Amen. How firm a foundation the hymn says. Let's
turn in our Bibles where we find that firm foundation.
The Word of God. That which is the stone upon
which our faith is built. And we turn to Psalm
1. We live in a perilous day in our nation. We're
facing A danger as serious as any we've ever
faced in our 200 -plus years of history. The
abuse of drugs. Our president this last week
called us to fight a national war against this
evil scourge destroying the very fabric of American
society. And I'm convinced that we as Christians
ought to do our part in this. Abortion is perhaps
the most emotional battle But drug abuse is the
most pervasive battle that we face. The real
answer to the problem of drug abuse eludes most
of our leaders. The theme that we keep hearing
is that of more money. Money for education, money
for law enforcement, money for new prisons, money
for military assistance to various foreign governments.
I'm not saying that these things are bad. In
fact, these things may be very well necessary.
But one university professor this past week,
interviewed on television, recently got nearer
the point than many of our leaders. He said drug
abuse is a sociological problem and only a change
in societal attitudes about drugs will solve
it. The point is that we can stop the flow of
cocaine from Latin America, but unless the attitude
about drug abuse, even the casual use of it,
changes, other drugs will be found and substituted.
Already, as you know, alcohol is the most abused
substance in our society. But the professor,
though he went further than some, in my opinion,
didn't yet go far enough. for the sociological
problem that we face has a spiritual root. Many
people in our technological, materialistic, self
-indulgence and depersonalized society are very
unhappy with life. Drug abuse is an attempt on
their part to find happiness, a feeling of elation
and escape from their personal misery. disillusionment,
emptiness, and guilt. I believe that until and
unless this nation acknowledges this spiritual
root and then turns to seek the truth of God,
it is destined for the dung heap of ruin where
lie the wrecks of all of those nations that have
forgotten God. The Bible says the wicked will
be turned into hell and all of those nations
that forget God. The psalm that is before us
today talks about how to be a truly happy person.
One does not have to turn to a substance like
a drug to be a happy person. In fact, to be a
truly happy person, one must come to the Word
of God. The psalm begins with that wonderful
word, blessed. How blessed is the man. The word
was emphasized for us again in the worship choir
as it sang this morning. The word in the Hebrew
here is in the plural and the idea is, oh how
very happy is the man. When the Hebrew puts something
in plural like this, he is intending to multiply
the effect of the word. He says, how very happy
to this extreme is this man. Leupold defines
blessedness as that full measure of happy circumstances
that one can experience in life. The point that
I see in our study of God's Word today is this,
that to be the blessed man, the blessed person.
One must come into a right relationship with
the eternal God. The study of these six verses
will contrast one who does have that relationship
with one who does not. In verses one to three
we see the blessed man. It is not surprising
to see the blessed man in a portrait painted
with negative strokes on this canvas of revelation.
You see, sin abounds around us and to be godly
means taking a position against sin and against
evil. It means not conforming to the pressures
of evil which surround us. The life of the blessed
man therefore is described first in negative
terms. Notice that this life of the blessed man
is first of all a life of separation. And then
it is a life of devotion. And finally a life
of satisfaction. Think with me first about this
matter of separation. For this Psalm tells us
what the blessed man does not do. In the first
place he does not listen to the wicked. That
is, he does not listen to the wicked so as to
share the wicked's opinion, so as to shape his
own conduct according to the principles of the
wicked. By the way, the word wicked here in its
root is the idea of being loosed from something.
Something that is abnormal because it has lost
its rightful place. It has gotten loose. So the
picture of the sinner here is that of one who
has gotten loose, as it were, from God. The blessed
man does not listen to those who are loose from
God. He does not shape his conduct, his lifestyle
according to the dictates of those who have no
relationship with God. That's what he does not
do. It's a life of separation in lifestyle. Secondly,
he does not live like the sinners. That is, his
manner of life does not follow after those who
have missed the mark, which is the idea behind
the word sinners in verse 1. He does not commit
himself to the way that characterizes those who
live for sinful pursuits. There's a difference
in the daily activity of the blessed man and
the sinner. He does not follow along with them.
He does not stand with them in their path. That
brings us to the third description of the life
of separation. The blessed man does not link
himself with the scoffers. That is, he does not
sit in the seat of the scoffers. The idea there
is to sit down with them and to partake with
them. He does not associate in agreement with
their mocking. He does not forge alliances with
the wicked. The blessed man does not do these
things. The word scoffers here refers to those
who have rejected God. Those who have rejected
God's revelation and who then strengthened themselves
in that position of mocking by their ridicule
of God and His Word. And then also by seeking
the support of others who agree with them and
who will sit down with them. Those are the scoffers.
Scoffers then protect their accepted line, their
mocking, their scoffing. And they protect that
accepted line with a fierce jealousy. For example,
ask those people, in the scientific community
who believe in creationism. What they believe
is not the accepted line of the mockers. And
if they stand up for what they believe, they
become the objects of ridicule because they do
not conform to the accepted line. They will not
sit down with the scoffers. Ask those who speak
of abstinence. as the best answer to the AIDS
epidemic, or for that matter to the abortion
crisis. And such people are called homophiles.
They are called out of touch. I should have said
homophobic. They're out of touch. They are opposed
to civil rights because they do not accept the
line of the mockers, which is that abstinence
is for another day. That's not even realistic
in our culture. My point is this, that there
are those who mock God and His Word. The blessed
man does not sit down with them. He does not
associate with them in their mocking. It does
not mean that he cannot befriend them. It does
not mean that he cannot reach out to them in
the love of Christ. But he cannot identify with
them. He cannot forge an alliance or a partnership
with them. And so the blessed man in the first
place is described with these negative strokes
of the pen of the writer. He says that the blessed
man lives a life of separation. He must be careful
whose counsel he listens to. There are people
who have made tragic mistakes in their marriages
because they have listened to bad counsel. They've
gone to other people who have had the same problems
they've had and haven't licked them. and they've
taken their advice. They've gone to counselors
who do not know God, who do not honor His Word,
and they've taken that counsel. They have listened
to people who do not trust the Lord, and the
result of that is that the counsel has led them
astray. They have walked in that counsel and
are no longer the blessed one. The blessed one
must be careful of the counsel that he listens
to. The Blessed One must be careful of the lifestyle
that he practices. He cannot allow his conduct
of life to be shaped by the ungodly system around
him. There will always be a certain tension in
the life of the Blessed One because he lives
in a world that's moving in another direction,
that has different standards, that thinks a different
way. He will not fit in with the crowd. He will
not. And then the blessed one must also be careful
of the associations that he makes. While certainly
opening his heart to those who are lost and pitying
them and reaching out to them in the love of
Christ, he must be careful that those concerns
of his do not forge alliances on behalf of the
wicked ones. The blessed man is described in
terms of a life of separation, what he does not
do. And you notice the progression. There's the
walking and then the standing and finally the
sitting. An increasing relationship that the
blessed man must avoid. When men live in sin,
they go from bad to worse, said Spurgeon. And
that's what this psalmist here is suggesting
by the progression. First walking, then standing,
and finally sitting, actually, and partaking
with the wicked. The blessed one lives a life
of separation. Oh, for the grace of God in our
lives, folks, that we might live this kind of
a life and experience the blessedness that comes
to such a one. Oh, that we might know the grace
of God to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.
that we might be willing to go outside the camp
bearing the reproach of Jesus Christ. And then
the life of the Blessed One is described secondly
as a life of devotion. The psalmist expresses
what he does. In the first place, he delights
in the law of God. He finds that revelation that
God has given to us to be joyous and not burdensome.
He finds the Bible to be a treasure to him, which
is the thought behind delighting. He considers
it something precious. And because he delights
in the law of God, he does something more. He
meditates in the law of God day and night. The
word meditate is an interesting one. It has the
idea behind it of moaning. actually. The idea
of uttering under one's breath. The picture is
of a person reading to himself and rereading
and rereading and rereading. How blessed is the
man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the
counsel of the wicked. And each time as he reads
it and utters it, The Word of God goes a bit
deeper into his mind and into his heart until
it comes to that point of making a change. For
change also is a part of the word meditation.
The Blessed One delights in the law of God. And
because of that delight, he meditates in the
law of God. And he allows it to trickle down
into his innermost being until it strikes the
place where changes are made. And his life is
transformed because of it. There are practical
results through the application of that which
he reads and rereads and rereads. You know, when
you and I do that, the practical impact of it
is that it's hidden in our subconscious. So that
when we are not even consciously thinking about
the Word of God, the Word of God is nonetheless
present. And at any moment the Spirit of God
may cause something that is hidden within to
erupt into our conscious. And then we are reminded
and we deal with it and we apply it. That's the
point of meditation. The blessed man does not
do some things. But there are some things that
he does do. And one of those is that he meditates.
in the Word of God. He is devoted to the Word
of God. The blessed man lives a life of devotion
to God and His Word. And in the third place,
the life of the blessed man can be described
as a life of satisfaction. There are some things
he does not do, there are some things he does,
and now we notice what he becomes. We notice
in verse 3, in the first place, a figure. A figure
that is used to describe the blessed man. A figure
that is common to Scripture. It is that of a
tree. He will be like a tree, says the writer.
In the first place, a tree that is planted. Not
a wild tree that has grown up by itself. That
has just taken root by chance. But a tree that
is planted by God. That's what a blessed one
is like. He is a tree that is planted. And because
it is planted and cultivated, it is a tree that
is nourished at its roots. For it is planted
by streams of water. The one who is blessed has
his roots going into the rivers of grace. His
roots take part of the communion with Jesus Christ.
And as a result of that, he is nourished in his
life. He is a tree planted, a tree nourished,
and a tree fruitful. For appropriate fruit is
produced in his life. In fact, in every season,
it yields its fruit in its season. Have you noticed
that life has its seasons? Different kinds of
seasons. seasons of youth, seasons of middle
age, and seasons of old age. It has seasons of
joy and seasons of sorrow, seasons of success,
and seasons of failure. The one who is the blessed
man brings forth fruit in its season. Whatever
season we are passing through at the moment in
our lives, there is fruit there that honors God
because we are a tree planted and nourished by
the rivers of God's grace. And therefore fruit
comes. And then it's a tree that is healthy.
Its leaf does not wither. It does not shrivel.
It does not turn brown and drop off. There is
no shriveling of the soul of the one who is the
blessed man who lives the life of separation
and the life of devotion For if he does those
two things he also has a life of satisfaction
What a wonderful figure that is. Could you describe
your life as a tree today? Are you a tree that
is planted and nourished? and fruitful and healthy.
That's the blessed man. And every one of us can
be that blessed person. Then there's a principle
I notice also in verse 3. In whatever he does,
he prospers. That is, insofar as he devotes himself
to God and to the Word, he prospers. Now please
understand this is not a proof text for prosperity
theology. proclaimed by some people today. This
is not a verse that can be applied to say that
God is always going to make us prosperous in
whatever we do. We'll be healthy and wealthy
and so on. Whatever He does, He prospers, says
the psalmist. What does that mean? That means
that as we devote ourselves to the Word of God,
as we're meditating in it, as we live our lives,
whatever we experience in life, in that we will
find a certain prospering. I think that this
is an Old Testament setting of Romans 8 -28,
actually. And we know that all things work together
for good. To them that love God, do those who
are the called according to His purpose. And
whatever He does, He prospers. You say, I'm not
prospering today. I'm devoted to the Word. I'm
living the life of separation. But somehow, I'm
going through burdens and battles. Well, that's
part of life, isn't it? Even for the Blessed
One. The point is, as you go through those burdens
and through those battles, there will be a prospering
of your soul. There will be profit for you. You
will find some nugget of gold there that God
places in your soul. You will prosper in it as
the Blessed One. There will be fruit that you
will enjoy because of the root that goes down
deep into God. The blessed one will live a life
of satisfaction. But then we come to the last
part of this psalm, verses four through six,
in which we find words describing the wicked
one. The psalmist turns suddenly on his heels.
And he says, not so the wicked. Not so the wicked.
A brief statement on which he turns the whole
theme that he's covering. The brevity of this
phrase introduces the unfortunate circumstances,
the unhappy situation of those who are ungodly.
The point is that there is not much to be said
about the life of one who is ungodly. The wicked,
not so. Notice that the wicked are compared to
chaff. If you're raised on a farm, you know what
chaff is. It is the husk of the grain. It is
absolutely worthless. It has no value to it.
It can't be used for anything. In fact, it is
so useless, it's discarded through a process
of threshing or winnowing as they did in the
day of the psalmist. They would often have a
platform, perhaps on ground level or above ground
level, where it might catch the wind somewhat
better. They would place their grain harvested
upon that platform. And then through some process,
they would begin the winnowing of it. throwing
it into the air, perhaps with a fork of some
sort or a shovel or a net. They began throwing
it into the air and as the grain went into the
air, the husks would fall away and the wind would
carry the husks away from the grain. So that
the pure grain was left and the husk was discarded.
That's the picture in the psalmist's mind. He
says, they are like chaff which the wind drives
away. So are those who are without a relationship
with God. Those who persist in sin. They are
like chaff that has no real use in life. And
though they may live a life that is valuable
to society, it is not valuable to God. Though
they themselves are valuable to him, their life
produces nothing of value because they have no
relationship with God. And in the end, they will
be like chaff, discarded. They're compared to
chaff and they're certain for judgment, says
the psalmist. The wicked will not stand in the
judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
He seems to talk here about two different kinds
of sinners. Those who are openly wicked the wicked
will not stand he says in the judgment To not
stand in judgment means to not to be able to
stand one's ground when judgment comes It means
to have to be ashamed At the time of judgment
so as to retire or to sit down It means to stand
before the judge and to have no defense. The
gentleman I know here in the Twin Cities is right
now going through a time before a judge in another
state accused of a crime which he says he did
not commit. In fact, of which there is no proof.
But nonetheless, he is there with some others.
He is able to go before the judge with a different
attitude than the others because he knows there
is no proof he did not commit the crime. Therefore,
he's able to stand in the judgment, you see.
But those who are guilty cannot stand and will
be embarrassed and ashamed and condemned. And
so it is with those who are wicked, those who
have no relationship with God. In the end, they
will have no place to stand in the judgment of
the Lord, but will flee from that judgment unto
their everlasting, eternal ruin in the lake of
fire. He says, nor sinners in the assembly of
the righteous. The thought may be here of those
who are covertly wicked. That is those who are
self -righteous, who outwardly give some indication
that they are righteous. In fact, they even enjoy
assembling with the righteous. They like to go
to church. They like to feel good about themselves
on Sunday, that they've done something for God.
And so they go to a church, and there they sing
the hymns, and they go through the ritual, and
they say the words, and they think they're absolved
of everything. But their heart is not right with
God. There is no relationship with God. And in
the day of judgment, the Bible says they will
not stand in the assembly of the righteous. There
will be found no place for them. They will be
missing in that day when God's true children
are gathered together. The wicked one is compared
to Chath. His life has no purpose in the end,
and he is certain to be judged. And notice in
verse 6 that the judge is the Lord. The Lord
has a different response to different people.
You say, that's not right. Yes, it is right.
Because you see, God's response to them depends
upon their response to Him. It is right. Those
who have trusted Him. Those who have received
Him. to those he will give blessing. For those
who have rejected him and spurned him and neglected
him, to those he will give condemnation. God
treats people differently according to their
response to him. He is the judge of the righteous.
The psalmist says he knows their way or he is
knowing their way. It's a continuous thing. God
perpetually, continuously cares for those who
are righteous. Not those who are self -righteous,
but those who have bowed the knee and trusted
the Lord and who therefore because of their faith
are declared righteous by God. Those who have
a relationship with Him. The Lord knows their
way. The Lord cares for them with favor and grace.
throughout their lives and into eternity. But
on the other hand, the wicked. The way of the
wicked, says the psalmist, will perish. Not only
will they themselves be judged, but their very
way will perish. I remember an occasion when
I was driving along a road trying to get to a
certain place and I thought I would take a shortcut.
And so I turned on another road, which seemed
very fine, but as I drove further, the highway
became a gravel road. And I thought, well, so
what? As I drove further, the gravel road became
a dirt road, and I began to be a little concerned.
And it wasn't long before that dirt road became
a field road, and I was in the middle of the
field with nowhere to go. You see, the road had
simply run out on me. My way was ruined. There
was no place to turn and so it is for the wicked
man. He begins his life in what he thinks is
an interstate highway with lots of fun and lots
of room and life is just great for him. But as
he goes on further down the road, it begins to
narrow a bit and more so and more so until finally
it runs out on him and there's nowhere to go.
His way perishes. We might also compare it to
the wake of a ship that gleams in the moonlight
as it trails behind the great vessel, only to
be wiped away by the waves. And so is the way
of the wicked. He thinks he leaves this world
with an indelible mark. He's made a difference,
but his way perishes. And when he is gone, there
is none who misses him or notices that he's absent.
So is the way of the wicked. His way perishes.
The marvelous thing about God is that he gives
us an opportunity to choose whether we want to
be the blessed one or the other one. You have
the opportunity to decide which you wish to be.
We see contrast in Psalm 1, the Blessed One and
the Wicked One. As you look at the contrast,
surely the only decision you can make is to be
one of the Blessed Ones. One of those who bows
the knees to God and then receives the gift of
salvation and who then lives the life of separation
and the life of devotion and who knows the life
of satisfaction. But if you've not yet made that
choice, understand that you're already moving
in the other direction. For there isn't any neutral
ground, really. We are either the wicked one
or we're the blessed one. And if you have never
trusted Jesus Christ, then as far as God is concerned,
today you are the other one. who is going away
from God and whose way will end in ruin. But
God in grace gives you an opportunity yet today
to become one of the blessed ones. Will you do
that by trusting the Savior this morning? Will
you turn from the way that you have been going
to God's way? Will you leave the broad way that
leads to destruction and enter the narrow gate
that leads to life. If you do, you will be one
of the blessed ones. And the Lord will know your
way and care for you all the way into eternity
and keep you. Make that choice today. Let's pray.
Now Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit will
bring to the point of decision any person who
has heard this message and who has not trusted
the Savior. I pray, Father, that where there
is this morning a conviction of sin, that there
will be repentance, and that that one would turn
in faith and would become the Blessed One of
Psalm 1. In Jesus' name, amen.