The Fork in the Road - Psalm 1

I. The Blessed Person - Psalm 1:1-3

Introduction

There are two ways of life set before you, and it’s up to you to chose which way you will go. Just like a fork in the road, we chose where we will go. “there are in reality only two paths—“a High way and a Low.” Every person’s life and, ultimately his destiny, is marked by the choice he makes regarding “the Way his soul shall go.” So each life must choose wisely. Decisions determine destinies. The road a person chooses marks the course of his or her life, not only for the present but for the eternities that follow.” As pilgrims through this world, we come up to the cross roads, and both ways lead to vastly different lives. The way of the godly leads to happiness, life, salvation, divine blessing, grace, and so much more. The way of ungodliness leads to death, cursing, and destruction.

(Open in Prayer)

A. Discerning - Vs.1

If I could describe God’s path of life with one word, it would be verse 1 “Blessed”. This is the very first word of the Psalm on purpose, the writer wants to grab you right away, “Do you want to be blessed? Then keep listening!” There’s a great deal of emphasis placed on this word, you could read it saying “O, how very happy!”

The blessed life is described in this first half of the Psalm. If you want to be a blessed person, you are the

“man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

Notice the progression here, it all begins as we’re walking in the counsel of the ungodly; it all begins as we are passing by those who are ungodly.

We see them in along the streets and hear what they have to say. Their ideas and pointers all tell us how to live our lives without God in the picture. The counsel of the ungodly will always take God off the pedestal, and places man on the throne. This is the beginning of the end if we are not careful. Because it starts with us walking in the counsel of the ungodly, but it continues getting worse and worse. We get from the point of walking in the counsel of the ungodly, and then we stand in the way of sinners. We’ve stopped walking away from the ungodly, and we’re actually associating with them now. Our standards and morality gets corrupted by the morals of the ungodly, and so we become like them. And the end of the sad downwards spiral is when we sit in the seat of the scornful. We become so indoctrinated by the ways of the ungodly that we become one of their leaders, we are given a place of authority among them and lead them in their ungodly ways.

The blessed person is the opposite to all of these things. The blessed person is someone who can see the errors of the world’s ideas and run away from it’s dangers. The blessed person doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, he doesn’t stand in the way of sinners, and he doesn’t sit in the seat of the scornful.

But where does he run then?

B. Delights in the Truth - Vs.2

He runs to the Word of God,

Psalm 1:2

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.

True joy comes from spending time in the Word of God. When we’ve been given new life in Christ and the Spirit of God now lives in us, we have a new desire to read God’s Word.

The key to be living a life in God’s blessing is to leave all the false things in verse 1, and to be delighting in God’s Word in verse 2. The joy of walking on the path of blessing is the fact that we have the Bible to guide us along our way. When we are lost and things don’t make sense, we have the Light of the Bible to shine our path.

Living the blessed Christian life is really simpler than we make it to be. If you want to be spiritually blessed and know where God is leading you in life, just spend time in the Word and with the Lord! Preach the Word to yourself, that’s what the word “meditate” means in vs. 2; it’s a literal murmuring to yourself.

If we are to be nourished by any kind of food, our bodies need the time to digest it all. It needs time to break down the food so that our muscles can receive protein and carbs fat. We need to take the time to take apart the Word of God it we want to be spiritually nourished. We meditate on the Word and reflect on how it affects our lives today.

C. Desirable Results - Vs. 3

The results of being in the Word of God and living life in God’s blessing is so rewarding. We will be

Psalm 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season;

His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

When we are shunning the ways of ungodliness and are constantly keeping the Word in our hearts, we will be like this tree in verse 3.

The tree is planted by a stream of water. The river is plural “rivers”, which show that the flow of water is abundant. The Word of God supplies overflowing growth and strength to us when we are rooted in the Lord. The roots of the tree draws its life and enduring sustenance from the nourishment that the water provides to its roots. The God-centered person draws his spiritual vitality from the richness of the Word of God; the Word refreshes, revives, renews, cleanses, and satisfies us if we just draw upon it (Ephesians 5:26).

And as we have the Word of God in our lives, our work here on earth will have eternal benefits, “His leaf shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” When we labor for the things that are eternal, our work will never fade away.

II. The Ungodly Path - Psalm 1:4-6

A. Worthless Life - V.4

Then comes the ungodly person, this person is the total opposite of the man who walks on the blessed path. Instead of shunning ungodliness, they walk in the counsel of the ungodly, they stand in the way of sinners, and they sit in the seat of the scornful. They do not delight in God’s Word, they actually hate it. And because of these things, they are the opposite of a fruitful tree.

Psalm 1:4

The ungodly are not so: But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Chaff was discarded from the heads of grain because it is worthless and useless. Grain was threshed and winnowed on threshing floor (Open, elevated site for the wind to pass by). Grain was mixed with straw and chaff, these were lost in the wind when thrown up into the air. There’s absolutely no use for the chaff, all it was good for was the fire. The life of ungodly people are just like that, they live their days without eternal fruit.

B. Death After Condemnation - V.5

Once the ungodly finally reach the end of their lives, they will have nothing to show for themselves in judgment.

Psalm 1:5

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

The end of the path of the ungodly is hell. In the final judgment, you will be exposed for who you really are if you have lived your days without the Lord, walking on your own path.

C. Destruction in the End - V.6

The final end of the ungodly is destruction.

Psalm 1:6

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

This last verse serves as a stark contrast of the end of the godly compared to the end of the ungodly. For those of us who chose the Lord and His ways, we will enjoy God’s presence, He knows our way. We have a relationship with Him and we live according to His ways. But the ungodly will perish without the Lord.

Conclusion

Seeing the great difference between God’s way of blessing and the ungodly way of death, isn’t the right choice clear before our eyes? God’s way leads to blessing, delight, and fruitfulness. The path without God leads to vanity, death, and destruction. Which way will you chose?