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Psalm 1: The Blessed Man | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. We dive into the vast resources
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of theological history, aiming to give you clear, memorable
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insights, helping you feel totally up to speed.
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And today we're taking a really close look at chapter Spurgeon,
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specifically his groundwork and his writing on Psalm One, which
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kicks off his huge commentary, The Treasury of David.
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Yeah, our goal isn't just to see the final product, his thoughts
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on the blessed man, but also, well, the process behind it.
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How did this massive project, which spanned years, actually
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reflect his own faith and service?
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And the back story is quite revealing, actually, Spurgeon.
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He divided the labor for this study quite distinctly between
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times when he was well and times when he was quite.
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I'll. That difference itself says so
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much, doesn't it, about serving God in different seasons?
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It really does. We know from Spurgeon himself
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that his direct exposition of Psalm One, the writing of his
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own thoughts on the text, that was the work of my health.
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That came when he had the energy, the mental focus.
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So that initial section on blessedness, the ideas, the
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images that flowed from a time of physical strength.
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Pretty much. But then there's the rest of the
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volume, the enormous task of gathering all those quotes, the
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notes, the sayings from older writers.
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That was the product of my sickness.
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Wow. He saw writing this study as a
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way to keep going, to continue his calling, another way to, as
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he put it, keep bearing testimony for his name even when
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sickness kept him out of the pulpit day after day.
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It's faith applied, isn't it? Finding ways to serve not just
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in the spotlight of preaching, but also quietly through
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writing, whatever your physical state.
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A powerful example for sure. OK, let's dig into the mechanics
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a bit. How did the Treasury of David
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actually come together? We're talking what, late 1860s?
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That's right, the preface for the first volume wraps up in
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December 1869. Signed it, Clapham.
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But the real story is the sheer scale of work needed to produce
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something that was both his own take and a synthesis of
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centuries of thought. And it sounds like the project
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kind of grew bigger than he first planned.
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It did, yeah. Initially, Spurgeon was focused
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mainly on his own exposition. He say.
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It's quite clearly the exposition here given is my own.
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He owned it. He did.
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He mentioned looking at a few older writers, Sure, but mainly
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just to aid me in interpretation and arouse my thoughts.
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He was really seeking divine help for his own analysis of the
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text. But then came the idea for all
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the extra material, the quotes and notes.
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Right. That compilation side of things,
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gathering hundreds, maybe thousands of excerpts from other
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theologians, that seems to have been almost an afterthought.
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That just ballooned. And that's what turned it from
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maybe a series of sermons into this, well, monumental literary
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work. And that brings us back to the
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health versus sickness distinction.
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Absolutely, because that compilation part was far, far
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more labor intensive than just writing his own exposition.
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It needed a, well, a Herculean effort, and you really can't
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talk about this without mentioning Mr. John L Keys, ah.
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Yes, Keys Spurgeon's friend and emanuents as his assistant.
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Essential Assistants, as Virgin called it.
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He knew that doing all that research himself would have
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taken far too much of his time, especially with with how often
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he was unwell. And you have to picture what far
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too much time meant back then. No search engines, no digital
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libraries. Exactly.
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The sources say the research involved ransacking books by the
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100 keys was physically going through places like the British
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Museum, Doctor Williams Library. Imagine that, requesting books,
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waiting for them, searching indexes, if they even had them,
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then handwriting relevant bits. Page by page.
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It wasn't just copying. Keys was navigating these huge
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treasuries of theological lore, as Spurgeon call them.
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He must have been doing a lot of filtering, finding the useful
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stuff amidst mountains of texts. Sound like he was more than just
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a scribe, a real research partner.
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Definitely Spurgeon saw that these compiled bits, these
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quaint sayings and notes, were just too good to throw away.
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They gave the reader the benefit of thoughts of many minds.
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A. Richer perspective.
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But pulling all those minds together needed Keys sheer
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diligence, wading through stacks and stacks of physical books.
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It was a remarkable partnership. It let Spurgeon, even when sick,
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be the theological director while Keys was out there
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gathering the building materials.
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So a massive effort for Keys and for Spurgeon may be a spiritual
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necessity when he couldn't preach.
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Let's shift to why he took this on beyond just having things to
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say about the Psalms. What really drove him?
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Well, his reasons seem deeply personal and also pastoral.
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First off, it was devotional for him.
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He talks about how studying the Psalms gave him boundless profit
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and ever growing pleasure. So it started with his own
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spiritual life. Yes, it wasn't just a job, it
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was something he delighted in, and that personal delight fueled
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the desire to share it. That seems very spurgeon that
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personal experience overflows into teaching.
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He felt compelled by his words, common gratitude to share some
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of that benefit, hoping others would then search further for
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themselves. He wanted to spark their own
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study. And who is he aiming this at?
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Just his own church. No, much broader.
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He specifically offered an earnest prayer that it would
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help my brethren in the ministry and to the church at large.
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He saw this commentary as food for the whole Christian
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community. Really.
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No, focusing on Psalm One itself, Spurgeon gives it a
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special title, doesn't he? He does.
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He calls it the Preface Psalm. Why preface?
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What makes it stand out? Because he saw it setting the
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stage, the whole agenda for all 150 Psalms.
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It's like the opening text for the big divine sermon that the
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entire book of Psalms preaches. OK.
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It lays out the fundamental unchanging choice, the way to
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blessedness on one side and the sure destruction of sinners on
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the other. Understand Psalm 1 and you grasp
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the basic contrast that runs through everything that follows,
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whether it's a Psalm of lament, praise, or teaching.
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That makes a lot of sense. Sets the terms right from the
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start. Now about those compiled sources
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he gathered. He pulled quotes from
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everywhere, right? Different theological viewpoints
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across history. He did it and he included a
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really interesting disclaimer about them.
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Why was that needed? Well, given his own strong
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reformed views, he had to be careful.
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He stated point blank that he was far from endorsing all he
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has quoted. And crucially, he said, he was
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neither responsible for the scholarship or orthodoxy of the
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writers. So why include quotes he didn't
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fully agree with? Couldn't that be confusing?
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It's a careful balance. He wanted to offer the
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historical context, the different angles people had
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taken. Sometimes the old sayings are
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just interesting, sometimes quite insightful.
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But he wouldn't compromise his own biblical standards.
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So how did he manage that? The key was providing the
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author's names. He said he did this so each
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author may bear his own burden if a quoted writer had, say,
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questionable views on something important like the covenant or
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atonement. Spurgeon was essentially saying
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here's what this person historically said about this
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verse, not I agree with their whole system.
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I see it's transparency. He's showing his work, warts and
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all, but drawing a line. Precisely.
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It shows real care, especially when you're dealing with
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potentially controversial figures or obscure old comments.
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And one of the practical thing he included were those hints to
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the village preacher. Right.
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Tell us about those. Classic Spurgeon, really showing
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his heart for the ordinary preacher, the layperson out in
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the villages. These hints were meant to be
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very simple, designed for preachers whose own training or
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resources might be limited. Attainments are slender, he
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says. Helping those who didn't have
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big libraries or lots of study time.
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Exactly. They could open the treasury and
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find immediate practical help for putting a sermon together.
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It's sort of leveled the playing field of making deeper study
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more accessible. OK, let's dive into the
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substance. Then his actual exposition of
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song one, starting right at verse one, the idea of
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blessedness for the righteous person.
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Spurgeon zooms in immediately on that word.
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Blessed. Yeah, and he points out
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something most English versions miss.
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The original Hebrew word isn't singular, it's plural.
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Oh, the blessedness is. Blessedness is plural.
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What does it imply? It signifies abundance,
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fullness, perfection. It's not just one kind of
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happiness or good fortune. The person justified by God
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possesses this complete, overflowing state of well-being,
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grace, and divine favor. It's multifaceted.
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Not just a single blessing, but blessings piled up.
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Interesting. Then Spurgeon defines this
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person first by what they avoid. A negative definition almost.
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Yes, and he uses this negative definition to show how sin
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creeps in, how people gradually fall away.
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It's a brilliant pastoral insight.
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He lays out a progression doesn't he?
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3 stages. That's right, the godly person
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starts by separating themselves from wickedness, and this
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separation happens in three steps, each one worse than the
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last. OK, Stage 1 walketh not in the
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counsel of the ungodly. This is about influence, about
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the mindset you adopt. Counsel here means their
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decrees, their advice, their worldly way of thinking, their
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self-made prudence. The ungodly often seems sensible
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by the world's standards, right? Sure, their advice might sound
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practical. To walk in their counsel is to
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start thinking like them, adopting their careless, perhaps
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secular assumptions about life. It's more about ideas at this
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stage, maybe casual association before it becomes a fixed
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pattern you're just sort of strolling alongside.
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But that casual stroll can lead somewhere worse.
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Stage 2 standeth not in the way of sinners.
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Now it's about habit. You move from just absorbing
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unguardly ideas to actually settling into sinful practices.
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Standing suggests stopping lingering, making it your place
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so. It's no longer just passing
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through. Right.
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You're refusing to just herd with the multitude that do evil.
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As Spurgeon puts it, You're now comfortable in the company of
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openly wicked people, maybe even participating in their known
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patterns of behavior. It's a more deliberate posture
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against God's law. And then the final stage, which
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sounds quite ominous, sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.
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Sitting implies permanence, comfort.
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This is the absolute bottom. The person has gone from
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careless thinking to habitual sin, and now to active,
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malignant mockery. To sit in the scorner's seat
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means you find comfort, even identity.
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And scoffing at sacred things, mocking sin, eternity, God
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himself. At this point, Spurgeon says,
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the person isn't just doing evil, they're teaching it.
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He calls him a pestilent teacher, a doctor of damnation.
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They've basically earned a degree in vice.
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They ridicule the very idea of good and evil.
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The blessed. His man stays far, far away from
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this. That progression walk, stand,
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sit is so vivid, it shows how easily one can slide from bad
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advice to outright rebellion. So the blessed Man avoids that
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path entirely. Avoids it completely.
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But that's only the negative side.
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There's a positive definition to the blessed person's character
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is rooted in devotion to God's law.
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His delight is in the law of the Lord.
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And Spurgeon is careful here, right?
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It's not delight in the law as a way to earn salvation, but as a
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guide for living. Precisely as a rule of life.
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And this delight is deep, a loving delight, he says.
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Something so core to their being that hardship or tragedy can't
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snuff it out. And how does this delight show
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itself? Through constant engagement, he
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delights to meditate in it day and night.
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Spurgeon makes it clear this isn't just a quick morning
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devotion. It's making God's Word your
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daily bread, your constant companion, your guide, hour by
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hour. Mulling it over constantly.
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Turning it over in your mind all day, even during the night.
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Carrying it with you. And this meditation isn't
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passive reading, it's active. How so?
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Spurgeon uses that old image of an animal chewing the cud.
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Meditation digests the spiritual truth, letting the nourishment
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sink deep into the soul. It helps you grasp the holiness
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and spirituality of the text. It's deeper layers.
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So it's more than just understanding the words.
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Much more, it helps memory, shapes judgement and makes the
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renewed heart grow. He even notes the Hebrew word
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can imply chattering, like having an ongoing conversation
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with the text, making the law your constant advisor.
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That intense focus, that cultivation, leads perfectly
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into verse 3, doesn't it? The famous image of the tree.
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Absolutely. That comparison to a tree
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planted is so rich. The keyword is planted.
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Meaning it didn't just happen by chance.
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Right. It signifies God's deliberate
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action. This person is chosen.
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They're considered God's property.
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They are actively cultivated by him.
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This planting gives security, protects from the terrible
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uprooting that awaits the wicked.
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It assures you that your righteous life isn't an
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accident. It's God's work.
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And where is this tree planted? By the rivers of water, Again,
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plural rivers. Yes, suggesting multiple
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abundant, never failing supplies.
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Virgin unpacks this beautifully. What do the rivers represent?
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He suggests things like the rivers of pardon, that's
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justification, the rivers of grace, sanctification, the
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rivers of the promise are theological anchors, and the
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rivers of communion with Christ, our relationship with him.
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The point is, the believer is sustained by supernatural
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resources that never run dry, no matter how barren the world
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around might seem. And a well watered tree produces
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fruit, bringeth forth his fruit in his season.
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What's the significance of in his season?
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It means the right virtue at the right time.
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It's not about having every good quality on display constantly,
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but about showing patience when you're suffering, or faith when
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you're tested, or holy joy when things are going well.
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Appropriate fruitfulness. Yes, the spirit trains the
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believer to produce the specific fruit needed for that particular
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moment, ensuring they're never spiritually bankrupt when life
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gets hard. And the Leafs, his Leaf also,
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shall not wither. What does that suggest?
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Eternal freshness. It points to the permanence of
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the believer's spiritual life and witness.
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The leaf is like their spiritual beauty, their outward
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profession. It stays green because, as
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Spurgeon says, the Lord's trees are all evergreens.
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So their life has lasting impact.
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Tremendous comfort in that. It assures you that even your
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quiet words, your hidden prayers, your little deeds of
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love, they last forever in God's memory.
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Nothing done for him is ultimately wasted.
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OK, now we get to a potentially tricky part.
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The promise whatsoever he do with shall prosper.
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That sounds great, but while we see godly people facing terrible
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hardship, failure, loss, how did Spurgeon handle that apparent
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contradiction? He.
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Tackles it head on with a crucial qualification.
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This prosperity, he warns, must often be judged by the eye of
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faith, not by feeble sense. Meaning don't just look at the
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bank account or the health report.
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Exactly. If you only look at outward
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circumstances, the promise can seem false.
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That's why, he stresses this is often hidden prosperity,
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something secret in spirit. So what looks like failure to
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the world might actually be God working.
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Precisely. He calls it divine husbandry.
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The trials, the crosses, the losses, the sorrows.
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They aren't random misfortunes. They are God's tools for
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cultivating the believer by which he grows and brings forth
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abundant fruit. Wow, that reframes suffering
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completely. It does.
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Spurgeon boldly claims that our worst things are often our best
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things because they drive us to depend more on Christ.
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They build soul health. They lead to true spiritual
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success, even if it looks like worldly failure.
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That's the paradox at the heart of Christian living.
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A hidden spiritual prosperity? That's a challenging idea.
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OK, so after painting this picture of the thriving divinely
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cultivated tree, the Psalm immediately pivots.
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It has to to show the stark contrast.
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It lays bare the condition of the ungodly, their worthlessness
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and their inevitable end. And who are the ungodly here?
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Is it just the worst criminals? Not necessarily.
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Spurgeon suggests and includes the beginners in evil, maybe
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even those who seem outwardly moral but just quietly ignore
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God. God.
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They're defined simply by not being the righteous.
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Whatever good was said about the righteous man, it's the.
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Opposite for them. Exactly.
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He highlights the Vulgate translations.
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Double negative. Not so the ungodly.
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Not so. It hammers home their complete
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exclusion for the blessedness, the security, the fruitfulness
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just described. They are the polar opposite.
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And their core image, not a tree, but.
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They're like chaff, the useless lightweight husk blown away from
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the valuable grain. It's dead, substanceless, easily
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carried off, the perfect contrast to the deep rooted
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fruit bearing tree. A tree is cultivated.
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Chaff is just discarded, blown away by the wind.
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And that wind, Spurgeon interprets, is the vehement
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Tempest of death and judgment. It sweeps them away.
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Unlike the righteous, who are rooted insecure, the ungodly
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have no spiritual weight, no stability.
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When God's judgment comes, their lack of substance is revealed.
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And because they have no substance, they can't stand firm
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in the final reckoning. Therefore, the ungodly shall not
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stand in the judgment. They'll be there physically
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present for judgment, yes, but they won't stand in the sense of
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being acquitted or justified. They have no ground to stand on,
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no righteousness. Fear grips them, Spurgeon says,
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and they're covered with eternal contempt.
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No standing in judgement, and no place among the redeemed either,
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nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
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Total Exclusion. It's a privilege denied to those
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who stick to their sin, and Spurgeon has a fascinating point
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here. Even if they could get into
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heaven, it's purity and worship would be like an intolerable
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hell to someone unrepentant. Because they'd be completely out
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of place. Utterly out of their element,
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their very nature fixed on self and scorn just clashes with the
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whole atmosphere of paradise. So the exclusion isn't just God
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keeping them out, it's also a consequence of who they've
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chosen to be. And finally, the destruction
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isn't just personal, it affects their whole legacy.
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Not only do they perish, but the way of the ungodly shell perish.
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Yeah, their entire life's path, their memory, it all vanishes.
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Their deeds, their philosophies, like Spurgeon says, plowing the
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sea. Lots of effort, maybe believes
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no lasting mark. God causes their name to rot, He
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says, to become a stench. While the righteous person's
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life leaves a lasting mark. Yes, their deeds of love and
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faith are remembered, but the ungodly Bolivia?
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What an incredibly sharp, uncompromising contrast Spurgeon
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draws out of this first Psalm. The secure, cultivated fruitful
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tree versus the worthless scattered consumed chaff.
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It's stark, but the ultimate comfort, the anchor for the
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believer, comes in that final verse.
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God knoweth the way of the righteous, and that word knoweth
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is packed with meaning. How so?
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Is it just that God is aware of what they're doing?
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No, it's much deeper than mere observation.
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Spurgeon makes a distinction. God knows the way of the
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ungodly. Yes, he sees their deeds, their
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path to ruin. But he knows the way of the
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righteous with approbation. Approbation meaning approval,
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yes. A knowledge that includes love,
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acceptance, active care and intervention.
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It means that even when the believers path seems hidden, may
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be covered in mist and darkness. As Spurgeon says, we're going
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through the clouds and Tempest of affliction.
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God still knows it, approves it, and sustains it.
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Exactly that divine knowledge guarantees support, deliverance,
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and eventual glory. God won't let anything truly bad
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happen to them. Nothing that isn't part of His
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loving refining plan, His divine husbandry.
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That knowledge is the foundation of their security then.
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It's everything. And, Spurgeon points out, this
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way of the righteous is often hidden.
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It's a path not of sense nor reason, but of faith only.
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To the outside world, the blessed person's life might look
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hard, obscure, even unsuccessful.
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It might look more like sickness than health.
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Which brings us right back to where we started, doesn't it?
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With Spurgeon himself writing this massive work while sick.
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So a final thought for you, the listener, to take away from
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this. Think about what it means to
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live a life where real success, real security, the security of
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being that tree planted and tended by God, might be totally
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invisible to the world looking on.
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Yeah, the path of the righteous might involve things the world
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sees as failure, loss, suffering, obscurity.
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Yet true spiritual health and success are secure because God
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knows and approves that path. That hidden prosperity often
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demonstrates what faith is all about, the wisdom of the cross.
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So the question for all of us is, which path are you seeking?
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The one that looks good to feeble sense or the hidden path
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that the Lord knows, preserves and is making truly prosperous,
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even if it doesn't look that way today.
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A challenging question indeed. Thanks for joining us for this
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deep dive into Spurgeon's Treasury of David.