Psalm 1
Notes
Transcript
The Godly Way
The Godly Way
So here we are, half way through the week.
It s time to get a fill up, its time recharge our batteries because honesty, living in a fallen world is difficult, it is taxing and hard to put up with my friends.
So the answer is to turn back to the Lord and His Word for direction.
I wanted to bring us back to a text that perhaps we do not always think of as we walk in front of the Lord.
It is not highly quoted but it does have a definite place for us to remember as we walk with the Lord and each other in this fallen world.
So lets take our Bibles, and lets find Psalm 1
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.
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.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Beautiful passage my friends....
So what is the Psalmist saying to us here?
Well lets break this down and discover it tonight the absolute joy of walking with God and the good things it brings.
So the first thought is this....
1. The Qualities of a Godly Person....
The Psalmist makes no mistake in telling us exactly how we ( men and women ) are to find a good life, the blessing of life if you will and it begins with the way that person chooses to live in front of God.
So lets examine this.... first the Psalmist says this...
A. They will not walk the way the World does....
A born again child of God will not walk the way the world does my friends… Look again at verse 1.
Psalm 1:1 (ESV)
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;
So lets start with the word Blessed, it is often seen as Happy but could also speak to the meaning of the The happiness of a man is seen in what he does or does not do…
And so blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel or stand or even sit… Walk, stand or sit refers to having no presence in these events.
So think of it as having the idea of thinking, behaving or belonging. A persons fundamental choice of allegiance is seen in what they do, say or think ...
And if you notice, the intent of the verbs being used here.. Blessed is the man who does not walk, stand or sit… the movement of that person is one that is slowing down.. to take on the ways of the world eventually leads to the ideas that one who embraces these things are steadily brought from the outside to the inside. The are steadily pulled away from God to the complete acceptance of evil ways.
So we cannot afford to accept advice, be party to worldly ways and we cannot adopt the attitudes of scoffers...
34 Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he gives favor.
But here is the key my friends; by avoiding these steps, it leads the way for the positive to come about… the blessing of God.
Now verse 2...
What is the key to the whole man? It is to follow the instruction of God. Look at verse 2...
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
So instead of the counsel of the wicked, the godly man or woman instead finds delight, life int he law of God. The law is the word, the Torah. And because he delights in it, the godly person mediates on it day and night.
Literally it is ever before that person...
Mediate is a wonderful word.. See, speak and hear… reflect on that
Do you remember what the Lord told Joshua in Joshua 1, verse 8?
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.
Do you see the advantage of following the Lord?
There is great joy in the following the Lord and his teaching ....
The result of all this is found in verse 3,
Lets look at verse 3...
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.
His one verse is one of my favorites. That tree planted in what is good, rich, fertile soil and has a wonderful water source will thrive, the roots grow deep, not the surface but down deep int he soil.
As such, it is healthy, it produce fruit and it does not suffer even in the hot dry season.
So to is the man of God. If we are planted, if we have dug deep into the word of God we will have life, we are watered, fed even and we will grow tall and strong and be blessed.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
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.”
Let me ask you, where is your trust? What are you placing your hope in? What are you doing day to day that proves what you say?
Now lets move on…
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Psalmist has told us about the good things of the righteous man, the man that places his trust in the Lord.
But what of the wicked, what of those who cannot and will not follow the Lord?
Well that is where this second section comes about...
He says plainly in verse 4… the Wicked are not so the Psalmist says… in reality it is a way of doom.
So in contrast to a steady, heartie tree, we are told of chaff, that which as no root or nothing to hold it down. Chaff is lite weight, thin, vain and useless...
Think of the man who stood on the thressing floor, and when the whinning fork in hand, the servant separates the wheat from the chaff. The chaff is easily dislodged and therefore easy to separate. And it is gathered and has no use but to fuel the fire.
Other Psalms will point out and remind us that the wicked may seem to be people of substance, but they are like straw. Of no good quality and subject for hell.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like a green laurel tree.
And then I Cor 3:12-13
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
Therefore verse 5 tells us wicked will not stand in judgment...
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
You see the wicked, they will not have a leg to stand upon in front of God. They have no place among His people or Him,.... and will not unless they repent.
And now lets look at the last verse...
Verse 6
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Lord knows, here is the greatest truth my friends. The Lord knows man.
To know is more than just having knowledge, Let me share this with you...
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
To know is to care about, I know the ways and purposes of God and I want to be a part of that work and will, I want to follow him and see Him at work in me and others...
But the way of the wicked will perish...
The word perish speaks to death, separation, to loose what one once had available… They could have know the Lord but the state of a unregenerate heart prevented that..
They enjoyed the sin of a season...
So there are only 2 choices my friends, we either do or do not… You either follow the Lord or you follow your own heart and ultimately if you are not for Him, you are against Him.
.