Going the Right Way in the New Year
Psalm 1
Rev. Brian Bill
1/6/08
I heard about a son who called his parents on New Year’s Day. His dad answered the phone so he decided to ask him a question, “Dad, what’s your New Year’s Resolution?” He said, “My New Year’s resolution is to treat your mom like a princess all year long.” Later, the son asked his mom what her resolution was. She replied, “My New Year’s resolution is to make sure your father keeps HIS resolution!”
Here we are on the first Sunday in the New Year. My guess is that some of your resolutions have already been broken and some of you are bummed out about it. Maybe you entered the New Year with a sense of excitement or perhaps you’re still battling the blahs. Whatever the case most of us would love to know how we can go the right way in the New Year. We wish each other Happy New Year but some of us wonder if it’s even possible to be happy. Would you like to know what would make ’08 really great?
As we kick off our third journey through the Old Testament we’re entering some of the most beautiful books ever written – Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Job and Lamentations. And this morning, we’re going to camp in Psalm 1. Here are some introductory comments about this super psalm that stands as a summary for the rest of the Psalms.
* We do not know the human author of this psalm but some think it could be Solomon.
* Psalm one is referred to as a “wisdom psalm.” Like the Book of Proverbs, reading and applying its words brings wisdom.
* It’s also been called the “Psalm of Psalms,” meaning that once we grasp its meaning and live out its truth, we will be well on our way.
* The Book of Psalms opens with a benediction or blessing.
* The structure is very straightforward as the righteous are commended and the wicked are condemned.
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
This psalm naturally falls into two divisions of three verses each. Verses 1-3 speak of the righteous and verses 4-6 address the unrighteous. The whole human race is divided into two separate groups and is categorized with various biblical words: saints and sinners, saved and lost, godly and ungodly, believers and unbelievers, and those who are blessed and those who are condemned. I’m going to follow Warren Wiersbe’s outline for the first three verses.
The Way of the Righteous
1. Separated From the World (1). Unfortunately, the word “bless” is a bit bland in our language and has also become a Christian cliché, which means we use the word but don’t really know what it means. We could define it this way: “Oh, the happiness, many times over…” It also carries with it the idea of congratulating someone for doing something positive. Actually, the word “blessed” is in the plural, meaning “the blessednesses,” which can mean a high number of “happinesses” or it may refer to an intensity of God’s blessing.
One pastor writes that blessing is “an inner satisfaction and sufficiency that does not depend on outward circumstances for happiness.” Those who are “blessed” have inner lives that are rightly aligned. The root idea is “approval.” When we bless God, we are approving and praising Him; when He blesses us, He is expressing approval of us. In the sight of heaven, those who do or don’t do certain things are “superlatively blessed” because the Almighty is extending His endorsement.
How much do you crave God clapping for you? Do you want His smile more than your self-centered aspirations? Do you desire His applause more than the approval of your friends? How badly do you want His blessing? If you want God’s blessing more than anything else, you can have it. But first you must please Him above everything else.
“Blessed is the man who does not…” We’ll notice right away that the company we choose to keep can wipe out blessings and lead us to a bad place. If we want a blessed and happy New Year, then we must start with separation. Blessing comes as a side benefit of the choices we make and the things we choose to not do. Bob Deffinbaugh writes: “Prohibitions are not punishment, but a divine protection.” If you and I want to be blessed, then there are three things that we must not do – there is a way we will not walk, a trail we will not take, and a seat we will not sit in.
[In order to demonstrate these truths, I need a group of three or four volunteers. I want you to simply walk around the auditorium in a group talking and giving advice that you’ve heard over the years]
* Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked. The word “wicked” refers to that which is loose or unstable. It can mean loose with morals and loose from God. People like this promote principles that are morally unstable. Most of us don’t even think about whether the advice we receive is anchored to God or not. Some of us are prone to quote Dr. Phil or Oprah, take talk radio to heart, read magazines from the check-out counter, consult our horoscope or listen to someone else’s opinions.
[Have volunteers continue to walk and talk as I join them]
* Do not stand in the way of sinners. [Ask volunteers to go up on stage and stand in a group as they act out drinking, gossiping, etc.] Standing has the idea of “standing with” not against; embracing, not opposing. The word “column” is derived from this word “to stand.” The word for “sinners” was an archery term and meant to miss the mark. The word “way” refers to a direction that is taken by a lot of people as they move from wrong principles to wrong practices. The righteous keep to the narrow way as Jesus said in Matthew 7:13: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
[Go up to stage and join in the party]
* Do not sit in the seat of mockers. [Ask volunteers to sit in a circle of chairs on other side of stage and act sarcastic, angry, and mocking]. The word “sit” means “to dwell, remain or abide” and refers to a settled state or condition. It was also used of an assembly of people. We all have a need to belong and if we don’t plug in with believers we’ll find our fellowship with fools. Mockers love to criticize Christians and cast aspersions on God.
[Sit down in one of the chairs. Take my jacket off to indicate that I’m staying]
Notice the downward progression in verse 1 in which each stage is a step southward. A person begins by walking down the road listening to popular advice and worldly wisdom. Then he stops to hang out with sinners and begins to do the same things they do. Finally, because he likes it so much he sits down and joins them in their mockery of the Almighty. This individual walks around and then stands around and finally sits down right in the middle. It begins as something casual, moves to compromise and ends in catastrophe. Drifting can lead to disobedience which can result in defiance.
That explains how someone who loved AWANA as a young child can end up unplugging from church as a teenager and then dropping out completely in college. It’s normally a slow, but predictable downward progression where small steps and little compromises lead to a life of outright rebellion. 1 Corinthians 15:33 adds: “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” Spiritual erosion often happens because of the spiritual environment we choose to live in. Here’s a question. What kind of company do you keep?
We have a helpful Old Testament illustration of the downward cycle of sin in the life of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. After allowing Lot to choose the land that he wanted, we read about his slide to Sodom…
* He walked toward Sodom in Genesis 13:11: “So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.”
* He stood with the Sodomites in Genesis 13:12: “Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.”
* He sat in the gate of Sodom in Genesis 19:1: “Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city.” He no longer lived near Sodom, now he lived in and with the wicked.
Where are you walking?
Where are you standing?
Where are you sitting?
We could put it like this. What I believe affects how I behave which determines with whom I belong. Samson slid south in a similar way. He saw a beautiful heathen woman and believed he could have her. Then he behaved according to what he believed. And then they belonged to each other. It happens so quickly, doesn’t it? I like this statement: Sow a thought, and you reap an act; sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny. Friend, be careful about compromising in those areas that you think are minor. To take the first step away can lead to sitting far away.
2. Saturated With the Word (2). Verse 1 gives some prohibitions and verse 2 gives us God’s provision. Or to say it another way: We must replace the negative with something positive. If we want to be blessed in the New Year, we must not do some things and then we must do some others. The believer who wants to be blessed knows that he or she cannot walk or stand or sit according to the ways of the world but instead walks according to the Word.
Someone has said, “All the water of the ocean cannot sink even the smallest ship unless it gets inside.” The key to keeping the world out of your boat is by keeping yourself in the Word. Someone else has said, “The Christian is not ruined by living in the world, but by the world living in him.” We must not only stay away from the things that are bad but we must do that which is the best. [Walk over to the Bible]
* Find pleasure in the Word - “But his delight is in the law of the Lord…” To “delight” means to desire and place value on. What brings you the most delight? What gets you excited? The answers to those questions reveal what is most important to you. Warren Wiersbe says that “whatever delights us directs us.” Psalm 119:103: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Do you find God’s Word delightful or dull? I urge you in this, our 40th Anniversary Year, to read through the New Testament using our reading plan and go deep as we journey through the middle books of the Old Testament on Sunday mornings. By the way, I linked to some Bible Reading Tips from Joe Myzia on my blog. Simply go to www.pontiacbible.org and scroll down. I love this quote: “We can make the most of our walk with God by making much of His Word.”
* Ponder the promises of the Word - “…and on His law he meditates…” In eastern meditation, the goal is to empty the mind but biblical meditation involves filling the mind with the Word of God. This word was used of a cow chewing its cud. Kelsey Colman perceptively writes: “I’m told that a cow has several compartments in her tummy. She can go out in the morning, graze on the grass, when the dew is out in the cool of the day. Then when it gets hot in the middle of the day, she lies down under a tree and begins to chew the cud. She moves the grass she had in the morning back up and now she chomps on it again.” Likewise, we should chew on God’s Word in order to get the sweetness and nutrition out. The word meditate was also used of chattering like birds, of mulling it over; or literally, “muttering about it to ourselves.”
I love Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Joshua 1:8: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
* Study it perpetually - “…day and night.” We are to be in the Word all the time. I’ve just started listening to the Bible on audio and really enjoy it. We have a number of ways for you to go deeper in the Word – how about joining a small group, attending a Sunday morning IMPACT class, the monthly men’s breakfasts (we meet again this Saturday) or the Tuesday morning women’s Bible Study? I love what Thomas a Kempis once said: “I have no rest, but in a nook, with the Book.”
3. Situated by the Water (3). “He is like a tree planted by streams of water.” [Refer to tree on stage] Notice that this tree is planted or transplanted. In the Middle East, trees were often planted on purpose in an area that already had a lot of water or if there was no water available, an irrigation system was set up. We’ve been taken out of Adam and transplanted into Jesus Christ and nourished by the water of the Word. Friends, you and I have been planted for at least three purposes.
* To be fruitful. “…which yields its fruit in season...” God wants His followers to be fruitful. Fruit takes time to develop which means we should be patient with ourselves and patient with others. We’re all different kinds of trees with different kinds of fruit (see Romans 12:3-8). I’m reminded of the Fruit of the Spirit that matures as we stay filled with the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
* To flourish. “…and whose leaf does not wither…” A tree with good roots can withstand bad conditions. It can endure times of drought, despair and discouragement. We will still go through tough times but we won’t wither. You and I can maintain freshness in our faith provided we have roots that go down deep.
* To experience His favor. “…whatever he does prospers.” God wants to give us the victorious life, or as Jesus said in John 10:10, a life that is filled with abundance.
The most important part of your life is what others can’t see. If you want to have a lot of fruit, than you must have a good root.
The Way of the Wicked
Verse 4 makes a startling contrast: “Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” It takes three verses to describe the secret to the blessed life; and only two words to describe the life of the wicked: “Not so…” What follows is the reverse of the righteous. The word “wicked” is the Hebrew word “raw-shaw” (it even sounds bad, doesn’t it?) and refers to one who has chosen the way of wickedness. The Bible is very clear. If you haven’t chosen forgiveness then you’ve chosen wickedness. If you’re not saved then you’re still in your sins.
In the ancient world part of the wheat harvesting process involved winnowing. They would often go up on hill and stomp on the wheat and then throw it up into the air. The kernels would fall to the ground while the chaff would blow away. [Hold up chaff]
There are two main ways that trees and chaff are different.
* Trees have life; chaff is dead.
* Trees have value; chaff is worthless.
* Trees withstand the elements; chaff blows away.
[Turn on fan and blow chaff away]
Verse 6 says that there are two kinds of people and only two possible destinations: “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Every person walks one way or another. Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
Question: Are you like a tree or are you like chaff? Are you tree-like or chaff-like? It’s hard to tell the difference between trees and chaff or between wheat and tares right now, but there’s a time coming when Jesus will put everyone into two groups and the distinction will be clear. Matthew 3:12: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Are you ready to be planted or transplanted? An old Chinese proverb says: “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today.” You may feel like you’ve wasted too much of your life. It’s not too late, friend. I love Psalm 92:14: “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.”
Application
1. Stop flirting with sin. Psalm 26:4: “I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites.”
2. Start flourishing spiritually. If you want ’08 to be great, then decide to go deep. Stay in the water of the Word. Join the church if you’re ready because like the husband I mentioned at the beginning, we all need help keeping our commitments.
There’s only one person who has completely kept the commands of this psalm. His name is Jesus. Let’s remember and celebrate Him now as we move into communion.
Communion
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