What to Avoid

Verse

Psalm 1:1 NIV

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

Introduction

Today we are beginning a new sermon series for the new year. This new series, “A Good Start,” will focus on the first chapter of the first book of Psalms.

In the original Hebrew text the book as a whole was not named, although the titles of many individual psalms contained the word mizmor, meaning a poem sung to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument. The Greek translation of this term, psalmos, is the basis for the collective title Psalmoi found in most manuscripts, from which the English name Psalms is derived.

In its present form, the book of Psalms consists of 150 poems divided into five books (1–41, 42–72, 73–89, 90–106, 107–150), the first four of which are marked off by concluding doxologies. Psalm 150 serves as a doxology for the entire collection. This specific numbering follows the Hebrew Bible; slight variations, such as conjoined or subdivided psalms, occur in other versions. The fivefold division is perhaps meant to be an imitation of the Pentateuch(the first five books of the Old Testament), suggesting that the book reached its present form through liturgical use.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Introduction

The distinguishing feature of the Psalms is their devotional character. Whether their matter be didactic, historical, prophetical, or practical, it is made the ground or subject of prayer, or praise, or both. The

Transition

So 2020 is finally, finally over. 2021 is certainly welcome. I think we have all been looking forward to 2020 ending. We are so tired of all the challenges of 2020 that we just want a fresh start. We want a new start so we look at 2021 as that opportunity. And that makes sense. We are ready start anew. But the key thing is not a fresh start, but a good start. I don’t know what your track record is with New Year’s resolution, but mine is terrible. I am full of good intentions, but often fail to follow through or achieve whatever it was that I wanted to achieve. Don’t worry - I’m not going to really talk about New Year’s resolutions. But I am going to talk about the components of a solid foundation for our efforts. We are going to talk about a good start.

Psalm 1:1 gives us some good guidance about how to get a good start and be successful.

Overview

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Psalm 1

The character and condition, and the present and future destiny, of the pious and the wicked are described and contrasted, teaching that true piety is the source of ultimate happiness, and sin of misery. As this is a summary of the teachings of the whole book, this Psalm, whether designedly so placed or not, forms a suitable preface.

1. Blessed—literally, “oh, the happiness”—an exclamation of strong emotion, as if resulting from reflecting on the subject. The use of the plural may denote fulness and variety (2 Ch 9:7).

counsel … way … seat—With their corresponding verbs, mark gradations of evil, as acting on the principles, cultivating the society, and permanently conforming to the conduct of the wicked, who are described by three terms, of which the last is indicative of the boldest impiety (compare Ps 26:4, 5; Je 15:17).

Assessment

Let’s look at this a little closer.

a. Blessed is the man: The Hebrew word esher is here translated blessed, which has the idea of happiness or contentment. Esher is a form of the Hebrew word ashar, which in its root means “to be straight” or “to be right.” Blessed is the man speaks of the happiness, the blessedness, the contentment in the life of the man or woman who is right or “straight” with God. The righteous man will be a blessed man, a happy man.

i. “Blessed means supremely happy or fulfilled. In fact, in Hebrew the word is actually a plural, which denotes either a multiplicity of blessings or an intensification of them.” (Boice)

ii. “It is not ‘Blessed is the king, blessed is the scholar, blessed is the rich,’ but, ‘Blessed is the man.’ This blessedness is as attainable by the poor, the forgotten and the obscure, as by those whose names figure in history, and are trumpeted by fame.” (Spurgeon)

b. Walks not…nor stands…nor sits: The blessed man does not do certain things. There is a way he will not walk, a path he will not stand in, and a seat he will not sit in.

i. We can say these speak of thinking, behaving, and belonging. The righteous man and the ungodly man are different in how they think, how they behave, and to whom they belong.

ii. Others have also seen in this a progression of sin.

“The great lesson to be learned from the whole is, sin is progressive; one evil propensity or act leads to another. He who acts by bad counsel may soon do evil deeds; and he who abandons himself to evil doings may end his life in total apostasy from God.” (Clarke)

c. Walks not in the counsel of the ungodly: The ungodly have counsel, and the righteous man will not walk in it. With all the advice that comes to us, from so many different sources, the righteous man knows how to stay away from the counsel of the ungodly.

i. First, it means the righteous man knows how to discern the counsel of the ungodly. Many fail at this point. They do not even consider if counsel is godly or ungodly. They hear advice, or theories about their problems, and they find themselves agreeing or disagreeing without considering, “Is this godly or ungodly counsel?”

ii. The righteous man is also discerning enough to know the counsel of the ungodly can come from one’s own self. Our own conscience, our own mind, our own heart, can give us ungodly counsel.

iii. The righteous man knows where to find completely godly counsel:

Psalm 119:24 NIV

Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

God’s word is always the best counselor, and godly counselors will always bring the truth of God’s word to help someone who wants counseling.

d. Nor stands in the path of sinners: Sinners have a path where they stand, and the righteous man knows he does not belong on that path. Path speaks of a way, a road, a direction – and the righteous man is not traveling in the same direction as sinners.

i. The righteous man is not afraid to take a less-traveled road, because he knows it leads to blessing, happiness, and eternal life.

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it (Matthew 7:13).

ii. The righteous can have the confidence of

Psalm 16:11: You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

God has a path, and it is a good road to take.

e. Nor sits in the seat of the scornful: The scornful love to sit and criticize the people of God and the things of God. The righteous man will not sit in that seat!

i. When others are putting down Christians, it is easy to sit with them and criticize them. It is easy because there are many things to criticize about Christians. But it is wrong, because we are then sitting in the seat of the scornful.

ii. Instead, we should be proud to follow Jesus Christ.

“Be out-and-out for him; unfurl your colours, never hide them, but nail them to the mast, and say to all who ridicule the saints, ‘If you have any ill words for the followers of Christ, pour them out upon me…but know this – ye shall hear it whether you like it or not – ‘I love Christ.’” (Spurgeon)

Application

So what does this all mean for us as we try to get a good start in 2021?

First we need to determine what we want to be our state of being in 2021. I don’t know about you, but I want to be blessed. I want to feel the joy and excitement of God’s power in my life. I want to feel the tangible presence of the Divine daily in 2021.

If we follow the guidance of Psalm 1:1 we need to avoid the wicked. We need to avoid thinking in ungodly, irreverent ways. We need to seek guidance from the godly. We need to fill our minds and hearts with what is pure and holy and avoid what is wicked.

We need to avoid living in a way that reflects and projects ungodliness.

We need to avoid surrounding ourselves with the wicked. As my mother would say, we need to avoid the influences.

Conclusion

Lest all try to to get a good start in 2021. Let us invite God to be present with us in a meaningful way,

Psalm 1:1 tells us what not to do in order to set the foundation for what we should do. Verse two and following will tell us that. Join us next week as we take at look at that. Knowing what not to do is important, but know what to do is also important.