WEBVTT 00:00:01.329 --> 00:00:06.309 Amen. How firm a foundation the hymn says. Let's 00:00:06.309 --> 00:00:09.470 turn in our Bibles where we find that firm foundation. 00:00:10.070 --> 00:00:17.570 The Word of God. That which is the stone upon 00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:20.949 which our faith is built. And we turn to Psalm 00:00:20.949 --> 00:00:26.390 1. We live in a perilous day in our nation. We're 00:00:26.390 --> 00:00:30.940 facing A danger as serious as any we've ever 00:00:30.940 --> 00:00:35.200 faced in our 200 -plus years of history. The 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:39.520 abuse of drugs. Our president this last week 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:43.079 called us to fight a national war against this 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:46.460 evil scourge destroying the very fabric of American 00:00:46.460 --> 00:00:49.920 society. And I'm convinced that we as Christians 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:55.840 ought to do our part in this. Abortion is perhaps 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:59.289 the most emotional battle But drug abuse is the 00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:04.510 most pervasive battle that we face. The real 00:01:04.510 --> 00:01:09.709 answer to the problem of drug abuse eludes most 00:01:09.709 --> 00:01:13.390 of our leaders. The theme that we keep hearing 00:01:13.390 --> 00:01:18.209 is that of more money. Money for education, money 00:01:18.209 --> 00:01:21.430 for law enforcement, money for new prisons, money 00:01:21.430 --> 00:01:24.569 for military assistance to various foreign governments. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:28.099 I'm not saying that these things are bad. In 00:01:28.099 --> 00:01:30.819 fact, these things may be very well necessary. 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:34.680 But one university professor this past week, 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:38.700 interviewed on television, recently got nearer 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:42.939 the point than many of our leaders. He said drug 00:01:42.939 --> 00:01:47.299 abuse is a sociological problem and only a change 00:01:47.299 --> 00:01:50.859 in societal attitudes about drugs will solve 00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:54.579 it. The point is that we can stop the flow of 00:01:54.579 --> 00:01:59.219 cocaine from Latin America, but unless the attitude 00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:03.099 about drug abuse, even the casual use of it, 00:02:03.340 --> 00:02:07.420 changes, other drugs will be found and substituted. 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:10.840 Already, as you know, alcohol is the most abused 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:15.060 substance in our society. But the professor, 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:18.800 though he went further than some, in my opinion, 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:22.520 didn't yet go far enough. for the sociological 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:27.360 problem that we face has a spiritual root. Many 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:31.819 people in our technological, materialistic, self 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:36.120 -indulgence and depersonalized society are very 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:41.319 unhappy with life. Drug abuse is an attempt on 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:45.939 their part to find happiness, a feeling of elation 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:51.289 and escape from their personal misery. disillusionment, 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:56.169 emptiness, and guilt. I believe that until and 00:02:56.169 --> 00:02:59.789 unless this nation acknowledges this spiritual 00:02:59.789 --> 00:03:04.409 root and then turns to seek the truth of God, 00:03:05.930 --> 00:03:10.389 it is destined for the dung heap of ruin where 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:14.750 lie the wrecks of all of those nations that have 00:03:14.750 --> 00:03:18.229 forgotten God. The Bible says the wicked will 00:03:18.229 --> 00:03:21.629 be turned into hell and all of those nations 00:03:21.629 --> 00:03:26.889 that forget God. The psalm that is before us 00:03:26.889 --> 00:03:30.250 today talks about how to be a truly happy person. 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:37.150 One does not have to turn to a substance like 00:03:37.150 --> 00:03:43.360 a drug to be a happy person. In fact, to be a 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.120 truly happy person, one must come to the Word 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:49.939 of God. The psalm begins with that wonderful 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:55.280 word, blessed. How blessed is the man. The word 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.080 was emphasized for us again in the worship choir 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:02.199 as it sang this morning. The word in the Hebrew 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:05.099 here is in the plural and the idea is, oh how 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:10.460 very happy is the man. When the Hebrew puts something 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:13.819 in plural like this, he is intending to multiply 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:18.319 the effect of the word. He says, how very happy 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:23.839 to this extreme is this man. Leupold defines 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:28.939 blessedness as that full measure of happy circumstances 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:32.879 that one can experience in life. The point that 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.379 I see in our study of God's Word today is this, 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:39.699 that to be the blessed man, the blessed person. 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:43.279 One must come into a right relationship with 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:47.500 the eternal God. The study of these six verses 00:04:47.500 --> 00:04:50.660 will contrast one who does have that relationship 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:55.000 with one who does not. In verses one to three 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:59.779 we see the blessed man. It is not surprising 00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:04.019 to see the blessed man in a portrait painted 00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:08.139 with negative strokes on this canvas of revelation. 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:14.040 You see, sin abounds around us and to be godly 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:18.439 means taking a position against sin and against 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:23.259 evil. It means not conforming to the pressures 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:28.160 of evil which surround us. The life of the blessed 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:31.660 man therefore is described first in negative 00:05:31.660 --> 00:05:36.480 terms. Notice that this life of the blessed man 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:42.040 is first of all a life of separation. And then 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:47.980 it is a life of devotion. And finally a life 00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:52.680 of satisfaction. Think with me first about this 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:55.100 matter of separation. For this Psalm tells us 00:05:55.100 --> 00:05:59.839 what the blessed man does not do. In the first 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:05.079 place he does not listen to the wicked. That 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:07.899 is, he does not listen to the wicked so as to 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:12.879 share the wicked's opinion, so as to shape his 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.959 own conduct according to the principles of the 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:19.740 wicked. By the way, the word wicked here in its 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:24.639 root is the idea of being loosed from something. 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:28.220 Something that is abnormal because it has lost 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:32.889 its rightful place. It has gotten loose. So the 00:06:32.889 --> 00:06:35.930 picture of the sinner here is that of one who 00:06:35.930 --> 00:06:40.629 has gotten loose, as it were, from God. The blessed 00:06:40.629 --> 00:06:44.470 man does not listen to those who are loose from 00:06:44.470 --> 00:06:50.949 God. He does not shape his conduct, his lifestyle 00:06:50.949 --> 00:06:54.730 according to the dictates of those who have no 00:06:54.730 --> 00:06:58.250 relationship with God. That's what he does not 00:06:58.250 --> 00:07:05.420 do. It's a life of separation in lifestyle. Secondly, 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:09.660 he does not live like the sinners. That is, his 00:07:09.660 --> 00:07:12.160 manner of life does not follow after those who 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.819 have missed the mark, which is the idea behind 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:18.939 the word sinners in verse 1. He does not commit 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:23.779 himself to the way that characterizes those who 00:07:23.779 --> 00:07:27.980 live for sinful pursuits. There's a difference 00:07:28.790 --> 00:07:32.610 in the daily activity of the blessed man and 00:07:32.610 --> 00:07:36.329 the sinner. He does not follow along with them. 00:07:37.110 --> 00:07:41.389 He does not stand with them in their path. That 00:07:41.389 --> 00:07:44.110 brings us to the third description of the life 00:07:44.110 --> 00:07:47.509 of separation. The blessed man does not link 00:07:47.509 --> 00:07:51.250 himself with the scoffers. That is, he does not 00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:54.529 sit in the seat of the scoffers. The idea there 00:07:54.529 --> 00:07:57.910 is to sit down with them and to partake with 00:07:57.910 --> 00:08:03.529 them. He does not associate in agreement with 00:08:03.529 --> 00:08:07.949 their mocking. He does not forge alliances with 00:08:07.949 --> 00:08:11.089 the wicked. The blessed man does not do these 00:08:11.089 --> 00:08:14.829 things. The word scoffers here refers to those 00:08:14.829 --> 00:08:20.009 who have rejected God. Those who have rejected 00:08:20.009 --> 00:08:24.750 God's revelation and who then strengthened themselves 00:08:24.750 --> 00:08:29.620 in that position of mocking by their ridicule 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:34.240 of God and His Word. And then also by seeking 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.779 the support of others who agree with them and 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:40.700 who will sit down with them. Those are the scoffers. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:46.620 Scoffers then protect their accepted line, their 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:49.840 mocking, their scoffing. And they protect that 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:53.919 accepted line with a fierce jealousy. For example, 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:58.450 ask those people, in the scientific community 00:08:58.450 --> 00:09:03.230 who believe in creationism. What they believe 00:09:03.230 --> 00:09:08.769 is not the accepted line of the mockers. And 00:09:08.769 --> 00:09:11.509 if they stand up for what they believe, they 00:09:11.509 --> 00:09:14.929 become the objects of ridicule because they do 00:09:14.929 --> 00:09:17.610 not conform to the accepted line. They will not 00:09:17.610 --> 00:09:23.330 sit down with the scoffers. Ask those who speak 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:27.460 of abstinence. as the best answer to the AIDS 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:31.100 epidemic, or for that matter to the abortion 00:09:31.100 --> 00:09:35.799 crisis. And such people are called homophiles. 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:40.419 They are called out of touch. I should have said 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:44.539 homophobic. They're out of touch. They are opposed 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:48.539 to civil rights because they do not accept the 00:09:48.539 --> 00:09:51.960 line of the mockers, which is that abstinence 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:54.669 is for another day. That's not even realistic 00:09:54.669 --> 00:09:58.629 in our culture. My point is this, that there 00:09:58.629 --> 00:10:03.090 are those who mock God and His Word. The blessed 00:10:03.090 --> 00:10:06.850 man does not sit down with them. He does not 00:10:06.850 --> 00:10:09.789 associate with them in their mocking. It does 00:10:09.789 --> 00:10:12.590 not mean that he cannot befriend them. It does 00:10:12.590 --> 00:10:14.330 not mean that he cannot reach out to them in 00:10:14.330 --> 00:10:17.850 the love of Christ. But he cannot identify with 00:10:17.850 --> 00:10:20.870 them. He cannot forge an alliance or a partnership 00:10:20.870 --> 00:10:24.899 with them. And so the blessed man in the first 00:10:24.899 --> 00:10:28.519 place is described with these negative strokes 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:32.820 of the pen of the writer. He says that the blessed 00:10:32.820 --> 00:10:36.679 man lives a life of separation. He must be careful 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:41.600 whose counsel he listens to. There are people 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:43.980 who have made tragic mistakes in their marriages 00:10:43.980 --> 00:10:48.120 because they have listened to bad counsel. They've 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:50.480 gone to other people who have had the same problems 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:52.700 they've had and haven't licked them. and they've 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:57.320 taken their advice. They've gone to counselors 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:00.700 who do not know God, who do not honor His Word, 00:11:00.840 --> 00:11:04.779 and they've taken that counsel. They have listened 00:11:04.779 --> 00:11:07.559 to people who do not trust the Lord, and the 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:10.659 result of that is that the counsel has led them 00:11:10.659 --> 00:11:14.740 astray. They have walked in that counsel and 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:18.740 are no longer the blessed one. The blessed one 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:20.799 must be careful of the counsel that he listens 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:26.419 to. The Blessed One must be careful of the lifestyle 00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:30.799 that he practices. He cannot allow his conduct 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:34.919 of life to be shaped by the ungodly system around 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:40.259 him. There will always be a certain tension in 00:11:40.259 --> 00:11:44.019 the life of the Blessed One because he lives 00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:46.340 in a world that's moving in another direction, 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:49.860 that has different standards, that thinks a different 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:56.039 way. He will not fit in with the crowd. He will 00:11:56.039 --> 00:12:02.720 not. And then the blessed one must also be careful 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:07.580 of the associations that he makes. While certainly 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:10.299 opening his heart to those who are lost and pitying 00:12:10.299 --> 00:12:12.000 them and reaching out to them in the love of 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:16.100 Christ, he must be careful that those concerns 00:12:16.100 --> 00:12:20.600 of his do not forge alliances on behalf of the 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:25.100 wicked ones. The blessed man is described in 00:12:25.100 --> 00:12:28.639 terms of a life of separation, what he does not 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.539 do. And you notice the progression. There's the 00:12:32.539 --> 00:12:36.980 walking and then the standing and finally the 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:43.000 sitting. An increasing relationship that the 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:47.360 blessed man must avoid. When men live in sin, 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:51.779 they go from bad to worse, said Spurgeon. And 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:53.720 that's what this psalmist here is suggesting 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:58.419 by the progression. First walking, then standing, 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:01.200 and finally sitting, actually, and partaking 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:04.919 with the wicked. The blessed one lives a life 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:08.460 of separation. Oh, for the grace of God in our 00:13:08.460 --> 00:13:11.580 lives, folks, that we might live this kind of 00:13:11.580 --> 00:13:14.519 a life and experience the blessedness that comes 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:17.740 to such a one. Oh, that we might know the grace 00:13:17.740 --> 00:13:20.860 of God to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. 00:13:22.509 --> 00:13:27.129 that we might be willing to go outside the camp 00:13:27.129 --> 00:13:32.070 bearing the reproach of Jesus Christ. And then 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:35.289 the life of the Blessed One is described secondly 00:13:35.289 --> 00:13:39.029 as a life of devotion. The psalmist expresses 00:13:39.029 --> 00:13:43.289 what he does. In the first place, he delights 00:13:43.289 --> 00:13:47.950 in the law of God. He finds that revelation that 00:13:47.950 --> 00:13:52.340 God has given to us to be joyous and not burdensome. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:58.299 He finds the Bible to be a treasure to him, which 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:01.759 is the thought behind delighting. He considers 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:05.860 it something precious. And because he delights 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:09.539 in the law of God, he does something more. He 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:14.539 meditates in the law of God day and night. The 00:14:14.539 --> 00:14:17.700 word meditate is an interesting one. It has the 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:22.450 idea behind it of moaning. actually. The idea 00:14:22.450 --> 00:14:27.350 of uttering under one's breath. The picture is 00:14:27.350 --> 00:14:31.590 of a person reading to himself and rereading 00:14:31.590 --> 00:14:35.049 and rereading and rereading. How blessed is the 00:14:35.049 --> 00:14:38.889 man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:42.690 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the 00:14:42.690 --> 00:14:46.990 counsel of the wicked. And each time as he reads 00:14:46.990 --> 00:14:51.529 it and utters it, The Word of God goes a bit 00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:54.769 deeper into his mind and into his heart until 00:14:54.769 --> 00:14:59.289 it comes to that point of making a change. For 00:14:59.289 --> 00:15:02.350 change also is a part of the word meditation. 00:15:04.169 --> 00:15:08.370 The Blessed One delights in the law of God. And 00:15:08.370 --> 00:15:11.470 because of that delight, he meditates in the 00:15:11.470 --> 00:15:14.740 law of God. And he allows it to trickle down 00:15:14.740 --> 00:15:17.840 into his innermost being until it strikes the 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:22.240 place where changes are made. And his life is 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:25.159 transformed because of it. There are practical 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:28.919 results through the application of that which 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:33.139 he reads and rereads and rereads. You know, when 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:35.559 you and I do that, the practical impact of it 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:39.139 is that it's hidden in our subconscious. So that 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:41.700 when we are not even consciously thinking about 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:43.960 the Word of God, the Word of God is nonetheless 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:47.259 present. And at any moment the Spirit of God 00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:50.039 may cause something that is hidden within to 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:53.539 erupt into our conscious. And then we are reminded 00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:56.399 and we deal with it and we apply it. That's the 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:01.340 point of meditation. The blessed man does not 00:16:01.340 --> 00:16:04.240 do some things. But there are some things that 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:07.840 he does do. And one of those is that he meditates. 00:16:08.110 --> 00:16:11.950 in the Word of God. He is devoted to the Word 00:16:11.950 --> 00:16:14.570 of God. The blessed man lives a life of devotion 00:16:14.570 --> 00:16:19.590 to God and His Word. And in the third place, 00:16:20.230 --> 00:16:22.590 the life of the blessed man can be described 00:16:22.590 --> 00:16:26.210 as a life of satisfaction. There are some things 00:16:26.210 --> 00:16:28.590 he does not do, there are some things he does, 00:16:28.610 --> 00:16:33.149 and now we notice what he becomes. We notice 00:16:33.149 --> 00:16:39.659 in verse 3, in the first place, a figure. A figure 00:16:39.659 --> 00:16:42.399 that is used to describe the blessed man. A figure 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:45.299 that is common to Scripture. It is that of a 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:51.399 tree. He will be like a tree, says the writer. 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:56.519 In the first place, a tree that is planted. Not 00:16:56.519 --> 00:17:00.559 a wild tree that has grown up by itself. That 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:04.599 has just taken root by chance. But a tree that 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:08.180 is planted by God. That's what a blessed one 00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:11.900 is like. He is a tree that is planted. And because 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:14.819 it is planted and cultivated, it is a tree that 00:17:14.819 --> 00:17:18.359 is nourished at its roots. For it is planted 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:23.859 by streams of water. The one who is blessed has 00:17:23.859 --> 00:17:28.599 his roots going into the rivers of grace. His 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:32.859 roots take part of the communion with Jesus Christ. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:37.099 And as a result of that, he is nourished in his 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:40.900 life. He is a tree planted, a tree nourished, 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:46.279 and a tree fruitful. For appropriate fruit is 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:49.759 produced in his life. In fact, in every season, 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:54.559 it yields its fruit in its season. Have you noticed 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:59.599 that life has its seasons? Different kinds of 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:04.450 seasons. seasons of youth, seasons of middle 00:18:04.450 --> 00:18:09.769 age, and seasons of old age. It has seasons of 00:18:09.769 --> 00:18:13.069 joy and seasons of sorrow, seasons of success, 00:18:13.769 --> 00:18:18.609 and seasons of failure. The one who is the blessed 00:18:18.609 --> 00:18:23.910 man brings forth fruit in its season. Whatever 00:18:23.910 --> 00:18:26.450 season we are passing through at the moment in 00:18:26.450 --> 00:18:29.410 our lives, there is fruit there that honors God 00:18:29.410 --> 00:18:33.230 because we are a tree planted and nourished by 00:18:33.230 --> 00:18:36.569 the rivers of God's grace. And therefore fruit 00:18:36.569 --> 00:18:41.910 comes. And then it's a tree that is healthy. 00:18:43.470 --> 00:18:47.509 Its leaf does not wither. It does not shrivel. 00:18:47.869 --> 00:18:51.619 It does not turn brown and drop off. There is 00:18:51.619 --> 00:18:55.720 no shriveling of the soul of the one who is the 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:59.079 blessed man who lives the life of separation 00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:04.920 and the life of devotion For if he does those 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:08.079 two things he also has a life of satisfaction 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:11.319 What a wonderful figure that is. Could you describe 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:15.460 your life as a tree today? Are you a tree that 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:20.680 is planted and nourished? and fruitful and healthy. 00:19:21.779 --> 00:19:24.759 That's the blessed man. And every one of us can 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:29.559 be that blessed person. Then there's a principle 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:33.160 I notice also in verse 3. In whatever he does, 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:39.319 he prospers. That is, insofar as he devotes himself 00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:44.420 to God and to the Word, he prospers. Now please 00:19:44.420 --> 00:19:47.299 understand this is not a proof text for prosperity 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:52.299 theology. proclaimed by some people today. This 00:19:52.299 --> 00:19:54.579 is not a verse that can be applied to say that 00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:56.720 God is always going to make us prosperous in 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.200 whatever we do. We'll be healthy and wealthy 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.819 and so on. Whatever He does, He prospers, says 00:20:03.819 --> 00:20:07.900 the psalmist. What does that mean? That means 00:20:07.900 --> 00:20:10.099 that as we devote ourselves to the Word of God, 00:20:10.180 --> 00:20:12.980 as we're meditating in it, as we live our lives, 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:15.660 whatever we experience in life, in that we will 00:20:15.660 --> 00:20:19.960 find a certain prospering. I think that this 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:23.039 is an Old Testament setting of Romans 8 -28, 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:26.500 actually. And we know that all things work together 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:29.740 for good. To them that love God, do those who 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:33.019 are the called according to His purpose. And 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:35.619 whatever He does, He prospers. You say, I'm not 00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:39.819 prospering today. I'm devoted to the Word. I'm 00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:42.859 living the life of separation. But somehow, I'm 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:46.789 going through burdens and battles. Well, that's 00:20:46.789 --> 00:20:48.750 part of life, isn't it? Even for the Blessed 00:20:48.750 --> 00:20:52.609 One. The point is, as you go through those burdens 00:20:52.609 --> 00:20:55.849 and through those battles, there will be a prospering 00:20:55.849 --> 00:21:02.130 of your soul. There will be profit for you. You 00:21:02.130 --> 00:21:06.809 will find some nugget of gold there that God 00:21:06.809 --> 00:21:11.170 places in your soul. You will prosper in it as 00:21:11.170 --> 00:21:17.059 the Blessed One. There will be fruit that you 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:20.079 will enjoy because of the root that goes down 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:26.920 deep into God. The blessed one will live a life 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:32.599 of satisfaction. But then we come to the last 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:34.940 part of this psalm, verses four through six, 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:37.480 in which we find words describing the wicked 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:43.589 one. The psalmist turns suddenly on his heels. 00:21:43.630 --> 00:21:48.890 And he says, not so the wicked. Not so the wicked. 00:21:49.029 --> 00:21:52.730 A brief statement on which he turns the whole 00:21:52.730 --> 00:21:56.789 theme that he's covering. The brevity of this 00:21:56.789 --> 00:21:59.869 phrase introduces the unfortunate circumstances, 00:22:00.890 --> 00:22:04.150 the unhappy situation of those who are ungodly. 00:22:05.049 --> 00:22:07.890 The point is that there is not much to be said 00:22:07.890 --> 00:22:14.259 about the life of one who is ungodly. The wicked, 00:22:14.420 --> 00:22:18.180 not so. Notice that the wicked are compared to 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:22.000 chaff. If you're raised on a farm, you know what 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:27.940 chaff is. It is the husk of the grain. It is 00:22:27.940 --> 00:22:33.700 absolutely worthless. It has no value to it. 00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:38.509 It can't be used for anything. In fact, it is 00:22:38.509 --> 00:22:42.410 so useless, it's discarded through a process 00:22:42.410 --> 00:22:45.230 of threshing or winnowing as they did in the 00:22:45.230 --> 00:22:49.009 day of the psalmist. They would often have a 00:22:49.009 --> 00:22:53.450 platform, perhaps on ground level or above ground 00:22:53.450 --> 00:22:55.470 level, where it might catch the wind somewhat 00:22:55.470 --> 00:22:59.609 better. They would place their grain harvested 00:22:59.609 --> 00:23:03.950 upon that platform. And then through some process, 00:23:04.390 --> 00:23:07.410 they would begin the winnowing of it. throwing 00:23:07.410 --> 00:23:11.109 it into the air, perhaps with a fork of some 00:23:11.109 --> 00:23:16.630 sort or a shovel or a net. They began throwing 00:23:16.630 --> 00:23:19.089 it into the air and as the grain went into the 00:23:19.089 --> 00:23:22.349 air, the husks would fall away and the wind would 00:23:22.349 --> 00:23:27.230 carry the husks away from the grain. So that 00:23:27.230 --> 00:23:30.329 the pure grain was left and the husk was discarded. 00:23:31.009 --> 00:23:34.470 That's the picture in the psalmist's mind. He 00:23:34.470 --> 00:23:38.630 says, they are like chaff which the wind drives 00:23:38.630 --> 00:23:43.349 away. So are those who are without a relationship 00:23:43.349 --> 00:23:49.950 with God. Those who persist in sin. They are 00:23:49.950 --> 00:23:53.309 like chaff that has no real use in life. And 00:23:53.309 --> 00:23:55.250 though they may live a life that is valuable 00:23:55.250 --> 00:24:00.440 to society, it is not valuable to God. Though 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:03.140 they themselves are valuable to him, their life 00:24:03.140 --> 00:24:05.980 produces nothing of value because they have no 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:09.480 relationship with God. And in the end, they will 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:13.220 be like chaff, discarded. They're compared to 00:24:13.220 --> 00:24:15.319 chaff and they're certain for judgment, says 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:19.339 the psalmist. The wicked will not stand in the 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:21.700 judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:27.000 He seems to talk here about two different kinds 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:31.440 of sinners. Those who are openly wicked the wicked 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:37.380 will not stand he says in the judgment To not 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:40.099 stand in judgment means to not to be able to 00:24:40.099 --> 00:24:45.279 stand one's ground when judgment comes It means 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:49.940 to have to be ashamed At the time of judgment 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:56.359 so as to retire or to sit down It means to stand 00:24:56.359 --> 00:25:02.819 before the judge and to have no defense. The 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:04.839 gentleman I know here in the Twin Cities is right 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:08.960 now going through a time before a judge in another 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:13.319 state accused of a crime which he says he did 00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:18.099 not commit. In fact, of which there is no proof. 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:21.140 But nonetheless, he is there with some others. 00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:25.460 He is able to go before the judge with a different 00:25:25.460 --> 00:25:30.000 attitude than the others because he knows there 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:33.160 is no proof he did not commit the crime. Therefore, 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:35.619 he's able to stand in the judgment, you see. 00:25:36.339 --> 00:25:39.539 But those who are guilty cannot stand and will 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:46.619 be embarrassed and ashamed and condemned. And 00:25:46.619 --> 00:25:49.740 so it is with those who are wicked, those who 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:53.819 have no relationship with God. In the end, they 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:56.519 will have no place to stand in the judgment of 00:25:56.519 --> 00:26:00.779 the Lord, but will flee from that judgment unto 00:26:00.779 --> 00:26:04.440 their everlasting, eternal ruin in the lake of 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:12.599 fire. He says, nor sinners in the assembly of 00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:15.799 the righteous. The thought may be here of those 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:19.410 who are covertly wicked. That is those who are 00:26:19.410 --> 00:26:23.130 self -righteous, who outwardly give some indication 00:26:23.130 --> 00:26:26.450 that they are righteous. In fact, they even enjoy 00:26:26.450 --> 00:26:28.829 assembling with the righteous. They like to go 00:26:28.829 --> 00:26:32.329 to church. They like to feel good about themselves 00:26:32.329 --> 00:26:34.650 on Sunday, that they've done something for God. 00:26:34.750 --> 00:26:37.990 And so they go to a church, and there they sing 00:26:37.990 --> 00:26:40.549 the hymns, and they go through the ritual, and 00:26:40.549 --> 00:26:43.089 they say the words, and they think they're absolved 00:26:43.089 --> 00:26:46.849 of everything. But their heart is not right with 00:26:46.849 --> 00:26:51.420 God. There is no relationship with God. And in 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:53.859 the day of judgment, the Bible says they will 00:26:53.859 --> 00:26:58.599 not stand in the assembly of the righteous. There 00:26:58.599 --> 00:27:01.259 will be found no place for them. They will be 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:04.619 missing in that day when God's true children 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:09.880 are gathered together. The wicked one is compared 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:12.640 to Chath. His life has no purpose in the end, 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:16.140 and he is certain to be judged. And notice in 00:27:16.140 --> 00:27:23.859 verse 6 that the judge is the Lord. The Lord 00:27:23.859 --> 00:27:27.400 has a different response to different people. 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:29.720 You say, that's not right. Yes, it is right. 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:33.039 Because you see, God's response to them depends 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:39.240 upon their response to Him. It is right. Those 00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:41.839 who have trusted Him. Those who have received 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:47.930 Him. to those he will give blessing. For those 00:27:47.930 --> 00:27:51.069 who have rejected him and spurned him and neglected 00:27:51.069 --> 00:27:56.369 him, to those he will give condemnation. God 00:27:56.369 --> 00:28:00.130 treats people differently according to their 00:28:00.130 --> 00:28:04.670 response to him. He is the judge of the righteous. 00:28:04.670 --> 00:28:07.269 The psalmist says he knows their way or he is 00:28:07.269 --> 00:28:10.579 knowing their way. It's a continuous thing. God 00:28:10.579 --> 00:28:14.220 perpetually, continuously cares for those who 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:17.079 are righteous. Not those who are self -righteous, 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:22.559 but those who have bowed the knee and trusted 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:26.099 the Lord and who therefore because of their faith 00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:29.420 are declared righteous by God. Those who have 00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:33.460 a relationship with Him. The Lord knows their 00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:39.099 way. The Lord cares for them with favor and grace. 00:28:39.369 --> 00:28:44.170 throughout their lives and into eternity. But 00:28:44.170 --> 00:28:47.930 on the other hand, the wicked. The way of the 00:28:47.930 --> 00:28:52.289 wicked, says the psalmist, will perish. Not only 00:28:52.289 --> 00:28:54.990 will they themselves be judged, but their very 00:28:54.990 --> 00:28:59.390 way will perish. I remember an occasion when 00:28:59.390 --> 00:29:03.029 I was driving along a road trying to get to a 00:29:03.029 --> 00:29:05.589 certain place and I thought I would take a shortcut. 00:29:07.710 --> 00:29:10.569 And so I turned on another road, which seemed 00:29:10.569 --> 00:29:12.710 very fine, but as I drove further, the highway 00:29:12.710 --> 00:29:15.509 became a gravel road. And I thought, well, so 00:29:15.509 --> 00:29:19.390 what? As I drove further, the gravel road became 00:29:19.390 --> 00:29:21.710 a dirt road, and I began to be a little concerned. 00:29:22.690 --> 00:29:25.250 And it wasn't long before that dirt road became 00:29:25.250 --> 00:29:27.789 a field road, and I was in the middle of the 00:29:27.789 --> 00:29:31.809 field with nowhere to go. You see, the road had 00:29:31.809 --> 00:29:36.960 simply run out on me. My way was ruined. There 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:40.519 was no place to turn and so it is for the wicked 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:44.319 man. He begins his life in what he thinks is 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:47.259 an interstate highway with lots of fun and lots 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:52.240 of room and life is just great for him. But as 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:54.480 he goes on further down the road, it begins to 00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:58.920 narrow a bit and more so and more so until finally 00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:03.160 it runs out on him and there's nowhere to go. 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:09.859 His way perishes. We might also compare it to 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:13.440 the wake of a ship that gleams in the moonlight 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:18.099 as it trails behind the great vessel, only to 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:22.380 be wiped away by the waves. And so is the way 00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:25.759 of the wicked. He thinks he leaves this world 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:28.859 with an indelible mark. He's made a difference, 00:30:29.380 --> 00:30:33.299 but his way perishes. And when he is gone, there 00:30:33.299 --> 00:30:36.519 is none who misses him or notices that he's absent. 00:30:36.970 --> 00:30:41.410 So is the way of the wicked. His way perishes. 00:30:45.069 --> 00:30:46.970 The marvelous thing about God is that he gives 00:30:46.970 --> 00:30:51.029 us an opportunity to choose whether we want to 00:30:51.029 --> 00:30:59.490 be the blessed one or the other one. You have 00:30:59.490 --> 00:31:03.730 the opportunity to decide which you wish to be. 00:31:04.700 --> 00:31:07.920 We see contrast in Psalm 1, the Blessed One and 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:10.299 the Wicked One. As you look at the contrast, 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:16.140 surely the only decision you can make is to be 00:31:16.140 --> 00:31:19.819 one of the Blessed Ones. One of those who bows 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:24.640 the knees to God and then receives the gift of 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:28.279 salvation and who then lives the life of separation 00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:31.940 and the life of devotion and who knows the life 00:31:31.940 --> 00:31:37.019 of satisfaction. But if you've not yet made that 00:31:37.019 --> 00:31:41.079 choice, understand that you're already moving 00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:45.019 in the other direction. For there isn't any neutral 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:50.200 ground, really. We are either the wicked one 00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:55.960 or we're the blessed one. And if you have never 00:31:55.960 --> 00:32:02.720 trusted Jesus Christ, then as far as God is concerned, 00:32:02.779 --> 00:32:06.210 today you are the other one. who is going away 00:32:06.210 --> 00:32:12.210 from God and whose way will end in ruin. But 00:32:12.210 --> 00:32:14.829 God in grace gives you an opportunity yet today 00:32:14.829 --> 00:32:18.890 to become one of the blessed ones. Will you do 00:32:18.890 --> 00:32:23.950 that by trusting the Savior this morning? Will 00:32:23.950 --> 00:32:26.549 you turn from the way that you have been going 00:32:26.549 --> 00:32:31.670 to God's way? Will you leave the broad way that 00:32:31.670 --> 00:32:34.930 leads to destruction and enter the narrow gate 00:32:34.930 --> 00:32:39.309 that leads to life. If you do, you will be one 00:32:39.309 --> 00:32:43.990 of the blessed ones. And the Lord will know your 00:32:43.990 --> 00:32:47.089 way and care for you all the way into eternity 00:32:47.089 --> 00:32:53.089 and keep you. Make that choice today. Let's pray. 00:32:57.289 --> 00:33:01.390 Now Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit will 00:33:01.390 --> 00:33:06.190 bring to the point of decision any person who 00:33:06.190 --> 00:33:07.930 has heard this message and who has not trusted 00:33:07.930 --> 00:33:14.829 the Savior. I pray, Father, that where there 00:33:14.829 --> 00:33:18.630 is this morning a conviction of sin, that there 00:33:18.630 --> 00:33:23.309 will be repentance, and that that one would turn 00:33:23.309 --> 00:33:28.069 in faith and would become the Blessed One of 00:33:28.069 --> 00:33:34.190 Psalm 1. In Jesus' name, amen.