Wisdom Psalms

Background

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Psalm 1

Today is the first sermon in our six week sermon series in the book of Psalms

And the series name is On Repeat

And to have something On Repeat means that it occurs over and over again

And so people have songs on repeat because they like or love the song

They have photo slide shows on repeat because they like photos of the family showing

And in the same way, we can and should have the Psalms on repeat in our minds and in our hearts

The Psalms are not a collection of outdated, meaningless, poems

Rather, they are a blueprint, a model for how we are to live, how our attitudes should be, and how our actions should reflect them

And depending on who you talk to and who you read - The Psalms are usually divided between 5-8 different kinds of Psalms

So for us, we will be looking at 6 different categories which are

Wisdom Psalms

Royal Psalms

Lament Psalms

Thanksgiving Psalms

Pilgrimage Psalms

and Enthronement Psalms

And each Sunday we will talk about one of these types specifically and will look at a Psalm that fits into that category

For today, we are going to start with Wisdom Psalms

And its interesting because a lot of really smart people have insights and experience to share about wisdom

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” Albert Einstein

“Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” Francis Bacon

“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.” Charles Dickens

“Honesty is the first book of wisdom.” Thomas Jefferson

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” Socrates

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.” Charles Spurgeon

And I am not going to stand here and say that you souldn’t listen to really smart people with experience

But what I will say is that the ultimate authority and the quotes that we should give the greatest weight too concerning wisdom, should be from God

And as we start this series, I want to encourage us to continue to have a high view of scripture

That Wisdom Psalms arent just nice quotes or poetic lyrics for us to enjoy

But that the Wisdom Psalms are part of the inspired word of God

And God’s word is not a suggestion - We never want to be church that views God word as optional

God’s word is essential for us as believers

So when we read Wisdom Psalms, we should read them as the way God wants us to live

They contain the practical wisdom required for righteous living

So if your wondering if you are living on the right path, if your wondering if you are living in God’s will

You would look up a Wisdom Psalm

And if you are taking notes, in addition to Psalm 1 you can also look to 19; 32; 34; 37; 49; 73; 112; 119; 128.

But what I love about Psalm 1 is that it really does set the tone for the biggest book of the Bible

Whoever compiled the book of Psalms, I believe was inspired by God to put this Psalm first

And while we know the author of various Psalms - David, Solomon, Asaph, Moses, and others -

It is unknown who wrote Psalm 1 -

However, as we read it, we can find instantly a wise way of living and a foolish way of living

So if you will, please stand and follow along as I read God’s word. Psalm 1

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

This is the word of the Lord, you may now be seated

Blessed/Do Not

One of the most hated words in the english language is the word “no”

Nobody likes to be told no and not very many people enjoy submitting to the no they recieve from people in authority

This is true in the home - A kid does not like to be told no they can’t have something, but then ask the same kid to share their toys and then you will often hear the word no

At work, many times there is a divide from lower management and upper management

Lower management may ask for ways to improve the process or to make things easier,

But because it isn’t in the budget or because there may be a future plan they are told no

And often, there is nothing worse than hearing the word no without an explanation for it

You just told me no and now I want to know “why”?

Again, you see this word why both in kids and in adult work or organizations

And really the root of this “why” is to try to understand why I didnt get a yes

What are the consequences? Is there something I should know? Are you just saying no out of spite?

It is our natural tendency to want to be told yes and when its not a yes - we want an explanation

And even after we receive the explanation, it sometimes doesn’t suffice and so we try to do things to force a yes

That often doesn’t end up well

And the way the sentence is structured in verse 1 gives the consequence, the outcome, the result first - before being given the word no

It starts with “Blessed is the man”

And this blessed is two-fold

First, Jesus Christ is the one who is blessed because he is the one who endured the folly of the wicked, he stood in the place of sinners to take on their judgement, and he was scoffed at unjustly

Jesus did what we often fail to do -

Jesus fulfilled the law fully for believers, for all of those who put their faith and trust in him alone

And because Jesus ultimatley fulfilled this, those who do put their faith and trust in him alone are now unified with him

And because they are unified with him through the Holy Spirit, they are now blessed

Blessed are those who are one with Christ

Now, if you look at other Psalms, you will find various blessings that are associated with being unified with him

These blessings can include - having their needs met, being brought out of hard circumstances, and some include material weath or success, and success for their children

However, the blessed here referrs to Matthew 5:6 ““Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

From the very beginning of the Psalms we are being taught that in our former state - we were unsatisfied

We were longing for more - we were searching for purpose

But now that believers are unified with Christ, they are satisfied in Him

They now have a purpose to glorify him

They now hunger and thirst for righteousness

And so this is the second part of the “Blessed”

One that Jesus was blessed and we are unified in him

But then second, because we are unified in him, we now hunger and thirst for righteousness

And because we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we are told do not do some things because they do not bring righteousness

Righteousness is not brought on by walking in the counsel of the wicked,

Righteousness is not brought on by standing in the way of sinners,

And righteousness is not brought on by sitting in the seat of scoffers

Now look at the verbs here - walking, standing, and sitting

The counsel of the wicked will lead you to walk on the path away from righteousness

The way of sinners causes you to stand with them and act away from righteousness

And sitting with scoffers causes you to plant yourself to become the wrong kind of person that stays away from righteousness

We are told no because by doing these things we start on a path that is a progressive decline away from righteousness

And the wicked, the sinners, and scoffers here are unbelievers

These are people who reject the word of God and live by some other standard

And because they live by another standard - their life, their experience, their belief will influence their actions and their advice to you

And because their standard is not God’s standard - most often their advice to you and their actions will be contrary to God’s standards and therefore unrighteouss

Many of you are aware of my story and the downward spiral I was in years ago

And as I look back - as I look at the progression of things that lead me to a place of emptiness

It was the fact that I surrounded myself with unbelievers as daily friends and as my community

I want to a big church on Sunday where I could pop in and out as I pleased - without building friendships and community

And I went from walking down a wrong path, to standing up for it, and then I planted myself in it

And here is the thing, I was empty - And I knew the answer was Jesus - but I was sitting in shame

And it is only by his love, grace, and mercy that he continuously pursued me and freed me from that

Because here is the thing we must understand - If it wasnt for Jesus - we would be the wicked, we would be the sinners, we would be the scoffers that scoff at everything “God” related

We are still sinners and we are still tempted but when we fall - we repent and Jesus forgives - and He says I paid for that failure on the cross through my death

It is because of Jesus that we are made righteouss

Delight in God’s Word

Now heres the thing - we are not called to withdraw from the world and create our own group of believers and never interact with unbelievers

However, as we are in the world - in order not be influenced by it - not only are we told no, not to do some things

But we are told what to do in order to help fullfill our longing of righteousness

“but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

The believers delight is in the word of God and he is to meditate on it day and night

This is very important because for the believer - the law and commands of the Lord are not burdensome

Rather - because we know and believe that it is Jesus who has saved us and that our hearts are regenerated to Christ, and we are longing for righteousness,

We delight in the ways of the Lord

We leap at the realization that we arent left empty in our longing for righteousness

But that we now are saved to everlasting righteousness and until we get there we can walk on the path of righteousness

So the word of God is not meant to be a burden but as a joy

And we are to meditate on it day and night

Our thoughts, our will, our actions should be based on the things that God deems righteouss

And as the believer grows in Christ, as the believer is grounded in God’s word

When you go out and are among the unbelievers and get advice from unbelievers - you weigh it against God’s word and then you discern if their advice is in line with it or not

And so you might ask, that if we have God’s word, why do we ever need to consult with non-believers

And my answer is the same as before - because sometimes their life and experience in a practical sense can help you or bring a new perspective you haven’t seen before

But the moment that practical advice or perspective becomes contrary to God’s word you can discern this isnt just practical anymore - this is spiritual

And as long as you stay spiritually grounded in Jesus and in God’s word, you will be like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

You will not go down that path of unrighteousness and so you do not wither

When I did listen to that bad advice - I knew It was against God’s will and commands

However, because I was not in the word of God Monday-Saturday, because I was not leaning into the Holy Spirit - I did start to wither

And here is the crazy thing - as I was withering it was as though the blessings in my life were withering

My way of living and doing things the way that I thought would benefit were not bringing me benefits

Things that I thought I was in control of, I quickly found that I had no control over them

And my circumstances were getting increasingly difficult and the wight of life was increasingly burdensome

But as I started draw closer to God and pursue righteousness, restoration, and freedom - God’s Blessings, mercies, grace started to become more evident

And its not like it all happened at once - but meeting daily needs

And as Iv’e continued down the path of righteousness God has increased the blessings and I am amazed at how he has used me

And I recognize that I still have to be on guard from different temptations - pride, diligence, impatience, etc. but thats part of pursuing righteousness and staying in God’s word

I did not wither with the wind

And so this is my encouragement to you today - If God has changed your heart and you have accepted him as your Lord and savior

Know that Jesus is the vine - and as long as you are close to him you will not wither

Your roots are secure in him

And though there may be times of withering, He will pursue you to bring you back close to him

You may not like how he does it, but understand this, sometimes the removal of blessings is an act of love

But he doesn’t leave you nor does he forsake you

And so you do not have to fear the last part

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

God’s people are eternally secure in Jesus

But for those who have not trusted him - there is a punishment

Our God who is full of love, mercy, and grace is also a God of justice

And the sins that are not paid by the blood of Jesus have to have a consequence

And so there are spiritual implications for those who are blessed with Jesus and for those who reject him

There will be a congregation of the righteous in heaven

But the perishing of the wicked is a spiritual pershing with the punishment of hell

This is how seriously the Lord takes righteousness

Do we take righteoussness and righteous living this serious?

So here are some application questions and implications for us

Application

Make sure that you are in Christ’s righteousness and long for it

Are you saved?

Are you seeking righteouss things?

Are you seeking to bring glory to God in the things you do?

Be in the Word of God and delight in it

Do you view the word of God as a delight or as a joy?

If you are a believer and you are refraining from reading God’s word - take that seriously

What keeps you from going to his word?

Do you understand the consequences and potential pitfalls by not being in it?

3. Find Godly Community but do not completely withdraw from the world

Why do we push community group and other groups?

We are to live with one another outside of these walls

Do not completly seclude yourself from the world - bring righteousness to it that points to the righteousness of heaven

John 17:14-19 “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Because of Jesus we are not of this world - we have a heavenly destination

But while we are here, we are to be sanctified in Gods truth

And as we are hated for Christ’s sake - we will still love and bring the gospel of truth to others

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