July 14th, 2025
by Diana Gonzales
by Diana Gonzales
The Fullness of God’s Blessings
“Blessed is the man…” Psalms 1:1
Psalm 1 explains in poetic detail how to enjoy the fullness of peace and prosperity, God’s shalom, here and now. The Old Testament concept of shalom describes creation as it enjoys God’s favor and blessing. Shalom means more than simply peace, but is the combination of peace, blessedness, and flourishing. Thus, the Fall of Mankind in Genesis 3 fractures God’s shalom by removing the conditions of his favor, namely, obedience. In place of shalom is the convoluted world of sin and brokenness we now know. If to live under God’s rule and reign is to enjoy his shalom— his peace— then sin and living in rebellion to God’s rule and reign is the opposite of shalom and is instead called death. God told Adam he would die the day he ate the forbidden fruit because God knew it would immediately remove Adam from God’s shalom, the source of Adam’s life. Wickedness is often described as death, not merely as divine punishment, as terrifying as that is, but because sin separates us from God who is the very source of our life and being. To be cut off from God by sin is to be cut off from life.
A person living in God’s shalom is said to be a blessed person. More specifically in the passage above, the word blessed is the Hebrew word asher, meaning happiness. Blessedness so described results from living in the way of righteousness as indicated by the Psalmist, i.e., delighting in the law of God and living accordingly. The blessing refers not merely to material prosperity or a positive emotional state, though these are certainly not excluded, but to being rightly related to God. Living in this state of rightness before God carries with it the blessing of his favor. It means connection with the source of blessedness, God himself. There is, then, a tight relationship between enjoying God’s shalom by living rightly and being called a blessed person. Those who walk in the way of righteousness and enjoy God’s favor are called blessed, while the wicked and the depraved will never know this state of blessedness and can only expect wrath and destruction.
The connection between blessedness, happiness, and shalom is mirrored in the New Testament as well. Jesus had this in mind when he was explaining the Kingdom of God during his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8). The same Greek word used to pronounce a blessing over those listed in the beatitudes (makarios) is the word used in the Greek translation Psalms 1. Thus, Asher in Hebrew and Makarios in Greek refer to the same status of those who walk in the way of righteousness. Jesus takes this Hebrew concept of blessed happiness as described in Psalm 1 and presents it as the primary way in which we enjoy God’s favor. Two modes of existence are thus presented— the way which leads to life and the way which leads to death. Jesus tells us plainly to “enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it, Matthew 7:13-14. Only by walking the path God has set can anyone know blessedness in this life and in the life to come.
As it turns out, the way of life and death describes the individual steps we take along the path every day, whether we are believers or not. For unbelievers, this “walking the narrow path” begins with initial repentance to faith in Christ for salvation. If you want to enjoy life in God, there is no other way than by turning from your sins, believing that Jesus died and rose again, and confessing him as your Lord and Savior. Without this, you will forever remain as the wicked whom God burns like the chaff in the wind (Psalm 1:4-5). For believers, this means our initial experience of salvation continues progressing along the path of righteousness as we seek to embody more and more the life God reveals in his Word. While short and beautiful, the message of Psalm 1 is powerfully simple. Walk in the way of righteousness and you will enjoy God’s blessing, but flirt with the way of the wicked and you will be caught up in their destruction.
—Church of New Hope
“Blessed is the man…” Psalms 1:1
Psalm 1 explains in poetic detail how to enjoy the fullness of peace and prosperity, God’s shalom, here and now. The Old Testament concept of shalom describes creation as it enjoys God’s favor and blessing. Shalom means more than simply peace, but is the combination of peace, blessedness, and flourishing. Thus, the Fall of Mankind in Genesis 3 fractures God’s shalom by removing the conditions of his favor, namely, obedience. In place of shalom is the convoluted world of sin and brokenness we now know. If to live under God’s rule and reign is to enjoy his shalom— his peace— then sin and living in rebellion to God’s rule and reign is the opposite of shalom and is instead called death. God told Adam he would die the day he ate the forbidden fruit because God knew it would immediately remove Adam from God’s shalom, the source of Adam’s life. Wickedness is often described as death, not merely as divine punishment, as terrifying as that is, but because sin separates us from God who is the very source of our life and being. To be cut off from God by sin is to be cut off from life.
A person living in God’s shalom is said to be a blessed person. More specifically in the passage above, the word blessed is the Hebrew word asher, meaning happiness. Blessedness so described results from living in the way of righteousness as indicated by the Psalmist, i.e., delighting in the law of God and living accordingly. The blessing refers not merely to material prosperity or a positive emotional state, though these are certainly not excluded, but to being rightly related to God. Living in this state of rightness before God carries with it the blessing of his favor. It means connection with the source of blessedness, God himself. There is, then, a tight relationship between enjoying God’s shalom by living rightly and being called a blessed person. Those who walk in the way of righteousness and enjoy God’s favor are called blessed, while the wicked and the depraved will never know this state of blessedness and can only expect wrath and destruction.
The connection between blessedness, happiness, and shalom is mirrored in the New Testament as well. Jesus had this in mind when he was explaining the Kingdom of God during his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8). The same Greek word used to pronounce a blessing over those listed in the beatitudes (makarios) is the word used in the Greek translation Psalms 1. Thus, Asher in Hebrew and Makarios in Greek refer to the same status of those who walk in the way of righteousness. Jesus takes this Hebrew concept of blessed happiness as described in Psalm 1 and presents it as the primary way in which we enjoy God’s favor. Two modes of existence are thus presented— the way which leads to life and the way which leads to death. Jesus tells us plainly to “enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it, Matthew 7:13-14. Only by walking the path God has set can anyone know blessedness in this life and in the life to come.
As it turns out, the way of life and death describes the individual steps we take along the path every day, whether we are believers or not. For unbelievers, this “walking the narrow path” begins with initial repentance to faith in Christ for salvation. If you want to enjoy life in God, there is no other way than by turning from your sins, believing that Jesus died and rose again, and confessing him as your Lord and Savior. Without this, you will forever remain as the wicked whom God burns like the chaff in the wind (Psalm 1:4-5). For believers, this means our initial experience of salvation continues progressing along the path of righteousness as we seek to embody more and more the life God reveals in his Word. While short and beautiful, the message of Psalm 1 is powerfully simple. Walk in the way of righteousness and you will enjoy God’s blessing, but flirt with the way of the wicked and you will be caught up in their destruction.
—Church of New Hope
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