Are You Listening?

Are You Listening?

Psalm 1:1-6 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

This Psalm carries blessedness in the frontispiece; it begins where we all hope to end: it may well be called a Christian’s Guide, for it discovers the quick-sands where the wicked sink down into perdition, and the firm ground on which the saints tread to glory. (Thomas Watson)

I. Blessed— Ps. 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor

standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

(asher) happiness, blessedness; 25 times in the Psalms; 44 times in O. T.

--Plural – Blessednesses – More than one blessing.

--The Amplified Bible renders blessed as fortunate, prosperous, and enviable.

--This is why people who are troubled or hurting should turn to the Psalms!

--You are going to find out that God’s people are blessed!

--The emphasis here is on THAT man who lives to the end in life for which God

created him. (Dake)

-- All his life he has observed the precept, ‘depart from evil’ (Cambridge Bible)

A. Walketh Not

1. Counsel – Following their advice, their plans, and purposes (AMP)

2. Three sinful classes (According to Dake.)

a. Ungodly – (rasha) morally wrong; actively bad; wicked; unjust

-- Blessed man does not throw in his lot with the wicked does not

participate in their projects or designs; (Pulpit Comm)

b. Sinners – (chatta) criminally; so miss the mark; pass the limits of the

law;

--The intensive form of the word shews that habitual offenders are meant.

c. Scornful – (luwts) to make mouths at; to scoff; to mock; pests

(1) those who make what is good and holy the object of their

ridicule. (Cambridge Bible)

(2) There ‘the scorners’ appear as a class of defiant and cynical

freethinkers, (Cambridge Bible)

B. Standeth Not -- (aw-mad') to take one's stand, stand

he does not take part in their actions, does not follow the same moral paths (Cambridge Bible)

C. Sitteth Not – (moshab) to relax and rest; to sit, remain; dwell to sit, remain, dwell

1. a seat, assembly, dwelling place, dwelling, dwellers

2. Finds no rest in the presence of sinners.

3. has no fellowship with them in the "scorn" which they cast upon

religion. (Pulpit Commentary)

4. The seat of the scorner maybe lofty, but it is very near the gate of hell; let us

flee from it, for it shall soon be empty and destruction shall swallow up

the man who sits therein. (Charles Spurgeon)

5. When men are living in sin they go from bad to worse. (Spurgeon)

II. Delight – Ps. 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate

day and night.

– (chephets); pronouced (khay'-fets); Signifies pleasure, and delight, wish, desire;

A. But – The Hebrew is an elliptical expression implying a strong contrast, “nay

but,” “on the contrary.” The positive side of a good man’s

character is now described according to the standard which

prevailed when the written law. (Benson Commentary)

B. 7 acts of a righteous man (Dake)

1. Delights in the Word.

2. Meditates in the Word day and night.

3. Consecrates to obey the Word.

4. Makes the Word his rule of life and conduct.

5. Make the Word his standard of faith and religion.

6. Reads the Word to gain knowledge and wisdom.

7. Feeds on the Word to grow spiritually.

Is this you?

C. The Law -- (torah) pronounce (to-raw') direction, instruction, law

1. The law of the Lord is his rule of conduct. It is no irksome restriction of his

liberty but the object of his love and constant study. True happiness is to

be found not in ways of man’s own devising, but in the revealed will of

God. “The purpose of the Law was to make men happy.”

(Cambridge Bible)

2. Psalm 37:31 --The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

3. All that was available to them was the Pentateuch.