Be A Godly Man

JUNE 20, 2021 STUDY NOTES PSALMS 1 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES BE A GODLY MAN INTRODUCTION At a young age boys begin to think about what kind of a man they want to be And fathers begin to encourage them to be the man they want them to be Psalms 1 instructs both the father and the son as to what their desires should be The father should influence their children at a young age to become “Godly” From the age of childhood every boy and girl should determine to be “Godly” One of the strong points of Psalms 1 is the importance of God’s Word to our daily life How important is the Word of God to your daily life? Do you read it daily? All Christians will admit that they need to spend more time reading the Bible But the blessing of Psalms 1 is not promised to those who simply read the Bible Jesus emphasizes the same point, Luk 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. Blessed are those who read and obey the Bible, Joh 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. James warns that you can miss the blessings of God’s Word by not obeying, Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Scripture does not teach salvation by works but salvation blessings by obedience, Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. The promise of Psalms 1 is that a “Godly Man” will be blessed as he obeys God’s Word Psa 1:1 Blessed is 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. The Hebrew word translated “blessed” actually reads in the original “blessed, blessed” In scripture the word is always used of God blessing people, the blessings from God to mankind Some translations read, “Happy is the man,” but “happy” can miss the point Unless we realize the difference between “Biblical Happiness” and “Worldly Happiness” Our modern use of happy speaks of how we feel because of what has happened If what has happened is good, we are happy, if what has happened is bad, we are not happy Therefore, worldly happiness is based upon “happenings,” that which happens in our daily life Think of how many unhappy people you come in-contact with day by day Many people have never been happy, many people do not even know what happiness really is Worldly happiness is based upon what is here today, but can easily be gone tomorrow And the search for happiness goes on because everyone wants to be happy So, what is happiness? Where do we find happiness? Can we know true happiness in this world? Psalms 1 tells us what God says about true happiness and reveals who a blessed person really is The “blessed” of Psalms 1 will experience “blessedness” whether they are worldly happy or not Psalms 1 explains how that can be by contrasting two men, two ways, and two destinies The comparison is seen within the beginning and the end of the Psalms The beginning of the Psalms tells us that the Godly man will be “blessed” by obeying God Page 1 of 5 The Psalms ends with “the ungodly will perish,” separated from God’s blessings for eternity The choice for today and throughout eternity is ours, now is the time to make up your mind The one who is “blessed” is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly You can be the “blessed” person depending upon the path you choose to follow There is a path of life that the “Blessed Man” will not travel, “He walketh not” “Walking” represents the path that the life is traveling, the desires of the heart, the goals of life The word “walk” refers to the daily behavior of one’s life, what we say and what we do The word “counsel” means “advice,” it also has the meaning of “plans” and “purpose” Our world today is filled with the influence of an ungodly lifestyle through advertisement Satan advertises sin as the normal lifestyle and the way of happiness, does he plan your day? Where do you go for advice? Who and what encourages your desires and goals for life? Is your mind and heart under the influence of ungodly T.V. shows; movies; paper-back books? Many young people and adults are influenced by celebrities who are living an “ungodly” life “Ungodly” means “wicked” and is the opposite of being “righteous” (being right with God) It describes those who are guilty of turning away from God and sinning against God The “ungodly” are without God, they are the enemies of God and God’s people The Godly man, the “Blessed Man,” will not be influenced by the “advice” of an ungodly world The Psalmist gives us another description of the “Blessed Man”--nor standeth in the way of sinners The word “stand” goes along with the previous statement The daily life of a “Godly Man” is not fixed, set, or determined by “ungodly” sinners The “Blessed Man” is One who has taken his position and he stands upon his position Before he even hears “the counsel of the ungodly,” he has made up his mind Before Satan comes to tempt him, he has made his choice, he has already taken his stand He has made a commitment to God, to his family, to his church, to his friends and to all mankind Sin will not be his way of life he will not share in the lifestyle of the ungodly Here the word “way” refers to the direction a person is going, referring to their path of life Too many men today follow the path of sin, they are influenced by those who live in sin And when they do they influence others to sin, they become a bad example to others, Pro 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. Godly men do not follow after those who live in sin, they walk in the ways of God, Psa 128:1 Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. Look at the next description of the “Godly Man,” nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. “Sitteth” is another word that pictures “lifestyle” it means “to keep company with” It refers to your companions that you feel at home with, those that you feel comfortable with As a Christian can you feel comfortable around those who are “scornful”? A Godly man refuses to stand with Satan and sin and does not sit with the scornful “Scornful” means to “mock,” make fun of, ridicule, to express utter contempt toward God To picture God as nothing or no one, to say or to act as if God is not real or alive Therefore, the Bible means nothing and has no meaning for the “scornful” of today I don’t need to remind you of how often we see and hear from the “scornful” today What is described next is what we need to see and hear from the “Godly Men” of today Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. “But” presents a contrast to what was previously described “His delight” describes the pleasure of a Godly Man, the innermost desires of his heart Page 2 of 5 That which motivates him, moves him, that which he follows after and is inclined towards Reading God’s Word must be more than a duty, it must become a delight Are you excited about your set aside time to read the Bible, do you love to read the Bible? “The law of the Lord” is not limited to the ten commandments It is the complete Word of God, all of God’s Word, every commandment from God The Bible tells you how to put life together step by step, 2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: God’s Word is not troublesome, it is a delight to read, it is a joy to learn, and a blessing to obey Don’t just read the Bible so that you can put a check on your spiritual card for the day A “Godly Man” will read and “meditate,” and in his law doth he meditate To “meditate” is to ponder upon, which is because of the “delight” found in the Word The word has the meaning of a verbal utterance such as a “moan,” to sigh or mutter Like when you talk to yourself, like when you look in the mirror and something has to be done Read the Bible that way, read it to you, look at yourself and not someone else “Meditate” is the same word used to identify the coos of a dove (which is over and over) We are to read the Bible over and over, until it takes over, until it controls our life A good picture of meditation is a cow laying under a shade tree chewing her cud She is chewing over and over what she grazed on that morning Read and study God’s Word every morning and concentrate upon it all day long Give attention to the Bible, day and night, and not just Sunday Morning Reading the Bible is to be a daily practice so that it will be a continual influence Many say, “I just can’t understand the Bible,” keep on practicing, you will get better Psa 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. A tree that is in the right place getting all that the tree needs to live and bring forth fruit He compares that tree to the daily life of a “Godly Man,” or the faithful Christian Life We have been planted by “grace,” we are deeply rooted spiritually by the grace of God We are being cultivated by the Holy Spirit, permanently indwelt to be continually filled We are spiritually fertilized by the Word of God, we can be fed and enriched through the Bible We are pruned by prayer, it cuts out the useless, undesirable, and needless from our life We are weeded by faith, faith pulls up the weeds and waits for the rain to come Hope enjoys the fruit of such a Godly life Too many Christians today are like tumble weeds being tossed around by every circumstance The “Godly Man” is the one that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; All that has been stated above is a process that involves time and involves certain elements But it is worth waiting for, it is worth all the effort, the fruitful life of a Godly Man is blessed It is good to be blessed, to be happy, to be fruitful, to be spiritually prosperous his leaf also shall not wither; The meaning is to fade or wear away, referring to the leaf that withers and falls off the branch That will not happen to the life of a Godly Man, Pro 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. The Psalmist used a flourishing green leaf as a symbol of a righteous person and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. We are continually planning our path of activities and accomplishments for life As we do, we have a purpose in mind and a goal in view, which is prosperity In this context, prosperity is walking with God, obeying His Word and bringing forth fruit Page 3 of 5 Prosperity is not found in wicked schemes or concealed sin Concealed sins keep one from prospering, Pro 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Psa 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. “Not so” is strong in the original, “Not so, the ungodly, not so,” not so of the ungodly man “Not so” because he walks in the counsel of the ungodly, he stands in the way of sinners He sits in the seat of the scornful, he does not find delight in the Word of God He does not meditate upon God’s Word and his life will not be fruitful for God He will not experience true prosperity, even though the world says that he will God says, that the ways of the ungodly are like “chaff” from the wheat crop “Chaff” is used figuratively to indicate that which is useless or worthless It is sad when a life turns out that way, how much of our daily life is eternally wasted? How much of what you do daily is going to be blown about and away? It is blown away because it is not stable and without roots Psa 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. “Therefore,” introduces the conclusion to the truth of the previous verse This verse does not say that the ungodly are going to be absent on judgment day But that when they stand before God, they have “no standing,” nothing to stand upon The ungodly will one day find themselves facing God at the “Great White Throne Judgment,” Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. The ungodly will find no place before God, guilty will be the verdict Eternal punishment will be the sentence, the Lake of Fire will be the confinement, Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: “Nor sinners,” which is referring to those who are unsaved and without Christ in their life Because they are without Christ, they are under the wrath and judgment of God “Congregation” has the meaning of a community of certain people People who have an appointment to meet-together for a particular purpose God’s people have an appointment with God because they have been made righteous in Christ “Righteous” are those who conform to the standards of God, who follow God’s standards Psa 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. The verse begins with “for” which tells us why the previous verse is true Pay close attention to how this verse begins, “For the Lord knows,” don’t forget that How foolish it is when people do not believe that or ignore the truth of it God knows how, when, and where! God knows all, the past, present, and future God knows and God has an eternal plan which includes today and every day God has a plan for the righteous which includes today, tomorrow, and eternity God certainly knows the path of life that we travel, He knows the pattern of our daily life The main thought here is that God knows by planning and purpose the destiny of the righteous The righteous are those who have come before God by the way of Jesus, Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. What is true for the righteous is not true for the ungodly, there is a complete different destiny Page 4 of 5 The Psalmist said that “the way of the ungodly will perish” Psalms 1 begins with those who are blessed and ends with those who perish You have a choice, which really is not “what” is it going to be? But “Who” is it going to be? Today is Father’s Day,” a day of blessing to you as a Father, a day that God wants to bless you Listen to the song, take it to heart Page 5 of 5