A Passion for His Presence
A Passion for His Presnece • Sermon • Submitted
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Walk this wayI
Walk this wayI
How many of you like Lego’s? They are fun… they are colorful.... you can build… and then re-build.... You can get sets to build cities, sci-fi worlds, scenes from movies.... almost any of your favorite characters from the movies or your child’s own imagination can be built.
But.. did you know that they are not just being marketed to children anymore?
Well… at least not to people who are still children. Lego has found that there is a market of adult lego lovers who have now grown into adults and can afford the finer side of Lego.
They have found that kids that grew up in the 80’s and 90’s who loved legos’ back then.... which by the way were pretty much just the big bucket of multi-colored bricks..... now have jobs… and have money to spend on the finer things in life.... like giant lego sets!
There are lego sets of the:
Star wars - Imperial Star Destroyer — $700 (5000 bricks)
Colosseum - $550 (10,000 bricks)
The set from Friends.... a range of muscle cars.... the lunar lander.... and now you can even be the one who combines the black, yellow, green, blue, and red lion to form Voltron....
Legos’ are interesting.... they have many different shapes and colors.... each shape and color serving a specific purpose. If you were going to tackle the Colosseum set (almost 10,000) pieces.... oh yeah… and they are all a very similar color....... you could probably get fairly far on your own in the assembly process..... but.... might get frustrated and quit… never truly being able to see what the intended end product looks like.
That is why.... every lego set… comes with a set of instructions.... those instructions.... walk you through step by step… how all of the pieces are to be put together so that… in the end… you’ll be able to accomplish the task.... and also see the entire big picture end result.
Can you put together one of these big lego sets without the instructions? Yes.... but it will probably be pretty frustrating… and the end result will probably not be what was intended.... Thankfully there are instructions available.... to help walk us through how to accomplish each step with success.
Our lives as Christians is kind of similar. We need a set of instructions to tell us how to walk the Christian life. Think about when you first put your faith in Christ.... how many of you knew exactly what to do next? Probably not many of us… — Praise the Lord… now you are a Christian! But now what?
Today we are going to start a short series that will help us to answer that question and many more. Today we are going to open up God’s instruction book for the Christian life. It’s not a technical manual that takes an engineering degree to figure out.
It is actually a song book which has been purposefully put together to call us to “walk this way”..... it help us know how we are to walk through this life as God worshipers.... this book is more than mere instruction.... it is an inspired playlist that has been complied to ultimately cultivate in us.... a passion for His presence.
This divine instruction manual is called the book of Psalms… (or the Psalter).
I. Charting the Course
Genre of the Psalms: Poetry
Hebrew poetry is quite different than English poetry. Hebrew poetry isn’t based on rhyme, rhythm or meter like Western poetry. Instead it uses literary styles and technique to make its point. The most often technique used in Hebrew poetry is parallelism. Hebrew poets show movement and make their points by taking a thought in one line and then giving it a slight turn in the next through some kind of comparison or contrast. We’ll point out some parallelism today. Some other types of literary styles used in the Psalms are: figurative speech, simile, metaphor, allegory, hyperbole (exaggeration), …
The genius of Hebrew poetry is that it can be translated into any language and not lose its meaning… unlike Western Poetry. (try translating “roses are red, violets are blue...” into another language and you’ll soon find out that that it doesn’t translate well and the meaning kind of falls flat.
Intended purpose of the Psalms: No matter where a believer is in their Christian life, whether soaring or struggling, there is a psalm that speaks directly to where he is. The psalms were primarily written to guide believers in the proper worship of God. When used rightly, they are to be sung devotionally (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16) and prayed fervently (Acts 4:25-26). They are to be taught exposition ally and preach evangelistically.
The primary purpose of the Psalms is its intensely God-centered focus to direct hearts to Him in every experience in life. Individually and collectively, psalms serve to:
Ignite the worshipping heart
comfort the fearful heart
cleanse the sinning heart
fortify the persecuted heart
instruct the teachable heart.
Human authors: David, Asaph, sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses, Heman Ethan, Anonymous…
Structure of the Psalms: While this collection of songs we call the Psalms are 150 in number… they all fit together into one whole book we call the Psalms or the Psalter. We need to understand them as a whole book… with a connected storyline rather than a collection of seemingly disconnected songs.
Yes, each song can stand alone… but once you put them all together you see the rich story that God has given us in the Psalms.
The story begins with Israel during the time of David and Solomon and continues into the exile… and then ends when God has returned the people to the land. Books 1 and 2 focus mainly on David and his kingdom. Books 3and 4 reflect the troubles and questions Israel faced during the exile in Babylon. Book 5 looks forward after the exile.
Book 1: 1-41 — God rescues His king from his enemies.
Book 2: 42-72 — God rescues His people from their enemies through His king
Book 3: 73-89 — Book 3 takes a turn and reflects a difficult time in Israel’s history. There is no longer a king on the throne.... the theme of this section would be: How could God abandon His king and His people?
Book 4: 90-106 — Reflects the time of the exile.. the theme would be: God is still King over all the world.
Book 5: 107-150— After the exile, book 5 encourages God’s people to remember that God’s promises to David are not dead. They are to have hope in this son of David who was yet to come...
When you finish reading the book of Psalms… you should be left asking yourself a question. ..... “Is the king foretold in the Psalms my king? If he is, then you can boldly proclaim with the Psalmist… “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (150:6)
As we work through the Psalms over the next 5 weeks we will be looking at 5 different kinds of Psalms.
Wisdom (Instructions to live by as we walk through our Christian lives),
Royal (speaking about the Messiah as King),
imprecatory (calling judgement on all those who rebel against the King),
Lament (over the sins of those who rebel),
Thanksgiving (for all God has provided),
Enthronement (rejoicing in the anointed One whom God has established....)
One of the main truths I hope you take away with you as we work through this series together is that the Psalms point us to Christ.... —> That is why I titled this series… “A Passion for His Presence”.... I want your passion for Christ to grow! I want you to be drawn to Christ in such a way… that your time with Him (and representing Him) is one of your top priorities! <—
How doe the Psalms… which were written years before Christ was born in the manger.... really point us to Christ? —> I’m glad you asked!
As we look at Psalm 1 today.... the Psalmist will point us to the ideal man who loves God’s Word and lives by it. Psalm 2 identifies this ideal man as the King God set on the throne. He is called the Lord’s anointed.... which is the word Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek). As we turn to the NT, several passages in Acts an Hebrews recognize that Psalm 2 was pointing forward to Christ (Acts 4:25, 16, 13:33; Heb. 1:5, 5:5).
According to Psalm 2, the world hates this King… it schemes and fights against his kingdom and his people. But God is on his side… and His anointed will rule with power to judge the world.
The rest of the book of Psalms is about this King.. his kingdom… his people.
What will happen to this king?
Will live be easy for him?
What will his enemies do?
How will God protect him and give him victory?
what will happen to his people?
Will their lives be easy or hard?
The King promised in Psalm 2 is the key to understanding the entire book fo Psalms.... pointing all those who read and embrace its pages to Christ!
Overall message of the Psalms: Reminder of God’s Plan = The way of the righteousness…. and the victory of the Lord’s anointed King over the nations.
Our 5 week series through the Psalms will hopefully help you to:
Understand (maybe for the first time) the shape of the book as a whole.
Become more intimately acquainted with Jesus.
Be guided through every experience in the Christian life.
If you are going to dig into the Psalms… this 150 chapter instruction manual for the Christian life..... there is no better place to start than the beginning… because Psalms 1 and 2 serve as an introduction to the entire book, helping to set its themes and purpose.
As you open your bibles and find your place in Psalm 1… let me take just a moment and explain how the first few chapters helps to set the theme and purpose of the book.
Psalm 1 (wisdom psalm) sets the tone for much of the rest of the Psalter by contrasting the way of the righteous with the way of the ungodly and sets the stage for the hostility of the ungodly.
Psalm 2, a royal psalm, lays out the connection between God’s rule and the human monarchy. Psalm 1 says nothing about the king, but it focuses on the way of the righteous that is to be lived out in accordance with the law of the LORD.
Putting the two psalms together we have the main themes of the book, the way the righteous are to live among the ungodly, and the salvation the righteous have in their divinely chosen king.
Psalm 1 then begins by reminding the reader that those who order their lives by God’s word will find success in this life and in the life to come, but those who reject God’s word have no hope of escaping his judgment.
When the final editing of the Psalter took place, there was no Davidic king, and so the introduction served as a reminder of God’s plan.... the way of the Righteous.... and the victory of God’s anointed!
(Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 1, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 200.)
We are going to dig into Psalm 1 together today and learn from its wisdom as we are told about the wisdom of walking… but then also instructed of our need to pay attention to the warnings that is given to those who walk.
II. Walking in Wisdom (1-3)
The Psalmist begins with a loud cry.... Blessed is the Man!!!! Literally blessed (happy) is each one who....
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;
Before we go too far we need to first understand what this word “blessed”, means and communicates
Sometimes it helps to see how the word is used in other passages. Look at Psalm 32:1-2.
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
In Psalm 32, David says that the one who has their sins forgiven is blessed. David teaches us that the reason for being blessed is a direct result of God’s forgiveness. Great! But, the status of being “blessed/ happy” in Psalm 1 is different.
The Psalmist will show us that in Psalm 1 that the status of being “blessed” is a result of right conduct.
Now, how do those two concepts go together?
Position of being blessed (salvation)… but then also being “blessed/ happy” because of righteous conduct?
There seems to be a tension there....
What the Psalmist is expressing here at the very beginning of the Psalter is that the forgiveness which we all need… and that David is proclaiming in Psalm 32… is the only way that we could even remotely come close to accomplishing the practical righteousness outlined in Psalm 1.
Psalm 1 presents us with the actions… and faith of the ideal man. The reality is that none of us can ever live up to the ideal man (person) described in Psalm 1…
Psalm 1 is telling us that while we should aspire to live out the righteousness described.... ultimately… the Psalmist knows we can’t… and is pointing us to the One who can! — the Lord’s Anointed..... who we know as Jesus Christ!
The one who is called “blessed” will gain both spiritual / emotional joy and contentment and the Psalmist wants us to follow the path that leads to blessing… at the very beginning of the book of Psalms… this instruction book for how to live the Christian life.... he is calling us to “walk this way”.... walk the way of wisdom!
As we walk through these 6 verses today… you will see the truth expressed that.... Blessed (Happy, emotionally joyful, spiritually joyful, content) is every person who..... lives their lives according to the wisdom of God’s Word and walks wisely in a right relationship with the Lord.
Spoiler alert!!! The Psalmist has already let his main idea.... the big truth out of the bag!
Now.... let’s look at the details of his wise instructions.... as he instructs us how to “walk this way”.
Have you noticed how sometimes we learn more from negatives than we do from positives? Think back throughout your life and remember the times that you grew the most.... learned the most.... those times were probably when something went wrong… and you learned from the situation.
The Psalmist gets that many times we can visualize/ understand the practical out workings of the negatives a bit easier than we can the positives....
The Psalmist describes the “blessed” man by listing the actions that he does not do:
not walk in the counsel of the wicked (ungodly).
nor stands in the way of sinners
nor sits in the seat of scoffers
First of all I want to point out to you that the Psalmist has given us a list that grows in intensity as it spirals downward in the direction of sinful depravity. — This is definitely a path that the Psalmist is loudly telling us NOT to follow!
The psalmist describes three categories of people in the world… wicked (ungoldy) … sinners… and then scoffers (scorners).
-wicked/ ungodly: unbelievers: people who have no part in God’s promises and remain guilty before Him. This word describes people who do wicked things… but it could also describe people who may seem to be kind and who might even be part of the congregation… they are just not godly.
(the word intensifies)
Sinners: Those who are either ignorantly or intentionally failing to obey God.
(the word intensifies)
Scoffers: These are people who ridicule and persecute the righteous… trying to destroy their integrity. These people are not just unintentionally being wicked… they are actually teaching others how to be ungodly as well. Spurgeon called this group of people… doctors of damnation… teaching others to multiply their sinfulness in order to counteract the ways of the righteous.
Not only do the character traits of the people intensify with each step but so do the actions...
The progression the Psalmist lists is meant to show that what may seem to start out as a harmless bit of advice from an unbeliever... may end up with a dangerously close connection with someone who wants to destroy your faith!
Remember… blessed is the man who does not:
walk in the counsel of the wicked: describes how someone lives… living according to the advice of the ungodly (the blessed man doesn’t do this!)
(gets progressively worse)
stand in the way of sinners: now the person has stopped moving… and begins to stand still in the midst of the sinners (failing to obey God)… when a person stands with the sinners… it means that they have stopped to consider whether the lifestyle of the sinner has something to offer them.... (remember… the blessed man does not do this!)
(gets progressively worse)
sits in the seat of the scoffer: This would signify joining with or identifying with those who are actually teaching and recruiting people to live in an ungodly, sinful lifestyle.... (the blessed man is never in this situation)
Those who are right with God do not live like unbelievers!
(illustrate: someone walking down the street… getting “caught” by something....)
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly (he doesn’t allow the advice of the ungodly to catch his attention as he walks by.. the blessed man avoids it all together!
Blessed is the man who does not stand in the way of sinners.... the blessed man does not stop moving.... and become drawn into the position where his way of life (how he lives) is effected by the words and actions of those who are living ungodly lives.
Blessed is the man who does not sit in the seat of the scoffers… the blessed man does not join (or even identify with) with those who are teachers of wickedness… doctors of damnation..... scorners.... joining in their lifestyle… living as an unbeliever!
The Blessed person… does not want to join the assemblies of the ungodly.
I do not sit with men of falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
I hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.
The main point the Psalmist is communicating is to show that if people begin to take the spiritual guidance from unbelievers instead of God… then they will gradually begin living like the world… and become more entangled in it!
Instead of heeding the advice of the world… the blessed man meditates on the Word.
The conjunction at the beginning of verse 2, “but” sets the way of the world… in sharp contrast to the wisdom of God’s Word.
The true God worshiper… this blessed man doesn’t walk according to the world.... he does not desire that....
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
The blessed man is able to remain untarnished by the world… as he faithfully lives according to God’s Word.
His delight … it is his joyful privilege to be immersed in Law of the Lord.... God’s divine revelation!
Here is an example of the parallelism in Hebrew Poetry.
… his delight is in the Law of the Lord (this is the blessed man’s delight.. his joy)… which comes from the second line..
.... on his law he meditates day and night.
For believers… it should be a delight to study God’s instructions… it is sweeter than honey… and opens the way to a full and healthy life (Ps. 19).
The blessed man not only mediates on God’s Word.... he does so “day and night”… this is another literary tool of Hebrew poetry (similar to Gen. 1)… that means “all the time”.
This is a spiritual discipline we are all to cultivate. Meditating on God’s Word… and according to the Psalmist… that meditating begins with memorizing God’s divine instructions so that as we walk through life.... we can recall it… and think about it.
Hiding God’s Word in our hearts… also requires us to understand it. If we memorize it… and understand it… then we can speak to God about the Word in our prayers… and grow in areas of self-exhortation… rebuking.. and encouraging.
What does the Psalmist mean by the word meditates? (Unbiblical image portrayed on TV and in movies)
Meditation (meaning in Hebrew) is described as fixing our minds on something by speaking or uttering the words. Think of chewing on something in your mind… and mouth. When we meditate on God’s Word… its like we are taking it in.... internalizing it… then chewing on it all day long to get the most nutrients out of it that we possibly can.
If we do this daily… then we will be prevented from following the world down the downward spiral of sin described in verse 1.
The Psalmist has told us several negative things that the Blessed man does not do.... now in verse 3, he describes several positive characteristics of those who walk the way of wisdom.
The Psalmist illustrates what he is telling us with a picture.
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.
I would love to go into more detail about this, but the overview is that the tree represents the individual, the water represents the word of God. The water makes the tree grow, the Word causes the person to grow spiritually and bear fruit!
If a tree is alive and being consistently watered.. it will show the proper growth.... in the same way… if the true believer is in the Word… then they will grow in and produce the fruit of righteousness (Fruit fo the Spirit: Gal. 5:22-23)
This illustration is not a blanket statement promising unlimited success and prosperity for the believer!
It is an illustration of what could happen… IF/ When… the righteous meditates on God’s Word. When this is the foundation… then a person will live in obedience to God’s Word.... an they will find success in doing just that! Living in obedience to the Lord… and His Word!
The Psalmist is calling us to “walk this way” just like this Blessed man. The Psalmist is challenging us to walk the way of wisdom.... being firmly rooted in the Word of God… so that we can bear the fruit of righteousness in our lives!
Now, the Psalmist gives a warning to all those who would attempt to walk the way of the Blessed!
III. Warning to Walkers (4)
Look at verse 4
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Verse 4 literally reads… “Not so the wicked!!!!” It is a very strong contrast between the blessed and the wicked. It is pretty much a negation of everything that we have read so far in verses 1-3.
Everything that is true of the blessed man.... is not true of the wicked (ungodly).
When considering the wicked… you could re-write verse 1 like this
“Cursed is the man who does walk in the counsel of the wicked”
“Cursed is the man who does stand in the way of sinner”
“Cursed is the man who does sit in the seat of the scoffers”
The Psalmist wants us to see that the life of the ungodly is a life that is worthless.
Even though unbelievers appear to be good people… they do not understand the faith and have no desire to please God.. or obey His word.... therefore they produce nothing of value for God.
Instead of being a tree that has been firmly planted and watered so that it bears fruit.... the wicked are like the chaff (very light and easily blown away) that blows away in the wind… and is burnt up in the fire! (picture of the grain harvesting process)
We have been created to glorify God… and tasked to be His representatives in the world. (Adam and Eve)
Unbelievers fail at doing that! In Genesis when God said that everything was “good”. That statement meant that what He had created basically did what it was designed to do.
Because of sin… and our fallenness.... unbelievers are not able to do what they have been designed to do
While it may sound harsh… it is a reality that the Psalmist is expressing that the ungodly are not only of no value (they are not doing what they have been created to do)… but they will eventually be removed..... verse 4 is a picture of judgement.
Application/ Conclusion: (5-6)
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.
There is a judgement day coming. A day when every person will stand before a holy God and give an account for the opportunities they have been given. Unbelievers… those who have never come to faith in Christ… those people who have never repented of their sins… those who have never sought to please God.... will not survive when the judgement comes.
They will be separated from their Creator… creation… and everything... for all eternity.
This is a very sobering reality… that every person must deal with.
But there is hope..... Psalm 1 ends with a reminder of God’s grace to those who respond in faith to Him!
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
While the “wicked”… those who reject God’s grace will be judged for their rebellion… the “blessed”.... those who have responded in faith to Christ.... will be called righteous.
The Lord knows us those who belong to Him....
The Lord knows the way, the lifestyle… the habits.... the heart… of the righteous.... and will keep them from the day of judgement.
There are only two real choices in life.
Embrace God’s grace.... trust HIs Word.... submit to Him as Lord!
Or.... reject God’s grace.... reject His Word.... and Reject Him as Lord!
The Psalmist is instructing believers not to live the way the world lives.... he is instructing us not to take spiritual, moral or ethical advice from unbelievers.... and definitely don’t join them in their sinful activities.
Truths to remember:
True Believers are not to walk in the ways of the world! (We are not to take spiritual, moral or ethical advice from the unbelieving world… and we are especially not to join them in their profane.. downward spiral of sin)
We are to study the Word of God in order to live ann untarnished and productive life for God.
Jesus Christ is the true righteous man of Psalm 1
Those who reject God… those who live as the ungodly and wicked described in this Psalm… will have a day of judgement to face.
Response: — I think that Paul may have had his responds to Psalm 1 in mind as he wrote to the believers in Rome.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
There is a tension to living in a fallen world with which we have to deal....
We live in a world that is alienated from God… and antagonistic towards God and His people.
— I can’t think of a better response that Paul’s: Don’t be conformed! (Don’t be like the ungodly!)
— But be transformed by the Word of God.... as your mind is renewed.... and you grow to reflect Jesus Christ... the truly righteous man… to whom Psalm 1 points.
We are to find our direction.... and our confidence in His Word!
When we do that… we will gain hope… and that hope will someday be realized when our Lord comes to judge the world… and vindicate His people.
Psalm 1 begins the story of God’s ideal man..... throughout the book… the truth is revealed that this “ideal man”… is God’s anointed..... Jesus Christ.... King Jesus...
As we close today.... Which way are you walking? Are you following the path of the “blessed”? Or are you following the path of the wicked?
Here is a thought to help you evaluate that question:
Is this righteous… ideal man… described in Psalm 1... your king? Can you truly echo the words of Psalm 150:6 with all your heart?
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
I hope so...
If you can’t say those words with your whole heart.... please speak with me… or with one of the other elders or before you leave.
This is too important to wait… the condition of your heart and soul… are too important to ignore!