.png)
God Has Spoken! (2 of 6)
The Way of the Righteous – ...his delight is in the law of the LORD...
Psalm 1:1-6
God Has Spoken! This is a transformational truth that we need to continually remind ourselves of.
Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) –
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Our first response when facing the challenges of our day needs to be to ask – What does the Bible say?
Psalm 1:1-6 (ESV) –
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Psalm 1:2 (ESV) –
“... his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
There are ultimately only two paths, there’s the path of the righteous and of the wicked. There’s the flourishing tree planted by streams of water and chaff. We’re called to remain rooted in the life-giving, life-sustaining Word of God. We must continually listen to, delight in and ponder God’s Word because there are always other messages competing for our attention.
1. A righteous person is described as a tree planted by streams of water.
Psalm 1:1 (ESV) –
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked...”
The pull of godless thinking is often strong and before we know it, we can find that we’ve moved from entertaining an idea, to considering it, to jumping in.
1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV) –
“Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
We need to ask – What messages am I listening to? Are they godly? What am I filling my mind with? Who is forming my thinking? Am I walking in the council of the wicked or avoiding it?
In contrast to listening to and embracing the council of the wicked, the blessed person delights in “...the law of the Lord…”
Psalm 1:2 (ESV) –
“…but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
The phrase ...his law... can mean His instruction. God Has Spoken. We need to consider the place and application of His Word (the Bible) in our lives.
Ask – Do I delight in God’s Word?
Psalm 119:97 (ESV) –
“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
Biblical meditation isn’t disengagement but engagement, its deep and prolonged reflection on what the Bible says and its application in our lives. This is pondering the truth.
Joshua 1:8 (ESV) –
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Psalm 1:3 (ESV) –
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
The picture is of a tree planted on the banks of life-giving water, the tree grows and produces fruit in season because of the nourishment provided by the water.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV) –
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The blessed person draws nourishment from the life-giving Word of God and produces fruit. If we’re not continually drawing nourishment from God’s Word, we’re like a tree facing drought and if drought continues for too long, trees die.
2. The wicked are described as worthless chaff.
Psalm 1:4 (ESV) –
“The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”
Chaff is a useless by product of the grain harvest. The contrast is huge! On the one-hand there’s a fruit bearing tree and on the other, there’s a by-product of the grain harvest that’s carried away by the wind.
We don’t want to be chaff! We don’t want to be a worthless by-product of the grain harvest that’s carried away by the wind.
Psalm 1:5 (ESV) –
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous...”
Revelation 21:8 (ESV) –
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Matthew 25:32-33 (ESV) –
“Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.”
The wicked will not be able to stand in the judgment. There are ultimately only two possibilities – trees planted by streams of water and chaff.
Psalm 1:6 (ESV) –
“...for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
3. Reflecting on all of this leads to several practical applications.
There are only two ways – there’s the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked.
1 John 5:12 (ESV) –
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
There are only two ways and our personal response to Jesus Christ determines which path each of us are on.
Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV) –
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Psalm 1:5-6 (ESV) –
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Have I received the Lord Jesus (the Son of God) as my Savior? Which path am I on?
John 14:6 (ESV) –
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The place of God’s Word in our lives is the difference between the righteous and the wicked. If we desire to be among the blessed, we need to be willing to allow the life-giving Word of God to speak to us, correct us and transform us.
Psalm 1:2 (ESV) –
“… but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Psalm 119:105 (ESV) –
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Without the light of God’s Word, we’re feeling our way around in the dark, unable to see. I pray that we all are finding motivation to go deeper into God’s Word.
Ask – Do I have a plan? Am I being intentional? Or - Am I going without spiritual food?
Listening to the wrong voices leads to disaster. It’s easy for sinful things to start sounding like a good idea because they are ‘normal’. Ask – Am I listening to and heeding the Word or the messages all around us? The council of the wicked leads into a downward and deadly spiral and the need of our day is to ask – What does the Bible say?
In the Bible we learn of our sin and need for the Savior! We read that God created us and that He loves us. We read that we’re sinners and that our sin has separated us from God.
Romans 3:23 (ESV) –
“... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...”
Romans 6:23 (ESV) –
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We’re told that God has made a way for us to be saved from the penalty of our sin and be reconciled to Him. We must personally receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. He suffered and died on the cross, shedding His blood as our substitute.
1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) –
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit...”
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (ESV) –
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”
Jesus Christ did this to freely offer rescue to all and secure it for all who receive Him. He has made a way for us to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (ESV) –
“...Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...”