June 10, 2018
Psalm 1:1-6
Now that we’ve got the Fruits of the Spirit mastered, I thought we would take a summer look at some of the best writing in the Bible. Now, I know it’s tough to say what books are the best in the Bible, but I would say if we were to look at the book of Psalms, we would find writing for every occasion in our lives.
So, for the 8 weeks, we’re going to look at various Psalms and see what they say to us. There are times when I read through Psalms that I’m amazed God allowed some of these to be placed in the Bible. But that’s God thinking about our needs. Because some of what is in Psalms is pretty deep and pretty raw . . . we see a lot of emotion on display, some of it praising God, some of it questioning God.
There’s joy and anger; despair and celebration; frustration and triumph . . . and lots more. Psalms was really our first hymnal. Many of them were to be sung.
It’s believed 73 were written by David, out of the 150.
Asaph wrote 12
The Sons of Korah wrote 11
Solomon wrote 2 - - -
and many others have unknown authors.
There’s lots of other information I can pass on, but I want to dig in to the Psalms, and there’s no better way to start than at the beginning.
So, let’s look at Psalm 1, to which we don’t know who wrote this, but it’s a great place to start ~
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
This is kind of a compare and contrast psalm. The author takes us back and forth, between the godly and ungodly person. He starts out telling us we are blessed if we don’t do certain things. Let’s look at the 3 parts of verse 1 ~
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
It’s interesting that if we want to be blessed we need to avoid certain things. I would think we all want to be blessed, but it’s pretty easy to end up hanging out with the wicked, the sinners and the scoffers.
The wicked person is the one who is guilty of sin, they are considered just word the word says - - wicked!
The sinners are those who very simply sin.
The scoffers are the ones who are scornful, they are filled with contempt or disdain.
It would have been just as easy to say, blessed is the person who doesn’t hang out with people Your mama tells you not to hang out with. But the author wants us to understand there’s a progression.
You’re blessed if you don’t take the advice of those who are ungodly or wicked. When you listen to people who you know are ungodly, people you know are wicked, the end results aren’t going to be good. What happens when you follow their advice?
You end up standing with the sinners. You find yourself in some not so good company and situations. These are people who are missing the mark. Not that we don’t sin, but you’ve placed yourself in a precarious position. You’re now with people who are more apt to sin and you’re part of that gang. Temptations increase and the pressure to sin increases along with it.
Now that you’ve accepted the supposed wisdom of the ungodly, and are hanging out with these sinners, the next step is to sit with the scoffers or the scornful. The scornful person is one who has contempt and disdain for who? For God. Sometimes they’re referred to as atheists. They’re the ones who don’t believe in God, because they believe they are god. They have no rules or laws to follow.
How many times have we taken advice from someone who really doesn’t care about us, doesn’t have our best interests at heart, and we end up hurt and suffering? Why? Because we listened to those who are ungodly. And don’t be surprised when you receive bad advice from the ungodly . . . after all . . . they’re ungodly, they don’t have Godly advice within them.
That’s the negative side - that’s what the blessed person should not do, now the psalmist tells us what he should do ~
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.
When the psalmist says, the law of the Lord, he’s not referring to the law, he’s referring to reading God’s word - - the Bible. Most people honestly, don’t read the Bible. They think - - it’s an old archaic book that has history and some great lessons, but don’t like to read . . . and anyways the preacher will tell me a couple of verses every Sunday and that’s good enough for me.
Another way to say delight is desire. It shouldn’t just be our joy to read the word of God, but it should be our desire. We should want to read the Bible the way we want to have that dessert or special meal or cold drink on a hot day. We should want it. We shouldn’t feel it’s a chore, but it’s a joy and privilege to read God’s word.
So, this person has the desire to read the word of God, and then they meditate on the word all day. To meditate is like a cow chewing it’s cud. Literally, and you may think this is gross, but that’s what we learn here . . . the cud is food which an animal ate, and the regurgitates back to it’s mouth to chew again and digest.
Now, I don’t want you to think of biblical meditation as gross. But that’s really a spiritual discipline that few people do. The author wants us to read the word, put it away in our heart, spirit and brain, and then as the day goes on, to bring it back and remember what we’ve read and consider it’s implications for our lives, so we can live in a manner which honors and glorifies God.
Now the psalmist tells us more good news ~
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
I believe the writer wants us to see that the streams of water refers the word of God, which when we are planted on the Word, brings about an abundance of blessing. The streams are life giving, as is the word of God. It cleanses us and sustains us.
God’s trees bring forth fruit as well. We don’t have fruit every second of every day, we have our seasons. Then there can be a time of rest, which causes new fruit to grow in the next season of our lives. Yet, the reference that our leaves do not wither is a reminder of God’s constant flowing into our lives.
Again, it’s the John 15:5 verse - I am the vine, you are the branches. If we are connected to the vine, we will continue to have those leaves in full force.
That leaf is emblematic of our witness to the world. We are showing the world we are fully alive in Christ. That the word of God dwells richly within us. Those leaves should never die or wither. When the world is looking at you as a Christ follower, do they see someone whose leaves are strong and vibrant, or do they see someone whose leaves have withered, are dying and blowing away in the dust?
Its roots sink into the river bank and no matter what the weather is like, it produces fruit. Even if there’s a severe drought, its leaves don’t wither. They remain green and fresh because the tree is receiving nourishment from that stream, which is a symbol of the power of God’s love flowing and nurturing into the tree. At one time or another we will all have to face adversity. Whether it’s family, work, an illness or death, we will be confronted with disappointment and tragedy.
The last part of the verse tells us that whatever you do, you’ll prosper. Well, we have to modify that, don’t we? It is always contingent upon our faith, our commitment and our desire to hold onto Christ. He’s the source of our nutrients. He planted us and He supplies the water necessary for us to grow and be faithful.
We are not promised material blessings. When you have them, you need to give thanks, and you need to give back to God to build His kingdom! That’s vital. The prosperity we experience comes from the blessing to have Jesus live and die for us. Rise again, ascend to heaven, send the Holy Spirit for us and promise to never abandon us, but to forgive us when we trust and believe in Him. Those are the greatest blessings we can receive.
The psalmist now returns to the fate of the ungodly, telling us ~
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
So, as the person who doesn’t follow the sinners, scoffers and wicked; who seeks to follow God’s laws, they are blessed, but now we see the fate of those who refuse to follow God.
Those who are wicked, who are disobedient and antagonistic toward God are like chaff thrown up into the wind, which is blown away.
I love watching farmers at harvest. I’m awe struck at how a combine collects the fruits of their labor. The combine captures the corn and soybeans, but what happens out of the back end? We see the chaff, the now useless growth being spewed further out into the field. That’s the image I picture in this verse . . . the chaff being blown away . . . and the wind just carries it away.
So, the psalmist concludes. That’s what the therefore means! He’s telling us, as a result of what I just said, the wicked person will not be able to stand during his or her judgement. The sinners will not be able to stand with those who are righteous. You can try to defend yourself all day, but it’s not going to work. You will be judged guilty because of your sinfulness, your arrogance, your self-righteousness and your lack of belief in God.
The final statement by the psalmist reminds us of God’s omniscience, the fact that He is all knowing.
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
He knows the ways of the righteous. In essence, God knows who’s been naughty and who’s been nice! But God is not Santa. God has a different scale to judge if you are one of the righteous. And it’s not because you’ve been good, it’s because you proclaim Jesus as your Lord and Savior. That’s always the bottom line. Do you believe and trust that Jesus is Lord?
On the other hand, if you don’t believe in Jesus, then you will be part of the wicked. Because the wicked are part of that group of scoffers, those who scorn and disdain God.
Friends, God has placed eternity in our hands. People can tell who we are by the way we act. Our actions should be congruent with our faith.
If we say we believe in Jesus, then our actions should be different, the world should know who we are because of our actions. The world should know we are different than others because Jesus has made that difference.
So, as we end, the final thought is really 2 questions - - -
1. Do you know Jesus? If not, then make today the day you say yes to Him.
2. Do your actions proclaim your faith in Jesus? Can the world see Jesus in you? Are your Facebook posts uplifting, not condemning? Are you easily angered at home and work? Do you gossip and slander others? How are your actions different than the rest of the world, because the world needs to see Jesus in you.
