The Wicked And Righteous Contrasted Series

I was driving though the mountain range of Colorado when I saw a sign posted that said this was the Continental divide. This Continental divide is a fascinating this. Two raindrops can fall from the same cloud. If one drops on one side of the Continental divide and the other on the other side, they end up in different oceans more than 2,000 miles apart.

There is also a spiritual Continental divide so to speak. Two people can start off from very similar circumstances, both from good families, both are good students at school, both are active in their communities but there is a difference that might seem small at first. One accepts Christ as savior to forgive their sins, and one does not.

This seemingly small at first difference can make a stark contrast on where they will end up. One has the forgiveness of their sin Christ provided in the cross and one does not. One has a relationship with God though Jesus Christ and the other is lost. One will be eternally in heaven with the Lord, and one forever separated from God.

If you think there is a contrast in ending up in either the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean, well there is a much more significant difference in the spiritual Continental divide. There is the drastic contrast between heaven and hell.

Psalm 1 is considered to be an introduction to the whole book of Psalms. There is this great theme of the vast contrast between the righteous and the wicked. This Psalm exhorts us to take seriously God’s Word and walk in the council of God’s Word.

John Trapp in his commentary on Psalm 1 said, “The philosophers’ discourses of this subject are but learned dotages; David said more to the point in this short psalm than any or all of them put together; they beat around the bush, but God has here put the bird into our hands.”

This Psalm should serve as the Christian’s guide to our pilgrimage with God. It will show us the quicksand bog where we can be pulled under on one side and the deep ditch we can fall on the other side. This Psalm challenges us to have our footsteps ordered by the word of God.

Psalm 1 lays out the great theme that we hold up in the Christian life. The need for the supreme obedience to God’s will. This Psalm portrays what is reinforced by all the Psalms.

The contrast of two types of people. The one who follows God’s law which is the way of blessedness. Standing opposite of this is the one who follows the way of wickedness whose end is judgement. You may not always see the great contrast, but as the Psalm itself emphasizes it becomes very pronounced.

The righteous man is first to be highlighted. He is the blessed man. The righteous man of Psalm 1 is described like having internal joy in the beatitudes. This is a very different kind of happiness that the world will tell you brings happiness. It is literally oh how very happy.

Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers, (Psalm 1:1)

The first thing about this blessed man or woman are some negative characteristics. What the righteous does not do. All in all, as believers we emphasize what we do over what we don’t do. However, there are times when we must state what the righteous refrain from. The activities they do not do.

There are some things that are absent from the life of the righteous man. What is not found in the righteous man is inherent in the wicked. There is a difference on how the righteous walk, stand and sit.

He does not walk in the council of the wicked.

He does not stand in the way of sinners.

He does not sit in the seat of mockers.

These are more about habitual patterns. Sin begins small and consumes the whole life. The passing thought becomes the fixation which becomes the action.

If you want advice don’t seek the council of the wicked. Do not ask a wicked person, should I follow the Lord, should I get plugged into fellowship of worshiping believers, should I give to the Lord’s work. They will say no. They will misguide you.

We are all the time faced with moral decisions. Remember the Continental divide. It seems so small at first. The righteous will give you advice that does not look oceans apart from the wicked. Say no to what you should say yes, and yes to what you should say no. But they lead you down a path where you are walking with the wicked.