A Tale of Two Men

There’s an old adage “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into two kinds of people…and those who don’t”

According to Ps 1, there are two kinds of people: the blessed and the wicked

We could extrapolate godly/ungodly

Truly one of the better known Psalms, not just because it’s first; but it has power in its simplicity, structure, and strong words

Author is not named; no real need to speculate on it

It seems to serve as an entryway for the rest of the group; some suggest it may have been composed to preface the rest of the collection—like a summary up front

We will have some word-nerd times in here—there is significance in the nuances

…and yes! There is a clear pathway from this Psalm to the cross of Calvary

Examine two distinct paths, results, destinations

Two Distinct Paths

The Man who Is Blessed

Though the word is man, singular, it applies universally to mankind

The underlying word for blessed involves a state of happiness—not a temporal, giddy happiness; but existing in a state of good fortune or privilege

NT, beatitudes express a similar thought with Gr. Makarios

With that thought in mind, we could look at this Psalm as an OT Beatitude

What He Does NOT Do

English Standard Version Psalm 1

walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

(KJV, ungodly, sinners, scornful)

Quick side note: standing in the way of sinners does not mean “don’t get in their way, just let them go!”

Much is spoken about the progression…or regression here: walking, then standing, finally sitting; each evincing an increasing level of complicity with the evil

Not much is made of the progression…or regression…of those whom he is among: the wicked, the sinners, the scoffers

Nor of the three situations: counsel, the way, the seat

In each sequence, we find an increasing level of involvement with the activity

First, getting involved with those whose lives are habitually ungodly—the mindset begins to change

Next, becoming fully integrated in their mindset and the behavior begins to change

Finally, becoming one with them

From dalliance with some “minor” sin, to digging deeper into slightly more serious sin, finally to jumping willfully and gleefully into egregious sin

The blessed man, the righteous man avoids all this

Paul mentions the concept in 1 Cor 15 33, amid other warnings

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Yeah…Paul knew the Psalms…seen this played out, no doubt

We often give kids the advice “you’re known by the company you keep” probably not strong enough; we also give the advice that your character is exhibited in your behavior, “if you play in the pigpen, you’ll smell like the pigs”

What He DOES Do

English Standard Version Psalm 1

his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

Law is Torah

We must note that it’s the law of the LORD—Jahweh

Can mean a single statement, or instruction “honor your father and mother....”

…a larger body: e.g. the Levitical Law

…the entire body of the the Law—the Bible in its totality, at least the OT

That other Path

…that of the ungodly/unrighteous/un-blessed man

The text does not supply it!

What is the inverse of the proper path?

He thinks like the evil ones, begins behaving like the evil ones, finally becomes one with the evil ones

He dabbles, samples and runs headlong into sin

Rather than look to Scripture, his source of authority is that of mans’ wisdom…not God’s

Two Distinct Results

The righteous man

English Standard Version (Psalm 1)

He is like a tree planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

its leaf does not wither

In all that he does, he prospers.

Our lives should be in a productive process to bring fruit…under all circumstances

We must note the “in season” aspect

We may wait a long time—at least by our measure of time—to see that fruit, the prosperity

Ultimately, is our eternal reward in view, not anything temporal

When we put that due season aspect into our thinking, it helps us understand why we sometimes see the wicked seeming to get ahead as the righteous struggle—it’s God’s timing to reveal the fruit

It helps us make sense of some difficult parts of Scripture—like Job, Ecclesiastes

As opposed to the unrighteous man

English Standard Version Psalm 1

like chaff that the wind drives away

Winnowing process of separating grain from its hulls, tossing it into the air, letting the breeze do the sorting

The grain has substance, falls back to the ground, is gathered, processed, consumed/replanted....

The chaff is without substance, it is merely blown away to face the forces of nature, rotting and returning to the soil

It may be helpful, even reassuring, to remember that illustration: the chaff, without substance; the ungodly, in the final analysis, also without substance

Two Distinct Destinations

English Standard Version Psalm 1

the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

A helpful image: Jesus’s description of the final judgement

Matthew 25:33 ESV

And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

We see a distinct separation here—there is no universal salvation

Matthew 25:34 ESV

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

The sheep, will stand…as opposed to the goats

Matthew 25:41 ESV

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Not only are the wicked without substance, they are without hope

English Standard Version Psalm 1

the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish

The LORD, Yahweh, has noticed the righteousness—His grace will allow the righteous to stand

There are more lessons within that Matthew passage…we need not go there this morning

The lesson is this psalm is that we look to be among the righteous; the one whom God knows—we know Him only through his son Jesus Christ

We understand that in the time the Psalms were written Jesus was not yet known…but the righteous, those with whom God had the relationship, had faith in God and His plan for their salvation

They didn’t have the details; we do

They had not seen God’s Salvation revealed; now it has been

We can see Him in the pages of the NT

They didn’t have the NT; we do

The source of our salvation is still God; in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ who died for us; paid the penalty on the cross of Calvary, that we might have eternal life

Making this Personal

Nothing in this Psalm is telling us to isolate ourselves, run from non-believers; but we are not to allow their thinking to inform our thinking

On the contrary, our thinking, actions, statements, should be informing theirs!

This can be taken as the difference betwen a man saved…transformed by the power of the living Christ

…or as a warning to believers who may be sliding away from their walk with the Lord

What informs our thinking? Our thought processes

Whose counsel do we seek? Whom do we walk among?

With whom do we “hang,” drawing from their knowledge?

In whose presence are we taught and advised?

What is our source of authority; and are we really digging into it, meditating on it?

This may give us pause—are we allowing our friends to have undue influence on us?

How about our social media involvement? TV? Movies? Books? Magazines—other sources of information and/or entertainment ?

It’s so easy to begin the slide to into sitting in the seat of the scoffers

Casting Crowns had given the warning this way

It's a slow fade When you give yourself away It's a slow fade When black and white have turned to grey And thoughts invade, choices made

A price will be paid When you give yourself away People never crumble in a day

It's a slow fade It's a slow fade

If you see yourself in this slide, it’s time to stop the process

Will you be the man who is called blessed? …or the other guy?