[0:00] Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 1, our sermon text for this morning. Psalm 1 is where we'll be reading.
[0:12] This is God's Word. 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.
[0:25] But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
[0:39] In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
[0:55] For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Well, we are in Psalm 1 this morning.
[1:08] The book of Psalms is really a collection of poetry. Many writers that contributed psalms in this. Solomon wrote a couple.
[1:20] A man named Asaph. Wrote many. Moses even has one attributed to him. The sons of Korah wrote many of them as well. And of course David wrote most of those that have authors.
[1:33] Many writers. Many authors of various psalms. And so it would seem that there was also then a compiler who brought these psalms together in the final form that we now have them in our Bibles.
[1:47] Carried along by the Holy Spirit to give us the psalms as we have them today. Someone who organized them just as God intended in a very purposeful way.
[1:59] And we see that when we look at the headings. Right above Psalm 1. You have a heading in your Bible. It says, book 1. There's five books in total in the Psalter.
[2:11] And these books are very much organized with purpose. They're thematic. There's a theme, a common theme within each of those books. And then each book concludes with a doxology.
[2:24] A praise to God. So we see the psalms organized in a very particular fashion to form a very particular book that we now have in our Bibles.
[2:36] Now one other thing that we need to notice. Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 are unique. There is no author given for them. They are anonymous.
[2:48] But then beginning with Psalm 3, we see that David is the author of the next seven psalms in a row. And actually you see in all of book 1, David is by far the majority author. Anything else that isn't by David is anonymous and it's only a few psalms.
[3:03] So I think there's a key there for us. This indication that whoever compiled the whole Psalter perhaps actually wrote these first two psalms as something of an introduction for us.
[3:18] Like when you go to the zoo. There's that map or that directory as you walk in. So you stop and you look and you orient yourself and you find kids where the tigers are and you find where the lions are.
[3:31] Nobody cares where the horse-like animals are. We've got to find the good ones. Well here we're orienting ourselves. There's no psalms better than others. Some illustrations only take too far.
[3:43] But Psalm 1 and 2, the big picture of the Psalter here. John MacArthur says these psalms proclaim, Welcome to worship. They are the tone setters.
[3:53] They're the gatekeepers. They introduce us to some of the most important themes that we find over and over again in the book of Psalms. And one of those themes involves contrast.
[4:07] Now we live in a world of contrasts. Light and darkness. Hot and cold. Tall and short.
[4:17] Summer and winter. Good and evil. There's much that we often learn by way of contrast. Lots of books for toddlers are written using opposites.
[4:29] We have lots of these in our household. Dr. Seuss was a genius at this. In his typical trademark rhyming way. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right.
[4:40] Feet in the morning. Feet at night. Wet foot, dry foot. High foot, low foot. Front feet, back feet. Red feet, black feet. Up feet, down feet. Here comes clown feet. When you bring the opposite of something into view, isn't it true that the contrast is striking?
[4:57] So much is learned even at a young age through the use of contrast. Well, this morning in God's word, he is going to teach us in Psalm 1 using contrast.
[5:11] He's going to give us three of them. But these contrasts aren't small and trivial things like up feet and down feet or wet feet and dry feet. These are three contrasts with eternal consequences.
[5:25] So we are not to take these contrasts lightly. We must consider them together carefully. So let's consider the first contrast in the first two verses here of Psalm 1.
[5:37] A contrast of counselors. Beginning in verse 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.
[5:51] But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. So here we have set before us to open not just this psalm, but again, the entire psalter, this man, this individual person, this godly example given to us who is blessed.
[6:15] He is happy. And not like happy because he ate a cheeseburger happy, but a deep, contented, satisfied happy. Satisfaction of his soul.
[6:27] He's enjoying favor. It's a good life that he has. And we see very quickly that there are some things he doesn't do and some things that he does do.
[6:38] There is the negative and there is the positive given to us. And it is a contrast of counselors. Who this blessed man listens to and who this blessed man does not listen to.
[6:50] Who he ignores altogether. Who he avoids. So first we see the negative. Stated for us in three ways. He does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.
[7:01] He does not stand in the way of sinners. He does not sit in the seat of scoffers. It's worth mentioning here the parallels between the book of Psalms and Proverbs.
[7:13] Both part of wisdom literature. And we see in Proverbs there is the juxtaposition of the wise and the foolish. And there are many ways the foolish person is described for us in Proverbs.
[7:28] Different titles given to the foolish person like the wicked, sinners, and scoffers. So there is some distinction clearly given to us there. But also it is more so we should not think entirely three different groups but overlap between those groups.
[7:46] Seeing from different angles, from different vantage points, those nuanced differences of those who are opposed to God. They love their sin. They hate God's righteous laws.
[7:58] They openly rebel. They mock God. They mock His ways. They mock those who live according to His ways. These are the wicked. These are sinners. These are scoffers.
[8:10] And the blessed man has nothing to do with them. He does not walk in their counsel. He does not stand in their way. He does not sit in their seats. The psalmist is painting a mental picture for us.
[8:24] The one that moves from greater degrees of motion to lesser degrees of motion. Greater degrees of physical activity to lesser degrees of physical activity.
[8:35] Walking to stopping and standing and even then sitting. It's kind of like when you go to the mall, which I know we don't go to the mall as much as we do anymore.
[8:48] But you go to the mall and you have those vendors kind of down the middle of the walkway. And perhaps some of them are rather bold and they're beckoning to you, come, come.
[8:58] You need to have your cartoon-like picture drawn. And so as you're walking by, they're trying to draw you in. And you're saying, no, no. And they say, it's only $10. It'll take five minutes.
[9:08] And so you stop. And he's pretty talented. And it's kind of funny. And I wonder what he'll emphasize on me. I'm kind of curious. And it's only $10. So you stop.
[9:20] And you stand. And you listen. And before you know it, you're sitting there. And you're having your cartoon picture drawn for you. And you see there, you go from, I'm not in the least bit interested to, well, maybe I'm a little bit interested to actually, I'm a lot interested.
[9:35] That's what's happening here in Psalm 1. It's the kind of image that the psalmist is painting for us. The foolish person walks and then stands and then sits.
[9:46] But not so the blessed man. The blessed man does not even entertain the counsel of the wicked. He walks right by. No, thank you. I have no time for your goofy portraits.
[9:59] I have no time for your sinful ways. Not persuaded in the least by the counsel of the wicked. Their words do not draw him in. He doesn't listen even for a moment to consider what they have to say.
[10:13] Peace out. See you later. I have better things to do. The blessed man, almost it seems, has listened to Solomon's words that Solomon shared with his son in the opening chapter of Proverbs.
[10:29] Solomon said to his son, My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, Come with us. Let us lie and wait for blood.
[10:39] My son, do not walk in their way with them. Hold back your feet from their paths. And that's just what the blessed man of Psalm 1 does.
[10:52] He holds his feet back from the paths of the wicked. They are enticing, but he does not consent. Tempting as it may be, he doesn't give them the time of day.
[11:04] Why not? Sin is appealing. There is pleasure to be found in sin. It's the age-old strategy of that deceitful serpent, Satan, having whispered his false counsel into Eve's ear.
[11:22] What did she do? Genesis 3, 6 says, So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.
[11:41] And she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. So Eve listened to the counsel of the wicked, and she saw that the tree was indeed a delight to the eyes.
[11:53] She saw that the tree was pleasurable. She saw there was pleasure to be found, but it was to be found in disobeying God's good command.
[12:04] The same age-old strategy is used against us each day. It was surely used against the blessed man. Delight yourself in the pleasures of sin.
[12:16] But the blessed man says no. Why not? Is it because he loves pain? Is it because the blessed man just says, I love to deprive myself of all pleasure?
[12:30] No. He has simply found a different pleasure. His delight is found elsewhere. Verse 2 says, But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
[12:47] So he is delighting himself, but not in the lusts of sin. He is delighting himself in the law of the Lord. So where is your delight, Christian?
[13:00] Where do you find your satisfaction? Where is your supreme joy to be found? It's not a matter of removing all things that might bring us pleasure in life.
[13:14] It's a matter of finding pleasure in the right thing. Psalm 119.20 says, My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
[13:29] We want to say that. My soul, it's consumed with longing. I want your rules, God.
[13:40] I want your instructions. I want your law. So often, though, our hearts can grow cold. So we also need to cry out the words found just two verses earlier in Psalm 119.
[13:57] Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Open my eyes. Lord, give me that heart that yearns for you.
[14:07] I want my delight to be in your word. I want to be consumed with longing for your rules at all times. So God, in his kindness, gives us the example of the blessed man.
[14:19] He delights himself in the law of the Lord. He delights himself not in the counsel of the wicked, not in the counsel of the godless, but in the counsel of his God, his law.
[14:33] Now we hear that word law. And we might naturally think like ten commandments. Or we hear law and we might even think, okay, all the laws that God gave, 613 laws given to Israel.
[14:51] Or maybe we hear law and we think of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, often called the book of the law. But when we read law in the wisdom literature of the Bible, we cannot just stop at the ten commandments.
[15:09] We can't just stop at the 613 laws given. We can't just stop at the first five books of the Bible. Because law often simply means God's instruction.
[15:22] All that God says. All of the commands that he's given to us in his word. Psalm 19 is an example of this. There we read these parallel statements back to back to back.
[15:34] And listen to all of the ways that the psalmist there gives us words that mean the law. The law of the Lord is perfect. The testimony of the Lord is sure.
[15:47] The precepts of the Lord are right. The commandment of the Lord is pure. The rules of the Lord are true. All communicating the same basic thing.
[16:02] Law. Testimony. Precept. Commandment. Rule. What God says. The instruction that God gives.
[16:13] His word. His directives. His counsel. That's the blessed man's delight. You open anywhere in your Bible. And there you have God's instructions for you.
[16:24] And for the Christian. They are to be our delight. I want your counsel Lord. I want what you have to say.
[16:34] I want you to tell me how to think. I want you to tell me how to live. As Psalm 119 24 says. Your testimonies are my delight. They are my counselors.
[16:48] God's testimonies. My delight. They're my counselors. I listen to them. So we have sin. That we're struggling against in our lives.
[16:59] We have challenging trials. That we're seeking to navigate. We have questions. Of meaning and purpose. And we're looking for answers. What counselors do we turn to?
[17:10] Who do we listen to? Whose advice do we seek? Whose words? Whose wisdom? Whose ways? Whose words?
[17:21] Whose words? The wicked scoff at God's word. At God's counsel. The wicked write it off. This book? You think this book will help you? You think this book has answers for you?
[17:34] We know better now. You're behind the times. We've moved beyond that. We don't need to consult some old religious text. We have better answers now. Get your head out of the sand.
[17:45] And that's what the scoffer says. What do you say? Whose counsel do you seek? The blessed man. The happy man.
[17:57] Makes the counsel of God his very delight. And what does that delight look like? Day and night he meditates.
[18:08] All the time. He meditates. Now that word meditation. It's kind of in right now. Everybody's doing it.
[18:19] The world loves the idea of meditation. But the way that the world meditates is oh so very different from what the blessed man is doing here in Psalm 1.
[18:30] For the blessed man, this isn't some attempt to channel some inner energy. This isn't some new age esoteric spirituality tapping into your true self, becoming the best version of you.
[18:46] This is not an emptying of yourself. This is a filling. The blessed man meditates on something.
[18:58] The law of God. So he isn't trying to clear his mind of all thought. He is trying to cram every nook and cranny of his mind with God's thoughts.
[19:10] Day and night. He's thinking on. He's mulling over. He's meditating and rehearsing to himself. God's instructions.
[19:21] God's commands. God's precepts. This is what David does in Psalm 16. He says, I bless the Lord who gives me counsel.
[19:33] In the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. And listen to the words of delight.
[19:46] Therefore my heart is glad. And my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your Holy One see corruption.
[20:00] It's a more delight. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. As a glad heart.
[20:13] His whole being rejoices. Pleasures forevermore. David sounds a whole lot like the blessed man of Psalm 1. Who is delighting in the law of the Lord.
[20:25] So what's the outcome of this? As he delights himself on God and on his ways. What does his life look like? Well we see that in verses 3 and 4. And we see a contrast of earthly outcomes.
[20:40] Verse 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.
[20:52] The wicked are not so. But are like chaff that the wind drives away. So what does the life of a person who delights in the law of the Lord look like?
[21:05] Well there's clearly spiritual health. Like a tree that is firmly planted in this fertile place. With roots sinking deep into the ground.
[21:16] Producing its fruit in season. That's really two things. You see he's steadfast. And we see that he's fruitful. So he's steadfast.
[21:26] The blessed man is not easily swayed. He's not easily uprooted. He's not shaken. He has a confidence about himself. But it's not a confidence in himself.
[21:38] It's a confident trust in the Lord. Psalm 125 gives us another simile. But it's not of a tree. It's of a mountain.
[21:50] Psalm 125 says, Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. Which cannot be moved. But abides forever. Is your faith firmly planted in the Lord?
[22:05] The wicked may promise great gain. As saying to throw in your lot with us. Look what you can have. The scoffers may mock your God. And they may say, Leave your Christian life behind.
[22:18] But we're unfazed. We're unmoved. We're firmly planted in the Lord. Even as Paul says in Colossians 2. Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord.
[22:31] So walk in him. Rooted. And built up in him. And established in the faith. So the blessed man is not on this constant quest.
[22:44] To find happiness in the next thing. He's not flitting about from this to that. Rushing around. Trying to find something that satisfies. No, his confidence is in the Lord.
[22:57] His identity is in him. He's fixed. He's steadfast. And he's also fruitful. Our youth listened to a lot of preaching this weekend.
[23:11] Where the speaker was struggling with his voice. I'm sorry guys. It's continuing. Struggle. He's fruitful. The fruit of righteousness. It's evident in his life.
[23:23] It shows. It's on display. Like a ripened, lush fruit. That's ready to be picked from a tree. It's the Christian life. Again, described for us in picture form.
[23:35] It's how our lives should look. Indeed, as we walk with the Spirit. As we delight in God's Word and His ways. What does Paul say will come about in our lives?
[23:48] In Galatians 6. Well, the fruit of the Spirit. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.
[23:58] Evident. Evident. In the Christian's life. Like fruit on a healthy tree ready to be picked. And what is it in Galatians 6 that Paul says we're to put to death?
[24:10] Why, it's the passions and the desires of the flesh. It's the delights of the flesh. They're crucified with Christ. Why is that? Well, not because we have no delight. But because our delight is in Christ.
[24:23] So the delights of the flesh crucified with Christ. Because my delight is found in Him. It's in His Word. It's in what He says. In His law.
[24:34] And that delight shows in our lives. That delight shows in our conduct. In the way that we live. So if it shows in the way that we live.
[24:46] It also shows in the words that we speak. Turn with me to Psalm 92. This is a parallel passage to Psalm 1. Turn to Psalm 92. There's so much similarity we see between these two.
[25:07] We'll begin reading in verse 12. Psalm 92. The righteous flourish like the palm tree. And grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
[25:20] They are planted in the house of the Lord. They flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age. They are ever full of sap and grain.
[25:33] To declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock. And there is no unrighteousness in Him. What does all that mean?
[25:44] Bearing fruit still in old age? They are ever full of sap and grain. Has anyone ever said that to you? You are full of sap and grain.
[25:55] That seriously sounds like an insult. That sounds like name calling. Something I would tell my boys. Don't call each other that. But it's not an insult. Far from it. This is good.
[26:06] A healthy tree is ever full of sap and grain. That's a fruitful tree. And that's what the Christian should look like. So what does it mean to be ever full of sap and grain?
[26:19] The very next verse tells us. To declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock. And there is no unrighteousness in Him. It's that the praises of God are ever on our lips.
[26:33] Like sap that's just oozing from the tree. So is God's praises. Just gushing forth from our lips. It's like Psalm 119, 171.
[26:45] My lips pour forth praise. It's pouring from our lips. Are you fruitful like this? In old age and in young age.
[26:58] The psalmist says they still bear fruit in old age. Because we certainly can bear fruit in young age. Children. Teens. Are you bearing fruit in young age?
[27:11] Are the praises of God on your lips? And they can only be on our lips. If we first are in Christ. Kids, if you look to Christ.
[27:22] And in looking to Christ now. Are the praises of God gushing forth from you? Kids. Are you like trees full of sap and green? God says that is the place to be.
[27:34] That's the life where to live. We want to be said. They're full of sap. And they're evergreen. So we see we're bearing fruit. Even to old age.
[27:45] Still in old age. So we see the righteous persevere to the end. They don't bear fruit for a time. And then hang it up and call it a day. And then kind of coast to the finish.
[27:56] No bearing fruit even to old age. So for those who are older. Are we still bearing fruit? Not like an athlete who says, Well, my best years were behind me.
[28:07] I rupture my Achilles when I try to play basketball now. But we're still going hard. Because we've been planted like a tree by streams of water. We're healthy in our old age.
[28:19] We're healthy. Firmly rooted and unmoved. So that's the kind of tree that the blessed person is, says Psalm 1. Productive. Bearing fruit.
[28:30] Leaves that are never withering. In all that he does, he prospers. Verse 3 says that. Now, the prosperity gospel, the false gospel of that, has led us to turn away from any idea of prosperity.
[28:49] Because the prosperity gospel is false teaching that tells us that God will guarantee for us a good life if we trust him. We'll have it for sure at all times.
[29:00] So we hear prosperity and we think, None of it. No prosperity. prosperity. But that's not what God's word says. There's not any hint of it at all.
[29:13] No, we see verse 3. In all that he does, he prospers. So in a general sense, not an always ever, because you've done something, now God has to do something kind of way.
[29:25] Not like that. Devoid of the gospel. Not that. But there is success in a general way in the life of the righteous. The blessed man prospers even in this life.
[29:38] That's the earthly outcome that ought to be expected. Now, we understand that living in this world full of sin, it's not always the outcome.
[29:50] We were given a good balance of this in even our worship. That the righteous suffer. That we are grieved by trials. We have many sorrows in this life.
[30:01] The righteous are persecuted, just as Jesus said. They persecuted me, they will persecute you. But that doesn't mean that the general rule doesn't still hold true.
[30:13] That submission to the Lord and his ways leads to life. Psalm 1 is an example of the blessed man. Let me give you another example. Turn to Psalm 128.
[30:23] If Psalm 1 is the description of the blessed man, Psalm 128 is the description of the blessed family man. This is the blessed family man in Psalm 128.
[30:43] Beginning in verse 1. Listen to how strikingly similar this is to Psalm 1. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways.
[30:55] Now, here's the result. The outcome. You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands. You shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
[31:06] Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house. Your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
[31:21] So do you see the general principle that Psalm 128 teaches? Live in obedience to God, and it shall be well with you.
[31:31] That's the principle. Now, it doesn't mean that it's always true. Many of us could share affliction in our life. We wouldn't have to think long.
[31:42] It's maybe something we feel the moment we wake up. It may be something that strikes our hearts the moment our eyes open. We are living with trials and difficulties in this life.
[31:54] But it is still true. God's way is the best way. Live His way if you desire things to go well with you.
[32:05] And even in those trials, is it not true, there is joy and contentment and satisfaction in Him. And the opposite is just as true.
[32:19] Turn back to Psalm 1. The opposite is just as true. Live in rebellion against God. Live as His enemy. And your life in general will not go well with you.
[32:31] You should expect hardship and misery and suffering. Psalm 1 says, The wicked are not so.
[32:44] The wicked who delight themselves in the pleasures of sin, which is so temporary and fleeting and transient. The wicked who love their sin, they do not prosper as the blessed man does.
[32:58] A very different picture is painted for us. It is not a tree that is firmly planted, but it is chaff driven by the wind. That leftover outer husk, after it has been separated from the grain, there is no rootedness to it.
[33:14] It is so wimpy, the wind has its way with it. It is not steadfast. It is not fruitful. There is nothing prosperous about it.
[33:25] We hear something similar, but actually expanded on in Jeremiah 17. Listen to this in verse 5. Thus says the Lord, Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
[33:43] He is like a shrub in the desert and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
[33:57] So there may be some pleasure in sin, even in this life, but often sin brings suffering. The man who does not trust in the Lord shall not see any good come.
[34:09] The promise of great gain, even in the Proverbs, the promise of great gain leads to what? God suffering and ruin and destruction. How often the book of Proverbs teaches us this.
[34:23] Just turn over to Proverbs chapter 9. Turn to Proverbs chapter 9. Folly is portrayed as a woman in Proverbs chapter 9.
[34:35] And she's calling out for men to come to her home. Calling to them to come to her home. And listen to what she says in verse 16. Oh, by the way, those men who she's calling to, what are they doing?
[34:48] They're going straight on their way. So they're like the blessed man. They're walking along and she's calling to them, trying to get them to stop and not to sit so much, but to go in, right?
[34:59] So it's the same principle as Psalm 1. And what is she saying to them? Whoever is simple, let him turn in here. And to him who lacks sense, she says, stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
[35:19] So she's saying, come and joy sin. You'll find some satisfaction here. But then what does it lead to? Verse 18. But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
[35:36] So, yes, enjoy your sin for a time, but then what does it lead to down the road? Death. You go into that house and you're captured and it leads to your destruction.
[35:51] Just take that example of adultery. Ruined marriages. Broken families. Children that are suffering because of the sin of one of their or both of their parents.
[36:03] real felt consequences whose effects splash onto the lives of those around them. That's all in this life. That's the result of that sin even now. Listen to these Proverbs.
[36:16] Just kind of a smattering of them from Proverbs chapter 10. Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the cravings of the wicked.
[36:31] On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense. The wages of the righteous lead to life.
[36:43] The gain of the wicked to sin. The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
[36:58] That too sounds a whole lot like Psalm 1. The wicked will not prosper. They are like chaff that the wind drives away.
[37:11] So do you want life to go well? The love of sin will only bring ruin even in this life and most certainly, assuredly, in the next.
[37:23] And that's the contrast that we see here now in verses 5 and 6. A contrast of eternal judgments. Psalm 1, verse 5. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
[37:40] For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. So here is the clear reminder laid out for us. There is a judgment to come.
[37:52] Every single one of us without exception will face the Lord in judgment. And Psalm 1 is doing the kindness of telling us the truth.
[38:04] Psalm 1 doesn't sugarcoat it. The wicked will not stand in the judgment. And when Psalm 1 says that, it doesn't mean, well, the wicked are exempt from the judgment. They don't have to stand.
[38:16] They get a pass. That's not what Psalm 1 is teaching us. It is saying, they will not stand with a valid defense. They will have no answer to give when they do have to stand in judgment.
[38:33] Only those who can make a defense, only those who can give an answer will stand. Revelation 6 describes the judgment of the wicked.
[38:46] The wicked are hiding themselves from God. It's a futile effort, but it's the best that they can do. They are hiding themselves from God in the mountains and in the caves. And beginning in verse 18, this is what they're saying to the mountains and to the rocks.
[39:00] Verse 18, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come and who can stand.
[39:16] Even the wicked here know, not us. We cannot stand. We have no answer to give.
[39:27] We have no defense to make. And what does Psalm 1-6 say? The way of the wicked will perish. Are you ready for judgment day?
[39:41] When you will appear before God's throne. When you're there, will you be able to stand? No one can in themselves.
[39:54] None of us have an answer to give that will satisfy, that has anything to do with us in ourselves. None of us is worthy. No one is righteous. No, not one.
[40:06] Romans 3 says, clear as day. None of us can stand. But there is one who can. You know, we've been thinking about how this Psalm, Psalm 1, applies to us this morning, and we should.
[40:20] But we cannot miss the fact that the blessed man of Psalm 1 is not first a description of just any ordinary person like you and me. It is first and foremost a description of the man, Jesus Christ.
[40:37] Any way that this Psalm applies to us is only because we have been found in Him. We are blessed because we are blessed in Christ. He is the true embodiment of the blessed man.
[40:52] Just think about it. He never once walked in the counsel of the wicked. He never, He delighted Himself in the law of the Lord.
[41:05] The words of another Psalm, Psalm 40, are fulfilled in Jesus. And do you know what Psalm 40 says about Jesus? Behold, I have come.
[41:16] In the scroll of the book it is written of me. And Jesus says, I delight to do your will, O my God. Your law is written in my heart.
[41:27] Do you remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness? Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. He was fasting all of those days.
[41:39] And we know that, of course, some of that, there was temptation from Satan. But the emphasis actually in the Gospels is the end of that time in the wilderness when Satan came to Him then.
[41:51] When He was especially hungry and so Satan thinking weak and perhaps susceptible to sin, wrongly thinking that. So what was He doing all of those 40 days?
[42:03] I think Psalm 1 tells us something of what He was doing. Day and night, meditating on the law of the Lord. Thinking on it.
[42:13] Running God's Word through His mind. Remembering it. Clinging to it. Delighting Himself in it. So that when the time of temptation came, He was ready.
[42:26] Kids, I know some of you are really good at sword drills. You can get to that Bible verse so fast and stand up ready to share it.
[42:37] But I've got to break it to you. Jesus would beat you every single time. And Jesus wouldn't even open the Bible and turn to the page because He would just say it because He meditated on it and He knew it.
[42:53] It was on His lips because it was written in His heart. Just like Psalm 40 says. So He had just the right verses to beat Satan every single time.
[43:04] He wasn't listening to Satan's wicked counsel. He wasn't going to walk in Satan's sinful ways. He wasn't going to sit and scoff right along with Satan. He was going to quote from God's Word from the book of Deuteronomy.
[43:18] Three times, Deuteronomy proceeded from His mouth in answer to every temptation. He was ready because He routinely meditated on God's Word.
[43:31] In His earthly ministry, He was firmly planted just like the blessed man of Psalm 1. We just heard it. His face was what? Set like flint to go to Jerusalem to fulfill the mission given to Him.
[43:48] He was unmoving. He was unwavering. He was steadfast. He was fruitful in every way, living a life fully pleasing to the Father, full of grace and full of truth, compassionate, merciful, but also never wavering from speaking what is true, continually bearing the fruit of righteousness.
[44:15] And as the only one to bear that fruit perfectly, Jesus is the only one able to stand at the judgment. He is righteous.
[44:27] And what does the Lord know? The Lord knows the way of the righteous. Psalm 1.6 Jesus is the only one who is just that, without sin, perfectly, wholly, entirely righteous.
[44:45] If you are not in Christ this morning, you must know a day of judgment is coming. And on that day, if you are not in him, you will not stand.
[44:57] You need a better defense than any that you could give. You need the only defense that there is. It's the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Turn to Christ today.
[45:11] You will find forgiveness in him. You will find life eternal in him. And in him, you will stand on that day of judgment.
[45:22] You will find a Savior who is ready and willing to save. So we know none of us can stand at the judgment in ourselves. None of us can. But Jesus Christ could.
[45:38] And yet, what did he do? He willingly submitted himself to the judgment that we deserved. He died the death that was ours to die.
[45:49] He bore the punishment that was ours. All of our sins placed upon him. He was counted as a sinner so that we might be counted as righteous.
[46:00] So that we might then stand at that day of judgment. That is the reality for all of us who are in Christ. And one day, Christ the king, the ski retreat made me tired, a little weepy.
[46:25] In all of his glory and splendor, brimming with love for us, with joy on his face, he's going to say these words, come.
[46:45] You who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. If you're in Christ, those words are for you.
[47:00] Blessed by my father. We will enjoy him for all of eternity. eternity. We will delight ourselves in him. Blessed for all of eternity.
[47:11] Because the blessed man, Jesus Christ, shed his blood for us. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you.
[47:26] We praise you. Our words fall short for all that you've done for us in Christ. Christ. We thank you there is life eternal found in him. There are pleasures forevermore at your right hand that you have promised to all who know your son, who have found life in him.
[47:43] So, Father, we pray even this morning that you would fill us with joy, that our cups would be overflowing, that we would be full of sap and green, declaring the praises of our God, saying, he is upright.
[47:57] There is no unrighteousness in him. Thank you, Father, that you then make us to be righteous in your son, that you look upon us as blameless, that we will be then found in him, for having trusted in him.
[48:11] So, Father, give us strength, give us endurance, make us to be people who are declaring your praises. And we pray, Father, for those who don't know you, for those who are far from you this morning, going their own way, living life on their terms, we pray, Father, that you would make Christ to be the Savior that they need, that they would see him, that they would turn to him in faith and repentance, asking him, forgive me of my sins, I need a Savior, and you're the only Savior that can truly save me.
[48:44] We thank you that you hear us, we thank you that you delight in us, for you've delighted in your son, and he is worthy of all glory, it's in his name we pray, amen.