Be Blessed
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· 10 viewsBeing blessed vs being condemned.
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Introduction
Introduction
Today I want you and I to look into the book of Psalms. The Psalms is a collection of poetry largely consisting of prayers and songs praising God, encouraging faith, or giving voice to human emotions like sorrow, fear, and joy.
We will be looking at the first Psalm and Psalm 1 is a fitting doorway into the Psalms as it summarizes the two ways open to mankind, the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. We will see the contrast between the blessed man who leads an untarnished and prosperous life in accordance with God’s word, and the ungodly man who denies God and ultimately will perish.
This Psalm will dispel the common illusion that the sinful life is the good life. On a daily basis the world attempts to influence us, brainwash us really, into thinking that true and lasting satisfaction is found by indulging ourselves in the sinful offerings of the world. Television, radio, movies, magazines, most of what you find on the internet, suggest the permissive lifestyle is the road to happiness and fulfillment.
Of course, we know better, but unless we are very careful, we can find ourselves drawn in by the allure of the world and all it offers. First let us look at:
The Saved Man
The Saved Man
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; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Blessed - Hebrew word “ashre” a-share H-835. Is often translated at happy or happiness. It is often translated in Hebrew wisdom literature as privileged or fortunate.
I have a friend who if you ask him how he is, he will invariably say “I am blessed.” I find it curious that he never says I am privileged, or I am fortunate, or I am happy, but when we say that we are blessed we are really saying all those things.
I am privileged to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I am fortunate that someone introduced me to the Savior and His saving Word, I am happy because of this covenant relationship I have entered into with the King of Kings.
And what is the practice of this blessed man? He is one “who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.”
Not only is there an admonition to not walk in the counsel of the wicked, there are actually three traps mentioned that can fall into to:
Walks not in the counsel of the wicked
Nor stands in the way of sinners
Nor sits in the seat of scoffers.
Basically, it is talking about thinking like, behaving like, and being in company with the ones who have no regard for God.
Let’s look at each of these:
Walks not in the counsel of the wicked: The language sounds a little formal, I don’t think any of us imagine gathering a group of counsellors around us to advise us on wicked topics. What it means is not to hang around with people who are not going the same direction that you are. It means not being a part of a group that are involved in things that you, as a Christian, know are wrong.
3 “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
Nor stands in the way of sinners: Here it is talking about how the Christians life must be different from the sinners. If you are standing in the way of the sinner, no one can tell you apart from the sinner. You look just the same.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.
17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,
Nor sits in the seat of scoffers. What do you suppose a scoffer is? The King James uses the word “scorner.” It is a person who has no regard for God or God’s Word. It might be the person who rolls his eyes if you attempt to talk to them about The Lord. This might the person who makes jokes about God or about God’s people. You might describe a scoffer as a person who has no fear of God.
4 I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites.
34 Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.
12 A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.
The first part of verse covers a lot of ground. Where might you encounter those without a relationship with God, you may encounter them walking, standing, or sitting.
The next part of the verse states “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
You see there are two parts to being that blessed person, that person of happiness. One is to disassociate with evil and the other is to associate with God’s Word, to meditate on God’s Word day and night.
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
In Old Testament days the scriptures were not as readily available as they are today. People memorized scripture and then had then available to meditate on at any time. If you have Scripture memorized, you cannot lose it or misplace it and it is always close at hand.
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
97 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
Our first topic was the Saved Man, now we will look at:
The Successful Man
The Successful Man
3 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.
There is a very popular verse that parallels this one:
8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The image here is of a tree that is planted in an area where water is nearby. The tree’s roots reach deep into the ground, and as such, have access to a good water supply no matter what the conditions on the surface may be. This tree has no fear of drought because its roots are deep and are still connected with that life-giving water. This tree has no fear of winter because it is strong enough to endure the cold winds that come against it.
This is a parable of our Christian life. If you have a healthy relationship with the Lord, you have deep roots. It doesn’t matter what is going on in the world around you, heat, drought, stormy winds, you have the deep roots that will sustain you.
Take note that the verse says that the tree yields its fruit in its season. This verse is telling us that when we put our trust in Jesus Christ, we start on a journey that will last the rest of our lives. We start a relationship that will continue to grow and mature as time goes on. As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we can expect to see our witness become more effective. As our knowledge and relationship with the Lord grows, our influence on the unsaved world should grow as well and our prayer life will become more vibrant and more effective.
Some people get so discouraged when they petition God but do not see results right away. They start to lose heart when they pray for God’s intervention or guidance, and nothing seems to be happening.
The scripture says you will see fruit in its season. You will get an answer to your prayers on God’s timetable, or perhaps if you examine the situation maybe God has answered your prayer just not in the way you had expected. The important thing is for you not to wither in the meantime.
12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,
Now as we go to verse 4, we see the contract between the Saved man, the Successful man, and the Sinful man.
The Sinful Man
The Sinful Man
V4. The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
The wicked are not so. In other words, the wicked are not blessed, the wicked do not delight in the law of the Lord, the wicked do not meditate on God’s Word day and night, and the wicked are not like a tree planted by the water.
Instead, the wicked are like chaff that the wind drives away. This is making reference to the age old agricultural technique of winnowing. In the process of winnowing, the worker would wait until evening or night when there was a steady west wind coming off the sea. It was important to pick the time of the proper wind. The north wind was too strong and the east wind too gusty for this purpose.
The worker would take the newly harvested grain and with a winnowing fork, something like a hay fork, or with what was called a fan, basically a wide shallow basket, take the grain and toss it into the air. The chaff, the empty husks and lighter pieces of debris would be borne away on the wind and the heavier grain would fall back to earth having been refined in this process.
The wicked, having no foundation, are blown away by the wind in contrast to the tree that if firmly rooted. Most of the time in scripture when we see this topic of winnowing mentioned it is talking about judgement.
Verse 5 says Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
This verse is not saying that the wicked will not have to stand in judgement, it is saying that the wicked will not have a defense. The wicked will not have a leg to stand on when they face judgement because they elected to not follow the Lord’s instruction and instead went their own way.
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
We have looked at the Saved man, the Successful man, the Sinful man, and at last we look at the Savior of man.
The Savior of Man
The Savior of Man
Verse 6. for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Sometimes we might engage in idle talk about who is saved and who is not. It’s not really our prerogative to judge in these matters, but the Lord knows the way of the righteous, He knows those who are his children, and He knows the way of wicked, because the Lord can look into our hearts.
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
It is only fitting that the One who will judge mankind, knows the heart of every man. It’s not like the judgement rendered in our courtrooms. In that final judgement you cannot fool the judge, you cannot get off on a technicality, you cannot use your resources to buy off officials or hire paid witnesses. The truth will be on display, for good or for bad.
As a Christian our road may sometimes be difficult, but the decision is easy. Be blessed, be happy, be privileged, or face the future with no hope.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
There is so much contained in this first, very short, chapter of The Psalms. Most of the great themes found in the Bible are summarize right here in these six verses.
The Saved man separates himself from the wicked and delights in God’s Word.
The Successful man has deep roots and yields fruit.
The Sinful man has no hope and is blown out of God’s presence, winnowed away in the wind.
And The Savior of man is the one who knows the way, knows the heart, of the righteous and the wicked, Jesus Christ.