Introduction:
The Old Testament book of Psalms is perhaps the best-known and best loved book in all the Bible. The various psalms describe so many emotions from joy and enthusiasm to depression and discouragement. G. Campbell Morgan once raised the question, "Why is it that this book has been so perpetually used?" And the answer he gives is "First, because it is a collection of simple, honest, human experiences. I very much question if there be any circumstance possible to human life but that some Psalm exactly expresses the experience thereof."
The Jewish hymnal (and that’s what it is) begins with a song that expresses a theme that runs throughout the psalms and really, for that matter, throughout the Bible. That all of us have a choice to make between two ways of life, and only two. There are two attitudes that that we can have that result in walking in two ways that lead to two different destinies. And every one of us finds ourself on one or the other of those two paths.
Jesus talked about the two ways -- he called them the broad way and the narrow way (Matthew 7). He talked about how the Son of Man will separate mankind into two groups, putting the sheep on the right hand and the goats on the left (Matthew 25). John wrote in his first epistle about those who walk in the light and those who walk in darkness. And here in Psalm 1, we find those same two ways described. There is the godly life and there is the ungodly life. And, as I said, every one of us finds ourself in one of those two categories. So let’s take a close look at this psalm, which I believe just happens to be one of Park’s favorites.
I. The Godly Life
The first half of this psalm answers the question, "What kind of person does God bless?" In the first three verses, the psalmist describes the person who has chosen to live a righteous life. He begins in verse 1 by illustrating the importance of allowing absolutely no compromise with evil, lest the evil become a habit of life. Then, in verse 2, he shows the positive side of godliness and how we attain it. Then, in verse 3, he uses figurative language to tell what happens when the righteous life is practiced.
Psalm 1:1
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the path of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful."
The psalmist has something here to say about compromise. Now I’m not talking about the give-and-take times that are so necessary to get along with one another. I’m talking about compromise with wrong, allowing that which is evil to work its way into our lives. It often happens so slowly, so subtly, we hardly realize it’s taking place.
There’s an old fable in which a bird meets a fisherman with a can of worms and asks him for one. The fisherman says, "Sure, all I ask in return is one of your feathers." Well, a feather for a worm seemed a reasonable exchange to the bird, so he made the trade. The next day the bird was hungry again. He weighed the inconvenience of searching for food against the expediency of trading with the fisherman and decided in favor of the easier way. After all, it was only one feather. But after a few days of making such a trade, the bird had exchanged so many feathers that he couldn’t fly. At this point, the fisherman picked up the fat, naked bird and cooked him for dinner.
It’s very easy for the same thing to happen to us spiritually. We make an unwise decision. We say that it won’t affect us spiritually and, in fact, we may not be able to see the effect. But slowly, almost imperceptibly, one rationalization leads to another, until before we know it we’ve ended up down a road that we never intended to travel.
That’s why the psalmist says we need to resist even the slightest temptation to compromise our convictions.
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the path of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful."
"Blessed" is a word that’s used in the Beatitudes, and I’ve said before that the word "blessed" means "happy". Blessed are the poor in spirit -- happy are the poor in spirit. Here the psalmist says, Happy is the person who doesn’t walk with the ungodly, he doesn’t stand with the sinners, he doesn’t sit with the scornful.
Do you see the progression there, from "walking" to "standing" to "sitting"? You see, a person, and especially a Christian, doesn’t usually jump right into the middle of sin. Usually it goes in stages. He starts out by walking along with the wicked. Pretty soon, he finds himself standing in their midst, and then it’s not long before he sitting down with them.
It’s like Lot. Remember when he and Abraham separated (Genesis 13)? They stood on the mountain overlooking the land, and Abraham said, "Choose which side you want. If you go east, I’ll go west. If you go west, I’ll go east." So Lot looked out and he saw how green it was to the west and he chose that way. He took no thought as to what would be best for him spiritually. He was looking at it strictly from a physical point of view.
The next thing we know, Lot "dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom." (Genesis 13:12). He gets closer and closer until by the time we get to Genesis 19 we find him living in the midst of the immorality and sin of that city.
And that’s the way it happens so often. Teen-agers (or adults for that matter) start to hang out with the wrong crowd. They don’t do anything wrong, they’re just around them, they’re just walking with them. But, pretty soon, they’re not walking any longer, they’re standing, and eventually they’re sitting and they’re doing the same ungodly things. But David says, "Blessed is the man who avoids that kind of association."
Solomon gave similar advice when he said, "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall." (Proverbs 4:14-16).
And Paul wrote the familiar warning, "Evil company corrupts good habits." (I Corinthians 15:33).
Aesop has a fable called "A Donkey and His Purchaser". A man wanted to buy a donkey, and agreed with its owner that he should try out the animal before he bought him. So he took the donkey home and put him in the straw-yard with his other donkeys. The new animal left all the others and joined up at once with the donkey that was most idle and the greatest eater of them all. When he saw this, the man put a halter on him, and led him immediately back to his owner. When he was asked how, in such a short time, he could have tried him out, he answered, "I don’t need to try him out; I know that he will be just like the one he chose for his companion." The moral is obvious: a righteous man is careful about choosing his close companions.
Psalm 1:2
"But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."
The word "but" indicates a contrast. While the first verse was negative, this verse is positive. In contrast to compromise and spiritual erosion, a godly believer occupies himself with God’s Word.
To me, verse 2 is the focal point of the whole psalm. The thing that sets apart a righteous person is that he meditates on God’s word. To meditate means to think seriously about God’s Word even when you don’t have the text right in front of your eyes.
Keep in mind that David didn’t have a leather-bound copy of the Old Testament that he could stick in his coat pocket and pull out to read while he was tending his sheep. His exposure to the scriptures was probably limited to what he heard read on the Sabbath day. So, all week long, he spent time thinking about what he had heard, meditating on what God’s Word meant to his life.
In Psalm 119:148, David said, "My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on your word." And you get this picture of David standing out in the pasture in the middle of the night under a moon-lit sky reflecting on God’s Word.
As I said in the adult class of VBS, I think we’ve neglected the subject of meditation in the church. We emphasize Bible reading and Bible study, but very seldom do we talk about Bible meditation. Granted, we have the privilege today of being able to carry around with us a copy of God’s Word wherever we may go. But I doubt if it’s very practical to read from your Bible while you’re working -- while you’re cleaning house, while you’re fitting pipes, while you’re driving around in your care.
But I’ll tell you what is practical -- to read a few verses from the Bible when you get up in the morning and then to meditate on them all day long, to think through the day of ways that you can apply the scripture you read that morning. David says the righteous man meditates "day and night" -- meaning at all available moments. The same thing is said in Psalm 119:97, "Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day."
I think there’s something else that’s significant in this verse -- the word "delights". A righteous person "delights" in God’s Word. He doesn’t look upon the Bible as bothersome or a burden or an interruption to his day. God’s teachings are a genuine joy to him. They’re not a burden or a drudgery to him because he knows that God’s word is not just a rule book or a legal system or a check list. Rather it’s the revealing of principles by a loving Father for his children, designed to guide us as we’re faced with the needs and problems of life.
John wrote, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome." (I John 5:2-3).
I heard about a young lady once who picked up a book and began to read it. She soon laid it aside, though, because she said it was too dull and difficult. Later in life, she met a man, dated him, and came to love him very much. She learned that he was the man who had written the book that she once tried to read without success. Now she went back to it and began reading it again, and this time she read it cover to cover. What was the difference? The difference was that now she knew and loved the author! You see, if you know and love God, you can’t help but want to read and study his book, the Bible.
Psalm 1:3
"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."
The righteous person is compared here with a tree planted by a stream. In a country where rainclouds were few and far between, a tree didn’t stand much of a chance, unless it was located in a place where the soil was continually moist. Then it had a chance of being a strong, healthy tree.
There are four things that are true of such a tree, which are also true of the godly person who is growing spiritually. First, he is planted -- he’s got his roots put down deep, he’s fortified, stable. Second, he bears fruit -- he develops godlike qualities in his character and life such as the fruit of Spirit that Paul lists in Galatians 5. Third, he doesn’t wither -- he is able to survive under all circumstances, even days of difficulty. Fourth, he’s prosperous -- God blesses him in a multitude of ways.
Jeremiah used this same image: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river. And will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green. And will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
II. The Ungodly Life
But what’s true of the godly is not true of the ungodly. There’s a vast difference. The paths go in opposite directions.
Psalm 1:4-5
"The ungodly are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous."
Verse 4 begins in the Hebrew, "Not so!" Literally, it says, "Not so, the wicked!" It refers back to the first three verses describing the righteous, godly believer.
The righteous person is happy many times over. Not so, the wicked. The righteous person delights and meditates in the Word of God. Not so, the wicked. The righteous person is like a tree. Not so, the wicked. The righteous person is fruitful and prosperous. Not so, the wicked. In other words, none of the previously mentioned characteristics describes the lifestyle of the ungodly. Instead, the psalmist uses one word that sums up the life of the ungodly -- "chaff".
What is chaff? Well, chaff is what you get when you take a piece of wheat and roll it in your hands. The chaff is the dry, useless part that blows away. It’s completely worthless. It has no substance.
This chaff stands in contrast to the tree mentioned in verse 3. If a wind comes up, the planted tree stands firm while the chaff blows away. In the same way, when God’s scrutiny comes, the righteous will stand, but the wicked will not, just like in the parable of the wise and foolish builder.
Jesus said, Now everyone who hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." (Matthew 7:26-27).
The wicked will not endure or withstand the test of judgment. The judgment here doesn’t refer only to the last day, although it certainly includes that. It means any time that a test of accounting is made. Whenever that’s done, the ungodly will fail to endure or withstand the test. The reason is given in the next verse.
Psalm 1:6
"For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly will perish."
To "know" means to recognize and approve. Albert Barnes has written, "Only those whom God approves, and loves, as his friends, will be able to stand in the day when the great decision shall be made....No one can be admitted into the favor of God, and to the rewards of heaven, whose character is not such that it will bear the scrutiny of the Omniscient eye."
But the way of the ungodly will perish. The reason is that the Lord doesn’t approve or recognize their ways. The Lord will say to some on the day of judgment, "I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." (Matthew 7:23). That is, I never recognized or approved your way.
The psalmist says here that God approves and protects the life of the righteous person, but brings the life of the wicked to an end. At times, it may not seem that it’s going to happen that way, but God has assured us that in the end, that will indeed be the case. Instead of prospering, the ungodly will ultimately perish .
In Psalm 73, David is upset because he looks around and sees the evil people prospering. He’s envious of their prosperity until in verse 17, "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end."
Conclusion:
The only source that can supply all man’s spiritual needs is God’s law, because God has designed his law for that specific purpose. The same God who created man revealed his law for man’s good. God’s law alone gives man life, gives him power to grow into a spiritually healthy individual, and enables him to bear fruit in his life which glorifies God who made him.
The key is our attitude toward the Word of God. Just as a tree must continually take up water from nearby streams into itself in order to live and grow and bear fruit, in order for man to live spiritually, grow adequately, and bear good fruit, he must meditate on God’s word day and night.
If all of this is true, then we should be eager to study God’s Word and want to learn more. But it’s such a struggle. And we know that we don’t devote as much effort to it as we should. Why not?
Something took place in the fall of 1944 that I think helps to explain a major reason why we’re sometimes not as committed to our study of God’s Word as we should be. It was late October when an officer commanding a platoon of American soldiers received a call from headquarters. Over the radio, this captain learned his unit was being ordered to capture a small French city from the Nazis -- and he learned something else from headquarters as well. For weeks, French Resistance fighters had risked their lives to gather information about the German fortifications in that city, and they had smuggled this information out to the Allies.
The French Underground’s efforts had provided the Americans with something worth its weight in gold: a detailed map of the city. It wasn’t just a map with the names of major streets and landmarks; it showed specific details of the Germans’ defensive positions.
In fact, the map identified shops and buildings where German soldiers bunked or where a machine-gun nest or sniper had been stationed. Block by block, the Frenchmen gave an accounting of the German units.
For a captain who was already concerned about mounting casualties, receiving such information was an answer to prayer. Although the outcome of the war wouldn’t depend on this one battle, to him it meant he wouldn’t have to write as many letters to his men’s parents or wives telling them their loved one had died in battle.
So, before the soldiers moved out, the captain gave each soldier a chance to study the map. And wanting to make sure his men read it carefully, he quickly gave them a test covering the major landmarks and enemy strongholds. Just before his platoon moved out, the officer graded the tests, and with minor exceptions every man earned a perfect score. As a direct result of having that map to follow, the men captured the city with little loss of American lives.
Nearly 30 years later, an army researcher heard this story and decided to do a study. He went to France where, instead of a platoon of soldiers, he arranged for a group of American tourists to help him with his research.
For several hours, the men and women were allowed to study the same map the soldiers had, and then they were given the same test. You can guess the results. Most of the tourists failed miserably.
I think the reason for the difference between these two groups is obvious -- it was a matter of motivation. Knowing their lives were on the line, the soldiers were highly motivated to learn every detail of the map. For the tourists, being in a research study provided some motivation. But most of them had nothing to lose but a little pride if they failed the test.
I believe the same thing determines how we study God’s Word. Many of us look into the scriptures in much the same way that we look at scenery through a passing window. Not realizing what is at stake, we put forth little energy on discovering and putting into practice specific ways to apply God’s Word.
In order to grow spiritually, it’s essential that we discipline ourselves to the diligent and regular study of Scripture. There’s no shortcut to maturity, and the demanding work of Bible study can’t be eliminated. Our "American way of life" emphasizes recreation and relaxation. And while a certain amount of leisure and play are good, too much of it makes us soft and lazy. Learning the Bible requires a discipline which will hold you to the task even when it gets tedious, it will cut out other things for the sake of a spiritual priority, and it will carry through on the basis of habit rather than impulse or mood.
Blessed is such a Christian, for "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in that law he meditates day and night."
