Psalm 1 -- Two Ways
Choose Your Path
There are two different paths.
One is the way of the righteous, our psalm also refers to it as the way of the blessed. This is God's way.
Another is the way of the wicked or sinner. Most people choose this well-worn path of life without God's presence, a life without his counsel or leadership.
"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." (Matthew 7:13)
And our psalm today sets both paths before us -- the way of the blessed and the way of the wicked.
A Machine
- God has created this world, meaning he is the author of humanity.
- He has mandated how we work. We are a system. And when specific things go in, specific things come out. Psalm 1 helps us understand what to put in and what will come out, along with what we ought to avoid.
- Our Western world has proposed our system needs is coming up short, having produced disastrous results.
Way #1 -- The Way Of The Blessed (1:1-3)
1 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;
Blessed
When was the last time we used the word to describe ourselves? We think, I can be blessed? I can have this as the description as the overarching description of my life?
It really is an astounding word. It means:
- A rewarding life
- To be supremely happy or fulfilled
- The word's use here in Psalm 1 is plural, meaning "either a multiplicity or intensification of blessings" (Boice, 15).
Starts Where We Are
- He walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers (1).
Before Christ rescued us, we were all followers. Ephesians 2:1-3 tell us we were followers of:
- The world system (Ephesians 2:1)
- The prince of the power of the air, the spirit now at work in the world (Ephesians 2:2)
And the passions of our bodies and broken minds (Ephesians 2:3).
- That was our condition when Jesus rescued us and came into our lives, but we must be careful to allow him to continue to rescue us from such a life. If we don't, we might blindly continue on in the counsel of the wicked, the way of sinners, and the seat of scoffers (1).
A Confession
Notice the downward progression -- first, the counsel of the wicked. Second, the way of sinners. Finally, the seat of scoffers. The final position is worse than the first.
The picture is a warning. If not careful, this way could suck you in.
But this is where the psalm can help us by producing honesty in us. We must first awaken to the truth we are often influenced by the ideologies and philosophies of a world system that is anti-God. Then, after realizing this truth, we must confess our powerlessness to come out of it without God's aid. We need some way to get out and have our circuitry rewired, our minds renewed, and our souls refreshed.
Do you know the counsel and way and seat of the unrighteous beckons you and has had a massive grip on your life?
Dallas Willard called these ideas and images impressed upon us in our daily experiences.
They are broadly inclusive, historically developing ways of interpreting things and events, which, for all their power, often do not emerge into the consciousness of the individual. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for most people to recognize which ideas are governing their life and how those ideas are governing their life.
Ideas and images are, accordingly, the primary focus of Satan's efforts to defeat God's purposes with and for humankind. When we are subject to his chosen ideas and images, he can take a nap or a holiday. - Dallas Willard, Renovation Of The Heart, page 98, 100
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
The Word Of God
Scripture drives out the "ideas and images" that run rampant in these minds and hearts of ours. The community Christ creates by his blood is meant to come under the authority of his word. As we delight in it, meditating on it daily, we are transformed.
It is the word we need. God's thoughts must become ours.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." (Colossians 3:16)
Celebrating Restriction
But what about the idea of delighting in law? Doesn't that seem to grate against the ideas of our society? We worship self-expression. The greatest sin of all -- in the minds of many -- is to be untrue to yourself. Whatever you feel, whatever you think, you must express it.
But the law of the Lord sets limits and restrictions upon its adherents. When we embrace the Bible, we also embrace God's rules for life. How could such a thing be our delight?
- This is where the truth of the matter comes in. Freedom at all costs is actually drudgery. But to accept the guardrails of God's design leads to the greatest version of the human experience. God's law -- his restrictions and commandments -- are exceedingly good, and good for us.
Delight
His word is so, so good, worthy of our delight.
You can't just reject the way of the world.
- Instead, you must delight in God's word, allowing it to replace all the ideas and images which came before.
Let us pray with Augustin:
Let my delight in your holy writing be pure. It couldn't have been for nothing that you wanted so many pages of dimly lit, recondite things written: those forests of words have stags native to them, who retire inward and revive themselves, walking around and grazing, reclining and ruminating. Oh, Master, make me whole, and unveil your pages. Your voice here is my delight, your voice is superior to a flood of delights. Give me what I'm in love with; I do love it, and you gave me my love for it. -- The Confessions Of Augustin
Meditate On The Scripture
- In the Bible, to meditate is not to empty the mind, but to fill the mind with God and his word.
- The word means muttering to the self in low tones. It includes memorization, study, and thoughtful consideration. It's a kind of constant reconsidering of the word, preaching its themes and truths to yourself throughout the day.
- All-day long, process the Scripture. Let it be a constant part of your thought life. Through reading, memorization, books, teachings, and conversations with others, meditate on the word.
3 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.
An Excellent Image
- The meaning of all this is apparent.
- The person who delights in God and his word is located in the best place for human flourishing. They prosper, and good results flow from their lives. In all they do -- and everything they do is allegiant to God and subservient to his word -- they prosper. This is freedom: whatever he does prospers (HCSB).
An Attractive Life
What we're witnessing here is a human whose life works. They are fruitful. They are alive. People who see someone like this want to be this type of person.
Even in a world where dryness, depression, and unhappiness abound, the righteous person can thrive.
An alive and fulfilled Christianity is one of the most beautiful things to witness. This life is not repelling like dead orthodoxy, worldly Christianity, or cultural Christianity. This life is alive. It is real and fruitful.
Results, Not Rewards
- This is the way the system is supposed to work. The word of God, along with his presence within it, goes in. And out comes life and fruitfulness. The fruit is not a divine reward, but the mere results of living the way we were meant to live.
Way #2 -- The Way Of The Wicked (1:4-5)
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
The Wicked Are Not So
- The wicked, the song goes, are not so (4). This means they do walk in all that counsel humanity is meant to reject. Resultantly, they aren't fruitful like the tree, but are like chaff that the wind drives away (4). A lifelessness and void belongs to those who refuse to build a life with God and his word at the center.
Two Forms Of Judgment
Judgment is the result (5). Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, meaning they won't make it through the judgment unscathed (5). Sinners cannot be in the everlasting congregation of the righteous (5).
Again, this is the way our human system works. Garbage in, garbage out. Or garbage in, judgment out.
We would be right when thinking of judgment, to think of its eternal nature, something which is most fully realized after the death of our bodies. Life without God today leads to a life without God in forever's tomorrow.
But this also speaks of judgment today, the results of life without God.
The promises of our cultural and political elites that things will get better are falling flat. We have endless opportunities to pursue pleasure and our desires, yet so many of us are miserable and anxious. We can traverse geography, time, and space, yet loneliness is growing. Silicon Valley's promises that a world connected by social media will be a better, more tolerant world now look ridiculous. The assurance that a globalized world will be a fairer, more peaceful and prosperous place seem shaky. These failed promises are fueling a growing sense of dissatisfaction, a desire to see things change, a hunger for a vision of personal and social life in which humans flourish. - Mark Sayers, The Reappearing Church, page 59
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." (Proverbs 14:12)
Choose Your Way (1:6)
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
In Conclusion
This call from God beckons us even today. Which way will you choose? Which path will you go down?
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock."
"And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matthew 7:24–27)