The Way of the Righteous

Last week we saw the restoration of one man who did horrible things. The consequences of his actions are not only on himself but on others. As people, we are going to make mistakes and we are going to sin. Some people, it seems, sin in a bigger way. But in the eyes of the Lord, sin is sin.

While on earth there are greater consequences for certain sins, but from the perspective of eternity there is only one consequence for all sin: death.

We are all going to face physical death, that’s the consequence of our sin on earth. But what we are saved from is spiritual death and damnation. That’s what Jesus died to provide for us.

But you know what, when you sin you can repent and God forgives you. There may still be consequences for your sin. The murderer goes to prison and no one trusts the liar. But God can still work through these types of people.

Remember who God uses most frequently in the Bible? The people we least expect.

The people we might think should not be chosen for the team. And yet call elects them as people to use for His purposes.

David, who was a murderer, adulterer, and abuser repented of those transgressions. In a time when he was not walking with the Lord, David fell into a pattern of sin, as we discussed last week. We would do well to heed the warning given about how David fell from a great leader to a hard-hearted sinner in such a short time.

This morning we are going to study the Word of God. A passage from the Psalm written by a fallible person like you and me. But God inspired this writer to create the first Psalm. We cannot conclusively say that it was written by David, but it very possibly could have.

Psalms are Poetry

Let’s read it together right now.

“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.”

This is a life-bringing Psalm. All biblical psalms are poetry, but they are poetry inspired by the Lord. Sometimes they document struggles the author was going through and how the Lord preserved them through it.

Hebrew poetry is not exactly like you and I understand it to be poetry. There is rhythm and rhyme, but those are not the crux of what ancient Hebrew poetry was all about. Besides, we couldn’t pick up on rhythm or rhyme without being able to read and speak the original language.

Hebrew poetry uses the rhythm of thought.

There are similarities in structure between this ancient poetry and how modern poetry is conducted, but what the ancients found more impressive than wordplay was thought and structure. Luckily for us, we can pick up on organized thoughts without knowing the original language.

The first thing we should identify about this Psalm is that it takes the reader through a bit of a journey, ultimately showing a contrast between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked.

The goal is to show the reader that the way of the righteous brings life and the way of the wicked brings peril.

Let’s look at this Psalm verse by verse.

The Way of the Righteous

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;

The Righteous are Blessed

The word blessed is a stronger word than happy.

To be blessed does not depend on a mood, but more on one’s outlook on life. Being blessed may come with material things, and it may not. Being blessed may look like feeling happy, but not always. When our relationship is hard, Evie and I are still blessed to be married to one another and have our children. It’s a gift from the Lord.

In this first verse, the psalmist is taking note of what a blessed person does not do. In this verse are three postures, walk, stand and sit. These three postures encompass the general position that people take throughout the day and in life. Moving forward, standing still, and relaxing. There’s also an idea of movement with each of these words. If you will, the movement is going from briefest to longest lasting. The walking motion is quickest, standing is taking your time, but still being ready to move forward. And sitting is being still; spending considerable time.

“The righteous person is described by what he avoids.”

R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 832.

Blessed, given favor, is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. When wicked counsel comes that’s when it’s time to book it out of there. Do not even walk through a scenario giving wicked counsel. Wicked counsel is any advice that is contrary to the life-bringing Word of God. If anyone gives a suggestion that goes against God’s Word, then you need to ditch that person as an adviser and walk away. Church how are you going to discern and tell the difference between knowing wicked counsel from holy counsel? We only come to know the difference for ourselves when we make a habit of reading God’s Word for ourselves. That’s the only way we know. Far be it from us to be people who take wicked counsel, but absolute shame on us if we ever give the wicked counsel. Don’t make that mistake. Read the Bible. Know the difference between what’s wicked and what’s righteous and holy. We must train ourselves for the purpose of Godliness.

Wicked counsel can easily be rationalized to seem good and perhaps the outcome is described as something appealing. The one who puts in the work to know the difference will be blessed.

The Righteous Delight in the Law of the Lord

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

If this verse doesn’t hammer in the point, then I don’t know what will. The blessed person finds their delight in the law of the Lord. Not only that, but the blessed person meditates on the law day and night.

The meditation talked about in verse two is not the same as common thought would have us understand meditation. It’s not a yoga practice where we sit still and think inward, happy thoughts and say nice-sounding affirmations.

On the contrary, Christian meditation is not just a singular morning ritual. We are to meditate on the law of God all day, day, and night. And contrary to yoga meditation, we are not thinking inward thoughts, we are thinking about the thoughts and truth of the almighty God. And Christian meditation isn’t about sitting still. Christian meditation upon the Word of God should stir us to action.

Meditating on the law of the Lord looks like intentionally thinking about it throughout the day. Probably the best way to be able to meditate is to first read God’s word in the morning. That way it’s fresh and relevant to an action you have recently taken. I’ll tell you this, meditating on God’s word and keeping His truth fresh on your mind will keep grace, mercy, and love fresh on your lips and in your heart. How can you be a person who encourages others in their walk with the Lord? Meditating on the Word is the best way to prepare for the impromptu work of the Holy Spirit through you.

The Righteous Yields Fruit

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.

Now the Psalmist is going from what the Blessed person is not, to describing how the blessed and righteous person is. This is the kind of person we want to be. As people who study God’s Word daily and are learning to discern and be driven by Scripture, we are told in verse three that we are like a tree planted by a stream of water. We yield fruit. We do not wither. We prosper in everything we do.

To be like a tree planted by water means we are sustained. We don’t go spiritually thirsty or dry because we keep the habit of meditating on the Word every day. How do you come to know God better and have a better relationship with Him? You need to have your source of life each day from the Word of God. He will be what sustains your relationship with Him as you spend intentional time reading God’s Word.

When we do that, we yield fruit. Like a tree that grows apples, Christians who read and meditate on God’s Word produce spiritual fruit. The fruit will be a relationship with the Lord that grows. The fruit will be a change of heart and mind. You will become more aligned with the Lord and His ways of thinking and acting. There will be noticeable changes in your humility and patience and in your ability to love others.

When we set out to do those things, meaning being humble, patient, and loving, we will prosper.

We are given a plan of action here. Don’t listen to the wicked, and instead keep the way of the righteous through meditation upon the law of the Lord and you will be sustained, you will grow and you will behave more like the Father. It comes from having a heart and mind renewed by our savior that affects change in the rest of our being.

The Way of the Wicked

The Wicked are Blown Away

4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

That’s the righteous, but how about the wicked? The wicked are like chaff that the wind drives away. The chaff would be the husk that remains on dry wheat. And to separate the edible wheat from the fibrous chaff, the people would pick up the dried wheat and let it fall between their fingers on a cloth or in a bowl. The heavy wheat would drop down, but the light chaff would get blown away even in the slightest breeze.

The wicked are the kind of people who are blown away by the slightest breeze. The breeze can be anything that changes our circumstances or even our mood. When something doesn’t go our way, and we are blown away by it and we take action because of it, we may be blown away by the wind. Think of people who leave the church because something changed or didn’t go how they like it. That is chaff being blown away. There may be circumstances where the church makes an unholy move or decision, then that person is justified in leaving, but barring sin, if a person leaves because of a change in the church that isn’t something they like, then that is the breeze which blows away the chaff. What is left behind when that happens? The faithful, righteous wheat who the Lord preserves.

Sometimes the breeze can be strong. Maybe the breeze in someone’s life is the death of a loved one. Even with that circumstance, the wheat will fall into the lap of the Word of God and the chaff will be blown away.

When I was 19 I went through what was for me a bit of a life crisis. A decision came upon my lap in light of new information and I just felt like it rocked and wavered my faith. My circumstance made me question my beliefs and my faith and I wondered if I wanted anything to do with ministry or the church. When the wind of my circumstances started to blow, like a wicked person I could have been blown away, and I sort of wanted to be blown away. It sounded much easier than struggling against sin. But the Lord preserved me and kept me close to Him. What was the issue at hand? Looking back it was insignificant. Transferring to a different college. I feared losing my friends and connections. Now it seems small, but at the time it was a big deal.

The Wicked Will Perish

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.”

Because the wicked are blown away when the time of judgment comes they will not be counted among the righteous. Righteousness leads to life and the Lord knows them, but the way of the wicked is to perish. The wicked will not have a lifestyle of meditating on the Word of God. The wicked won’t prioritize deepening their relationship with their creator. They will perish.

At First Congregational Church, I want us to answer the call to be the righteous wheat that cannot be blown away by the wind. Let’s rally alongside each other through the tumult of life and encourage one another in holiness.

To conclude our sermon this morning, we are going to engage in the spiritual discipline of praying to the Bible. This is a good tool to have in your back pocket. If you’ve ever found that you’re stuck in your prayer life, then you can actually use the language of the Bible to pray. Perhaps you say the same old things about the same old things and have been doing so for years and now prayer is less of a time spent with God and more of a routine you check off without giving care or consideration to what the Bible says.

We already know what this Psalm says, but now I’m going to use it as a formula and outline for prayer this morning. You’re welcome to read Psalm 1 as I pray so that you can see how I draw from it. This is something good to include in your life that helps keep your prayers fresh and founded on the word of God.