Psalm 1
I.Introduction:
Godly Jews sang psalms to worship the Lord and build up their faith. Psalm 1 is a song intentioned to draws a sharp contrast between the godly and the ungodly.
-Psalm 1 is considered the preface to the rest of the psalms – it simply states the message of the entire Book of Psalms and much of the rest of the Bible.
-2 choices
-It is considered a wisdom Psalm – it portrays the way a wise man chooses.
-It is an ancient song that teaches the way to true happiness and success in life.
-It is a song that shows the only two ways to live your life.
READ PSALM 1
1 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.
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, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
II.This Psalm tells us that we only have two decisions for our life:
The Bible tells us here that there are only two kinds of people:
-Righteous (those who are right before God)
-Wicked (Those who are wrong before God)
EVERY ONE OF US FALL INTO ONE OF THESE TWO CATEGORIES!
-There is no 3rd option
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Sometimes life can become overwhelming when we have to make big decisions.
-Do I buy this car or that one?
-Do I get a job here or there?
-Do I Merry this person or not?
*Every day we must make decisions … However the greatest decision we must make is whether we will serve God or not!
III. The Bible confirms in other places that we only really have two choices for our life.
Read MT. 7:13-14
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.
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Read Jeremiah 17:5-8
5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
God Loves us so much that He has given us the free will to make a decision to be a part of whichever of the 2 groups we chose!
LETS FOCUS TODAY ON WHAT THE PSALM 1 SAYS ABOUT THESE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE
III. The good choices of The godly man (v.s.1-3).
This passage starts off speaking of The godly man.
*Who is the godly man (or woman)?
-The person who serves God.
-To be truly Godly we must have a relationship with Jesus…On our own we sin a lot, but if we have a relationship with Jesus we will be forgiven… and our lives will be changed!
(V.S. 1) 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.
*First we will discuss the qualities of the Godly person… then we will discuss what it means to be blessed.
A)He does not to walk in the counsel of the wicked
Wicked means:
-This means to BE THE ENIMY OF GOD.
-To know what is right and do what is wrong.
-to choose evil rather than Good!
The righteous person does not walk in the advice of wicked people but walks in the advice of God!
Prov. 14:12
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
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-Wicked people (“friends”) will give you evil counsel.
-Rob, Cheat, steal, slander
***The righteous do not walk in this counsel!
B)Does not stand in the way of sinners.
Not to stand in the way of sinners means that we habitually walk in the wrong way.
*Choosing to walk away from the good and towards the evil.
Mat. 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.
*The Godly choose to walk away from the bad and towards the good.
C)Does not to sit in the seat of the scornful (1Pet5:5)
To be a scoffer means:
-To be to proud for God
-To be sure you can make it on your own with out God.
*To make fun and persecute those who are serving God.
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Perhaps you are trying to serve God – but your friends and family make fun of you ….
-They are scoffers
*** The godly do not scoff… at others they encourage and support those who are trying to get
their life right.
In short… There are some things that the Godly do not do!
(VS 1) We looked at what godly people do not do -- now look at the next verse to see what they do!
E)He does delight in the Law of the Lord (v.s. 2)
1)In the law of the Lord (Psm 43:3, 119:24)
·The scriptures…
The godly person loves to hear and read the word of God because through it he learns…
-What God wants.
-How to serve God more
-How to walk more in the right direction and away from the wrong.
Psalm 43:3 “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your
holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.”
Psalm 119:24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.
2)Meditates on it constantly (Jos. 1:8, Psm 63:6)
Meditating means you don’t just read it – You think about it!
· WWJD?
· What is the right decision?
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Cow’s stomach
Cows have multiple stomachs (4 to be exact) – They simply regurgitate the food from one stomach the next to get the most nutrients out of the food.
-That is what we do when we meditate on the Word. We digest it over and over to get the most out of it.
IV. Choosing this live has positive results
-He is blessed (v 1):
First we see that the Godly person is blessed…. What does this mean?
- To be Joyous
- Deeply Happy
- Blissful
“In Fact, in Hebrew the word is actually a plural, which denote either a multiplicity of blessing or and intensification of them.” - (Boise 15)
If you are a godly person you are blessed…
-Not that you may be blessed, but
-You are blessed.
·It is a present fact (we are blessed)
·And a future reality (we will continue to be blessed for eternity).
+ An important to note:
-Blessedness in this context is the result of living Godly not the reward.
·Because we life godly the result is being blessed.
·The reward for living Godly will be given at the final judgment.
Rev. 22:12 “Behold I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”
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many people have spent their lives looking for happiness / blessedness in ...
-Relationships
-alcohol
-work
-drugs
-$$$$
The result is emptiness and despair…but when you surrender your life to the Lord and begin to serve Him … You find the TRUE HAPPINESS YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOOKING FOR.
What is the source of this Blessedness / true happiness?
-A committed relationship with God!
How does the godly person come into the blessing of true happiness?
By accepting Jesus as the Savior and also living a committed life!
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George Gallup reports:
Less than 10 % of Americans are deeply committed Christians. These committed Christians are far, far happier than the rest of the population. Committed Christians are more accepting of others than the average American, more involved in charitable activities, and are absolutely committed to prayer. While many more Americans than this 10 % profess to be Christians, most actually know little or nothing of Christian beliefs, and act no differently than non-Christians. Overall, the Sunday School and religious education system in this country is not working.
Being committed to Christ is not boring…it is the source of true happiness!
V.Other examples of the blessedness of a godly life
A)Secure In God
1)Like a tree
A tree sinks its roots deep….its roots are at least as deep as its height.
The godly person is determined to stay rooted… next to God’s presence…
NO MATER WHAT STORM MAY RAGE HE IS SECURELY ROOTED IN THE FIRTILE SOILS OF GODS WORD!
The Holy Spirit is the water that nourishes the tree.
-Provides life
-Provides nutrients
*God provides life and nutrients for us
If we are rooted in God’s presence and fed by the stream of the H.S. we will always endure!
B)Supplied by God:
2)Shall not wither
*Because God is supplying all our needs!
-In a famine the godly will eat!
-In drought the godly will drink!
God will supply all of our needs so we do not wither in the heat brought on by the trials of this life.
B)Prospered by God.
3)Will Prosper (Psm 35:27 Jn 2)
*Not only will God supply the needs of the righteous but He will also cause them to prosper!
Doesn’t mean there will not be struggles but that:
-God will bring us out of our struggles
-God will supply our needs
-We will find true happiness – in the middle of stress and adversity
Psm 35:27 May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant."
God loves to make His servants prosper!!!!
WE will not only prosper in this life but also in the life to come!
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Old song I’ve got a mansion just over the hill top…..
The greatest prosperity of the righteous though is eternal life with Jesus!!!!!
VIThe ungodly man (v.s 4-5).
“4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.”
A)Is as chaff
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-The shell off the wheat (rice).
*like garbage
The chaff is removed from the wheat. The wheat would be thrown into the air and the wind would separate the wheat from the chaff.
i.(The chaff /wicked) Is Blown away
-Blown away by struggles of life
(Righteous are rooted)
ii.Brief prosperity (Psalm 73:3,19)
-Live the good life for a while but then loose it all
(righteous have enduring prosperity)
Psalm 73:19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
iii.Only for burning (Mat 3:12)
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment
a)God’s judgment in this life:
-Perishing in what they want
-Perishing in pursuit of what they want but never being happy with it.
b) God’s judgment in the next life: (HELL)
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."
Psm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families,[1] he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
-In the end the wicked will be cast into hell.
-The righteous will be blessed even in the end (heaven eternally)
Conclusion:
“The Lord knows (watches)” (vs 6)
-Active participation … not distant observance.
It is worth Living Godly…COMMITTING TO HIM!
**Accepting Jesus – Letting His grace cover our weakness.
**But also allowing God to empower us to live godly!
-The Lord Sees how we live, think, act and truly are!
*** The Prophesy in the Psalm…
-Has anyone ever been able to totally live the way the godly man is described?
-Has anyone ever been able to totally gain the results of blessedness described?
-Only Jesus-
·This psalm is a measuring stick for us but also a prophecy of the coming Messiah, who has now come! –Jesus.
-Psm 1 was originally joined to psm. 2 which interprets this prophecy.
Outline:
I. Psalm 1 introduces a main theme of all the Psalms and Scripture…
II. Two choices for life:
-To be godly – by accepting and living for Jesus
-To be Wicked
-No 3rd choice.
III. The Godly Person makes good choices:
1) He does not to walk in the counsel of the wicked.
2) Does not to stand in the way of sinners (Mat 7:13)
3) Does not to sit in the seat of the scornful (Psm 68:6 1 Pet5:5)
4) He does delight in the Law of the Lord (v.s. 2)
IV. The Godly person is blessed:
1) Finds true happiness in life.
2) Is like a tree (secure).
3) Is supplied by God.
4) Is prospered by God.
V. The Ungodly:
1) Is like chaff
a. Is blown away
2) Has only brief prosperity
3) Is only for burning
a. Is under God’s judgment
b. Will perish
VI. Conclusion:
1) The Lord knows (watches)
2) The Prophecy in the Psalm
