Delighting In The Law Of The Lord

I think here we find a telling tale. There are many believers who fail to enjoy the blessedness that God has for them. It may be you. Perhaps you struggle with depression or endless days of sadness and grief. It may be that you are not depressed, but neither are you particularly excited about living either. You just go through your days and work and sleep and you don’t really get all this blessed stuff. The first two verses of our Psalm give a great diagnosis of the problem.

The blessed man does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, he does not stand in the way of sinners, nor does he sit in the seat of scornful people. Do you notice the progression here? First you are walking along, but something captures your attention and you stand there. Last of all you sit for a while. This happened to me last night just as it has happened to you before. I had been out for a little while last night, and when I came home my family was gathered around the television. I had no intention of watching TV, but instead was headed for the bedroom to do some reading. As I was walking through the room, something on TV captured my attention, so I stood there watching it for a while. Before long I found my place on the couch and sat for a while. I never did go do that reading.

I suppose that we could go through and define what ungodly people are, what sinners are and what scornful people are, but let me refrain from doing that tonight. You know what those people are. They are people who aren’t living by God’s Word, but instead have turned aside and are following their own ways. These people aren’t necessarily people you know and hang out with, though they could be. They may be the modernists, the humanists, the atheists, the ungodly, sinful, scornful people who are shaping your views through media like television and print and radio. You see, the Psalm is a Psalm of contrasts, so when in verse 2 the writer comes along and talks about the man who delights in the law of the Lord, you ought to see that in verse 1 he is talking about someone who delights in the thoughts of man.

I might be talking about Dr. Phil and Oprah. This might be Kenny Chesney or Petter Jennings. It could be an endless number of people. Do you remember your parents telling you that you are known by your associations? You will be like the people you hang out with? There is so much truth in that statement. I told you this morning about how television networks have made marriage a sport and your life little more than something with which to gamble. There’s nothing people won’t do for the million-dollar prize and a few minutes of fame. How much of that does it take to shape a person? Not as much as you think.

You will be known by your associations. You don’t have to tell me what you delight in – I already know; not by what you tell me, but by the fruit of your life. Look at verse 2. One writer has suggested that this verse won’t allow you to think in terms of associations, but I disagree. I realize that verse 1 is talking about people, but the people are not the emphasis, it is what they offer in terms of ideas and thoughts and advice, it is the counsel of the ungodly, the way of sinners, the seat of the scornful, and now in verse 2 the emphasis is not on the person of God, but rather on what he has to say to you through His law.