;
But the way of the ungodly is headed toward destruction.

It is an age old theme of the law: the way of life or death, the way of blessing or cursing, the way of joy or sadness. Moses spoke of it often to Israel in the law, the Book of Deuteronomy. And Paul summed up the entire psalm in the New Testament verse, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). So, happiness has to do with the location of the mind—a tidy mind. “…in the law of the Lord he takes delight.”

At this point we need to ask the question, do I believe the message of the psalmist? There is a simple test that answers that question. If I say that I do, than my experience of mind should show a diminishing attraction to the lure of sin’s deceitful promise of happiness, in exchange for the all satisfying promise of happiness in obedience to God’s will. Pastor John Piper, in his book "Future Grace," wrote it this way:

Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God. No one sins out of duty. We sin because it holds out some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us until we believe that God is more to be desired than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Which means that the power of sin’s promise is broken by the power of God’s. All that God promises to be for us in Jesus stands over against what sin promises to be for us without him.

Someone may be thinking, what does the psalmist mean by law? Surely the psalmist is not thinking of merely the 10 Commandments that imposes moral obligation that exposes sin. No, it is the broader law of the entire Word of God; the same law that David sung about in Psalm 19:7-14 and Paul wrote about in Romans 13:8-10. We can properly think of the entire revelation of God, in its teaching, in both Old and New Testament, as the sum of God’s law.

How can this all satisfying law serve communication? By learning and telling? That's right. But there is yet a more powerful way. By showing in our lives that the law is sweet and satisfying; by showing that the joy of the Lord is strength within our experience; by showing that knowing Christ is the delight that surpasses all the sufferings of this present world.

How can this Psalm serve the family? Or, said in another way, how can one influence another in the keeping of this Psalm? The answer is not about a mere understanding and teaching, but rather, as said above, the living of it. By living, I am not thinking about dogged obedience or stoic observance. I am thinking of living the law in such a way that we show its sweetness, joy and satisfaction to life; that in living the law there is a satisfaction to life that far exceeds the passing pleasures of sin. Tedd Tripp, author of a very helpful book, “Shepherding a Child’s Heart,” offers a simple but revolutionary insight to our question. Tedd spoke of the fact that we can’t make our children Christians, for that is a work of God’s grace—we present the gospel, God gives life in the gospel. Tedd, however, went on to say further that there is something excellent that we can do. We can show that the gospel is wholesome and satisfying to the embrace; that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not just the way of salvation from sin, but the way of life for delight—the joy of the journey.

Wisdom Workouts:

  • My challenge to you is to buy a book, but not just any book; one that is time-tested, well received and proven in the lives of many. Take the challenge to read, “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” by author, Tedd Tripp (Spanish version at this link; click on link above for English version). Although the book relates to parenting, the principles are broad and applicable to all relationships. It will give you wisdom and insight into the beauty of God’s law, and practicality of approach to communicating the delight in God’s law. It is a book worthy of a thoughtful read in 2008. You won’t be disappointed.