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Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 1. Psalm 1. Over the next several weeks, we'll look at the first 10 Psalms, and this morning, Psalm 1. I'll read the psalm and then we'll pray and then we'll look at it in some detail. So beginning in Psalm 1 at verse 1.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall 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 ungodly shall perish. Amen.

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word of God. We thank you that it's God-breathed, given to us by the Spirit. We pray that you would guide us now, that you would illumine our minds and our hearts, that we would see the glory of Christ as revealed in this psalm. We ask that you would forgive us again for all sin and unrighteousness and everything that defiles our mind, darkens our mind. And may you indeed build us up in our most holy faith. And may you, like the voice of God that crushes the cedars of Lebanon, crush the hardened hearts of sinners, and may you draw sinners to yourself by your effectual grace, that they may see that Jesus is altogether lovely, that he is chief among 10,000, and that through him there is a full, free salvation given by God most high. And we ask this in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Well, there is much to say with reference to the Psalter, the book of Psalms. It has given encouragement and comfort and theological instruction to the people of God for thousands and thousands of years. The Psalms are ascribed to David. In Hebrews chapter four at verse seven, the author says again, he designates a certain day saying in David. He then quotes Psalm 95, which does not say of David. And so David is accredited with the Psalter itself. This doesn't mean that he composed them all, but that all were Davidic. And I think you see something like this in the New Testament. All of the New Testament epistles are apostolic, even though some of them were not written by apostles themselves.

And then the Psalter breaks down into five books. You have Book 1, Psalms 1-41, Book 2, Psalms 42-72, Book 3, Psalms 73-89, Book 4, Psalms 90-106, and then Book 5, Psalms 107-150, which indicates that there was editorial supervision with reference to the entirety of the Book of Psalms.

Now, as we come to Psalm 1, I would suggest that the modern interpretation of Psalm 1, and I don't mean modern within the last few years, but probably 100 or 200 years, is that Psalm 1 describes generally the character of godly men. That Psalm 1 basically is prescriptive for the people of God in what we should pursue and how we should live, and thus we will enjoy the blessings of God.

Now, in the history of the church, however, there have been those who I think were right in saying that Psalm 1 describes not godly men in general, but the godly man in particular, even our Lord Jesus Christ. So I want to first look at the function of Psalm 1, and then secondly give an exposition of Psalm 1. Now I suggest that Psalms 1 and 2 go together. They're inextricably connected and they serve as an introduction to the entirety of the Psalter. So the blessed man of Psalm 1 is the triumphant king of Psalm 2. And if you look at Psalms 1 and 2, you'll notice a lot of similarities, or a lot of parallels. 

First, there is the lack of a superscription in both. That means it doesn't say, of David. Though Psalm 2 is ascribed to David by the apostles in Acts chapter 4 in verse 25. And then notice as well, there's what's called an inclusio. Inclusio, as it might sound, is an inclusion. And if you look at Psalm 1-1, it starts with, blessed is the man. And you look at Psalm 2-12, and it ends with, blessed are all those who put their trust in him. 

Additionally, you'll notice that the end in both is a way that perishes. Verse 6 in Psalm 1, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 2, 12, kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way. And then finally, the godly man of Psalm 1, 3 prospers in whatever he does. And the triumphant king in Psalm 2 verses 8 and 9 is sovereign and powerful and almighty in his government of the entirety of the cosmos. 

So they are closely connected and both together function with reference to introducing the entirety of the book of Psalms. As Ash says, the kingly promises of Psalm 2 can be inherited only by a Psalm 1 man. 

And then as well, when we look at the identification of the blessed man, notice in verse 1, blessed is the man, and then there's description concerning him. There is a usefulness in terms of application to all godly men. I'm not going to argue that that's absent. It's certainly present, but it's not the primary emphasis, and I hope to explain that along the way. 

The godly man does reject ungodly men, verse 1. The godly man does delight in the law of God. He meditates upon it day and night, according to verse 2. But in terms of applying this strictly to us as godly men, And women are included because we're not morons that suggest that somehow to say man excludes woman. 

But with reference to the problem of this, there is a tendency to a self-righteous, legalistic, moralistic approach to Psalm 1. One wonders when that publican and that Pharisee went to pray, according to Luke 18, when the Pharisee prayed thus with himself, I thank you, Lord, that I'm not like other men. And then he distanced himself from this publican. I can't say emphatically that Psalm 1 is in his mind, but he probably prided himself on the fact that he doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly, he doesn't stand in the path of sinners, he doesn't sit in the seat of the scornful, especially sinners like this publican. 

as well the tendency toward a gospel-less approach to the godly man's conduct. In other words, if this is simple prescription, do this and live, I think we miss the point of the psalm and the entirety of the Psalter itself. It is a description, rather, of what Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and what Jesus is all about. 

As well, it is prescriptive in this sense. Notice in 2.12, blessed are all those who put their trust in him. We are blessed men and women, not by virtue of our obedience, but by virtue of Christ's obedience. The blessed men in general are blessed because of the blessed man in particular. The hermeneutic in this psalm is not, do this, verses 1 and 2, and live, verses 5 and 6. The hermeneutic in the psalm is, because the blessed man did this, verses 1 and 2, you by God's grace trusting in him, 2 and 12, will then find life in Psalm 1, verses 5 and 6.

As well, if you look with me again at verses 1 and 2. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.

When we come to this psalm, we don't come devoid of our understanding of the rest of scripture. We don't come absent of the reality of total depravity and total inability. Is there really anybody amongst the sons of men that can be characterized or described the way that verses 1 and 2 suggest? No. Even as believers with remaining corruption, that battle we face according to Paul in Romans 7, 14 to 25, and according to our own hearts as we struggle in this present evil age, and then Galatians 5, 17.

Can any of the redeemed sons of God say, yep, verses one and two are all about me. That's how I live, that's how I function, that's how I conduct myself. Let's just ask the question. You never take counsel of the ungodly? You never stand in the path of sinners? You never sit in the seat of the scornful? And by that, consider a prevailing sin amongst God's professing people. Gossip. To sit in the seat of the scornful is to share in the scorn of others.

Now Solomon gives us a proper understanding of this sin of gossip when he says in Ecclesiastes 7.21, also, do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. For many times also your own heart has known that even you have cursed others. So before it rises up in us to adopt the moralistic approach to Psalm 1 and say, well yeah, I'm a Psalm 1-1 man, I'm a Psalm 1-2 woman, No, you're not. I don't mean to be a big meanie. I don't mean to rain on your parade.

But even verse two, his delight is in the law of the Lord. I would suggest by the fact that we're all present here this morning, there's something about God's law. There's something about God's word that is attractive to us. But can you honestly, with judgment day honesty say, that law of God is my delight. Probably a lot of other things we delight in as well. We delight in family, we delight in jobs, we delight in home, we delight in leisure time. But for this man, this blessed man, his delight is in the law of the Lord. How do we know that? Because he meditates upon it day and night.

Again, for us who might say, well, I'm the Psalm 1 man. Really? You meditate on the law day and night? Then whence all the wickedness? Whence all the gossip? Whence all the standing in the path of sinners? Whence all the walking in the counsel of the ungodly?

The psalm is about Jesus. It is descriptive of the Son of God. It is prescripted for the adopted sons of God that we may go thou and do likewise. In other words, it's a gospel psalm. It treats properly the categories of justification and sanctification. As I said earlier, the hermeneutic is not do this, verses one and two, and receive this, verses five and six. God's demand is personal, exact, entire, and perpetual obedience to the law of God. And unless we render that up, there's no blessedness for us on that day of judgment. But praise God for this blessed man who does render up that obedience, such that all who believe in him are not only forgiven of their sins, but they receive his righteousness, it's imputed to them, and it's received by faith alone. 

Now, in terms of the psalm specifically to the blessed man, he is, in the first place, the one who rejected all ungodliness, all wickedness. Notice again verse 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. 

Who can that be said of but the author of Hebrews expounds in Hebrews 4.15. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are Yet without sin, or Hebrews 7.26, for such a high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. 

Consider our Lord as He's driven out into the wilderness by the Spirit after His baptism as the true Israel of God. That's how Matthew depicts Him in Matthew's Gospel in chapters 3 and 4. He passes through the waters of baptism, the way that Israel passed through the Red Sea. Where did they go when they got through the Red Sea? They went out to the wilderness. What happened in the wilderness? They were tempted by God, tested by God, rather. And the same with the Son of Man, the true Israel, the true vine. He is, goes through the waters of baptism, led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. And what does he do? He never, ever succumbs. He never falls. He never walks in the counsel of the ungodly. He never stands in the path of sinners. He never sits in the seat of the scornful. Christ is successful. He's the blessed man of Psalm 1. 

As well, he was the one perpetually committed to the law of the Lord. His devotion to it, his study of it, his appeal to it. Again, Matthew chapter 4, where does Jesus go when the devil comes to assault him with temptations? He goes to scripture. He goes to the written word. Just as Deuteronomy chapter 8 records the failure of Israel in the wilderness and their failure to understand that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, the true Israel of God in Matthew 4 takes out that sword and wields it against the devil. 

as well his obedience to it, the active and the passive obedience of Christ, not just as example, not just as exemplar, not just as pattern, but as substitute. He lived the life of perfect obedience to the law of God that you and I don't. He died as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world on that cross to cleanse us in his blood. We're cleansed in blood, we're clothed in righteousness. Our brother read Luke 15. That father takes that robe of righteousness and he places it on that prodigal son. By grace that son returned. It wasn't his own strength and it wasn't his own righteousness that commended him to God. 

As well, look at verse 3. Could it be a tendency, perhaps a temptation, for those of us who see ourselves in Psalm 1 to take that, verse 3, and say, well, whatever I do is going to prosper. My home will be marked by peace and harmony and unity. My job performance will be such that I stand before kings. Or is it the prosperity of the blessed man who brings many sons to glory? This is true of Jesus. 

As well, the one Jesus who is the subject, the object, the composer, the prayer, and the singer of the entire Psalter, it is fitting for the first two Psalms to introduce him. Because the subject matter of the entirety is about him, the prophecy of his suffering. We see it in John's Gospel. He speaks concerning betrayal in John 13. Where does he go? The Psalms, to prove that this was the case. When Jesus is opposed by political leaders, where Do we see that in the Apostles in Acts chapter 4? They appeal to Psalm 2, specifically verses 1 to 3.

The prophecy concerning Jesus' resurrection and exaltation, Psalm 16. Peter interprets that on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and says, this isn't David writing about David. David is dead. His tomb is with us to this day. David was writing about him.

As well, it's the content of his prayers. When Jesus is on the cross, according to Matthew 27, 46, what's his prayer? Psalm 22, 1. When Jesus is on the cross, according to Luke chapter 23, what's his prayer when he says, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit? Psalm 31, 5.

As well, the Psalter is a collection of Jesus' words. You can turn to Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 2. The Psalter is a book, a collection rather, of Jesus' words. He's trying to make the case, brethren, that if the rest of the Psalter focuses upon Jesus, again, as subject, as object, as composer, as prayer, and as singer, then why wouldn't Psalm 1 and 2? If we're being introduced to the glory of Jesus Christ, why would Psalm 1 give us a description of nobody else?

Again, you might think you're a great Psalm 1, 1 and 2 guy or girl, but you're not. Again, sorry to burst your bubble. But without Jesus being the blessed man of Psalm 1, 1, and 2, there is no salvation. There is no blessing in Psalm 1, 5, and 6.

Notice in Hebrews 2 at verse 11, for both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he, Jesus, is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I will sing praise to you." It's the author telling us. The author is telling us that what we read in Psalm 22 is the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, here am I and the children whom God has given me.

Turn over to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, again the collection of His words. Hebrews 10 at verse 5, Therefore when He came into the world, this is speaking of Christ, He said, Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come in the volume of the book it is written of me to do your will, O God. Previously saying, sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, you did not desire nor had pleasure in that, which are offered according to the law. Then he said, behold, I have come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first that he may establish the second. By that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

It's a collection of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. But as well, it's a collection of conversations between the Lord Jesus Christ and his Father. If you look specifically at chapter one in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter one. Showing, demonstrating, highlighting the superiority, the supremacy, the betterness of Jesus Christ and his new covenant versus the old covenant. Again, the argument in the book of Hebrews is not that old covenant was bad. But it served a particular function and purpose. And now that new covenant has come, the new covenant is the better covenant, founded on better promises, that affords a better hope. Why? Because we have the surety of a better covenant.

So notice in Hebrews 1 verse 5, Jesus is supreme over the angels. For to which of the angels did he ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you? Psalm 2 records a conversation between the Father and the Son. Again, that being so, Jesus' subject, object, composer, singer, and prayer of the entirety of the Psalms, why would Psalm 1 give us a description of nobody that ever existed except for Jesus Christ? It just makes biblical sense.

As well, the emphasis in Psalm 1, or just to summarize, is not a description of godly men in general. At the end of the exposition, I'm going to argue there is a prescriptive element. Those justified freely by God's grace, based on the performance of that blessed man, according to verses 1 and 2. What do we do then? We follow him. We seek to guard our hearts against the counsel of the ungodly. We don't stand in the path of sinners. We don't sit in the seat of the scornful. Rather, we turn our attention to the law of the Lord. We meditate upon it day and night. We find our delight in it, to be sure. But again, it's not an emphasis on do this and then live. It's you've lived by the grace of God through the blessedness of this man. And now that you live, live like this. That's the way we proceed in sanctification.

So when it comes to Psalm 1, the blessed man in view is Jesus. Augustine said, this statement, blessed is the man, should be understood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Luther said, the first Psalm speaks literally concerning Christ, thus, blessed is the man. He is the only blessed one and the only man from whose fullness they have all received, John 1 16, that they might be blessed because Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren, Romans 8 29.

So hopefully, perhaps I haven't convinced you. You might say, well, I still see me there. Okay, but understand I'm gonna treat Christ there. So let's turn now to the exposition. I would suggest it breaks down into three points. First, the description of the blessed man in verses one and two. Secondly, the contrast with the wicked man in verses three and four. And then finally the judgment upon all men in verses five and six. And it's all directly connected to the blessed man of verses one to three.

Now in terms of the description, we see the nature of his blessedness at the very beginning. Blessed is the man. Now the most general definition of blessed is happy. In the Beatitudes, in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus pronounces happiness or beatitude or blessing upon kingdom citizens. Now, being happy is pretty vague, pretty broad, and pretty subject to interpretation. So I would suggest that the blessedness in view specifically is one who enjoys the favor of God. It's one who enjoys the favor of God. Blessed is the man. The blessedness of this man is the means by which blessing comes upon other men. Again, 1 1, 2 12. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. Who? The blessed man of Psalm 1.

As well, the reason for his blessedness. In 1B and 2, you've got a negative statement and then a positive statement. The negative, we've already rehearsed. He walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. He doesn't stand in the path of sinners. He doesn't sit in the seat of the scornful. Now certainly this idea of walk, if you remember way back when, when we went through the book of Ephesians and our evening services, you see that emphasis by Paul on walking. Walking, Ephesians 4.1, walk in a manner that is consistent with your calling in the gospel. 4.17, don't walk as the Gentiles walk. 5.2, walk in love. 5.8, walk in light. 5.15, walk in wisdom. So the idea of walking here has to do with our conduct. The old King James renders it conversation. your orientation, the way that you live.

And again, I'm not here to condemn anybody. I'm right there with you in the morass of sinners, totally depraved and unable at one point by God's effectual grace and mercy, now in Christ Jesus, but still in that Romans 7, Galatians 5 reality, the good that I wish to do, I don't do, the evil that I don't want to do, I find myself doing, such that at the end of Romans 7 we say, who shall deliver me from this body of death?

With reference to this man, he walked not in the counsel of the ungodly. His conversation was impeccable. His conduct was impeccable. Again, the passages that I read from Hebrews 4 and Hebrews 7, holy, harmless, and undefiled, separate from sinners.

But consider his statements in John's gospel. John chapter 4, my meat, my food is to do the will of him who sent me. Other places in John's gospel he says, I always do that which is pleasing to the Father. There's no reproach upon his conduct. There's no blemish. There's no error. There's no lustful look. There's no lustful thought. There's no evil word. There's no evil action. There is no insubordination in his heart. There is no idolatry in his heart. There is no blasphemy in his heart, his mind, his thoughts, his words. There's none of that.

And he doesn't stand in the path of sinners. What was our Lord's ministry like with reference to sinners in His first coming? Yeah, he received them as we read in Luke 15. Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him to hear him. He received them in order to heal them. He received them in order to save them. He didn't receive them in order to shoot heroin with them. He didn't receive them in order to visit prostitutes with them. He didn't receive them in a way that would blemish his conduct. He didn't stand in the path of sinners.

But as well, he didn't sit in the seat of the scornful. Now when the apostles invoke Psalm 2 in Acts 4, they apply it specifically to Pontius Pilate and to Herod. Why is that? Because those men sat in the seat of the scornful. Who did they get their bad information from? The Jewish Sanhedrin. Again, another seed of the scornful. They didn't like him. They refused him. They rejected him. They resisted him. They enticed the crowds to cry, away with him, away with him, crucify him.

You see what's being described of our Lord in verses 1b and 2? Negatively, he walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. He doesn't stand in the path of sinners. He doesn't sit in the seat of the scornful. In other words, He's holy, harmless, and undefiled. He's separate from sinners. And as true man, He is sufficient for the salvation of true men.

I would argue, and I will as we close the message this morning, that we learn something of the incarnation in Psalm 1. because that divine only begotten son of Psalm 2 7 is also truly man. And that true man didn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly. He didn't stand in the path of sinners. He didn't sit in the seat of the scornful. Now positively, his delight is in the law of the Lord. It's beautiful. His delight is in the law of the Lord.

Now, when we get to that positive statement in verse 2, it's kind of contrary to what we might expect. Again, if you look at verse 1b, who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. What would we expect from the godly man? He walks in the counsel of the godly. He stands in the path of the righteous. He sits in the seat of the non-scornful. Well, it does say that, by emphasizing positively, his delight is in the law of the Lord. His delight is in the law of his father.

Now, this was a command for kings in Old Covenant Israel. Deuteronomy 17, 14 to 20, in a prophecy concerning monarchy, what was the necessity with reference to the king in Israel? When he assumed his throne, he wrote out for himself the book of the law. Just so he could say, I did it. No, the idea is, is you write it to abide by it and to govern according to it.

Now, the subsequent history in terms of the monarchy evidence says, they didn't do that. They didn't take pen to paper and write out the law of God in such a way as to be obedient to it. As well, I think backdrop here is Joshua, General Joshua, poised to go into the promised land, to kill people and to break things, to go on the conquest. What's he told? He's told to meditate in and delight upon the law of the Lord. Why? Because then your way will be prosperous. Then you will know blessing.

With reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, It refers primarily to the law of Moses, but this law extends to the whole scriptural instruction of God. So his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he meditates day and night. It means he rolls it about. It's a good way to describe meditation.

Well, if you're an Eastern spiritualist, it means to empty the mind and chant or whatever, bang tambourines in the airport. Meditation suggests evacuating the mind, not biblical meditation. Biblical meditation means to fill the mind. This is eternal life that they may know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Wherein does the man boast according to Jeremiah's prophecy in chapter nine? It's not his wisdom, it's not his riches, it's not his strength, but rather it's that he knows me, God says.

So Christ delights in the law of the Lord, and in that law he meditates upon it day and night. Now think about that, with reference to his instruction concerning messiahship. Now the hypostatic union demands, with reference to the one person of Christ, two natures, divine and human. What's true of humanity? Learning, discursively, that means reading, meditating upon, contemplating scripture, getting it in your mind and in your heart.

So imagine Jesus as a little boy reading the Psalms. He's learning, according to his humanity, what is true concerning his mission. This is why in the Gospel of Luke it tells us very specifically that he grew in wisdom and in understanding. You can't predicate that of divinity. There's no growth in wisdom or understanding on the part of God. But according to his humanity? And where in did he get this information? He got it in the synagogues, he got it from the scrolls, he got it from the scribes, he got it from the teachers. In fact, he says in Matthew's gospel in chapter 23, insofar as they tell you what Moses is saying, listen to them and do it, but don't follow their practice. Huh, he sure seemed to be in tune with what they were doing in terms of their teaching ministry. When he's at the temple from whence Luke 2 comes, what's he doing? He's discoursing with the teachers of the law. Could you imagine that? Talking to a 12-year-old or thereabouts about the things that most likely Jesus was talking about? It would be mind-blowing.

But there's a recent book out, and it's called Scripting the Son. And I remember introducing a sermon one time in John's gospel, suggesting, and this was before the book title, so I'm looking for credit here, just kidding. I am so not the blessed man of Psalm 1, 1 and 2. But I remember suggesting that very thing. It's almost like the gospel narratives have been scripted. It's almost like there was a class of prophets who spake by the Spirit concerning the life and the ministry and the suffering and the death and the resurrection and exaltation of our blessed Lord Jesus. Yeah, it was scripted. This is why he says the Son of Man must go to Jerusalem. The Son of Man must be tried at the hands of godless men. The Son of Man must be crucified, and the Son of Man must be raised again the third day. That is a divine necessity. There is a must-ness that must obtain.

So the scripting, for the son, as the son, according to his human nature, as he read scripture and learned of himself. But as well, the dependence of Jesus upon his heavenly father. Again, his battle with the devil out in Matthew chapter four. I think we read it, we say, well that's just Jesus, you know, that's great, I'm glad Jesus was able to do that. Have you ever thought about that? Being, hungry, very hungry, and having a tempter come along and say, you got the power, change these stones into bread. True humanity is true with reference to his physicality. 40 days without food, that's a tough temptation. or to prestige. Spout out, confess me, the devil says, and I will give you everything that you see here. Brethren, I suppose we fall at a lot less temptation than that.

So the Lord Christ evidences his dependence upon his father because his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he meditates day and night. The obedience of Jesus for us men and for our salvation. Of course he was taught the law. Of course he was taught the Decalogue. Of course he was taught the judicial precepts. Of course he was taught the ceremonial precepts. Of course he was taught that, why? because it was necessary for him to fulfill all righteousness, Matthew 3.15. And then of course Jesus' reliance upon the word of God. He just shows by way of his daily life that there is this dependence upon God as revealed in the sacred scriptures. It is his buoy, it is his fortress, it is his pillar, it's his ground, his strength. The Lord Jesus Christ is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord. And in that law, he meditates day and night.

And then notice, secondly, in terms of the contrast with the wicked in verses three and four. I've thought over the last several months, maybe it's just as I get older, stability is way underrated. Stability is way underrated. Stability is good. The standing joke in my house, you know, if something makes it onto my nightstand, then it's something very important. Why? Because everything's just so. Stability, order. I thrive on that. It makes me happy. Stability, order, prosperity, vitality. This is the difference between Christ and the ungodly.

Look at the particular image used in verse three. He, the blessed man of Psalm 1, 1 and 2, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.

Again, I would suggest a moralistic tendency would be if we're gonna insert ourselves in verses 1 and 2, then the reward of verse 3 in prosperity is earthly benefits. peace in my relations, job promotion. I think the prosperity in view is the giving forth fruit with reference to elect sinners that God had given him before the foundation of the world, to save them from their sins, to give them justification, to bless them with sanctification, to confer upon them at the end glorification. That's the prosperity that's in view.

John 19.30, Jesus says, it is finished. Not I am finished, not it's all over. It's a triumphant cry, it is finished. What? The work of redemption given to him by the Father. So with reference to this blessed man, he is stable, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. He is fruitful, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither. He shall save his people from their sins. He will see the travail of his soul and be satisfied, Isaiah 53.

And the prosperity of the blessed man, whatever he does shall prosper. Again, not to say that Jesus had a life of non-prosperity and misery on the face of the earth, but I think the prosperity here is conditioned by the man. The man is prosperous in all that the Father gave him to do, namely, assuming our humanity, living in this world, obeying the Father's law, going to the cross as a substitute, as a sacrifice, being put in the tomb, being raised again the third day, and ascended to the right hand of the throne of God. That's his prosperity. That's his triumph. That's his victory.

But then with reference to the wicked, verse 4, the ungodly are not so. That means they're not stable, they're not fruitful, and they're not prosperous. The ungodly may have a show of prosperity on this earth. Asaph struggles with that, Psalm 73. It really bothered me when I saw the righteous suffer and I saw the unrighteous prosper. But again, if what we're looking at is the eternal destiny of all men, which I think verses five and six sort of force us to consider, then the prosperity in view has to do with relation to God.

So the wicked or the ungodly are not so. They're like the chaff which the wind drives away. So this blessed man, he's stable, he's fruitful, he's prosperous. The ungodly, no, not at all. They're not stable, they're not fruitful, and they're not prosperous.

Remember the language of John the Baptist in Matthew chapter 3 talking about the chaff? What's going to happen to the chaff? It gets blown away. It's not the grain. It's not the good part. It's that trapping that nobody needs, nobody wants. It's not desirous to anybody or anything. And so what happens? The wicked or the ungodly are not so, but they are like the chaff which the wind drives away. here for a time and then gone. As Moses asks in Psalm 90, what's life? What is your life? If by reason of prosperity or benefit or blessing from God you have 70 or 80 years, then you fly away. You may have 70 or 80 years of earthly prosperity, 70 or 80 years of temporal, you know, blessedness, again, generally defined. You may have all that, but then you die, and then you fly away. Where are you going to fly away to? Well, the righteous, by virtue of their union with Jesus Christ, fly into the presence of God Most High. The ungodly, who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, who do not believe on Him, are like chaff, which the wind drives away. There's no lasting benefit. There's no lasting profit. There's no lasting prosperity to the ungodly. That's the psalmist's point. And again, epically introducing the entirety of the Psalms by fixating our minds upon the eternal destiny of all mankind.

Not just a general vague description of some people who try to be what verses one and two say, but know that verses one and two are true, and verse three, you need to take into consideration that unless you hitch, by God's grace, your wagon to that pony, you're gonna be like the chaff which the wind drives away.

And then that brings him finally to consider that judgment of all men. Notice, the judgment of the ungodly. Verse five, therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. And then 6b, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The ungodly shall not stand in judgment. Interestingly, in 1b, they stood against the righteous. See, God is not mocked.

I realize there are times that the people of God struggle with the providence of God. God's providence, he governs all his creatures and all their actions according to his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving. But he doesn't do everything beneficial for us overnight. Consider the children of Israel. They had been promised a land, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Where did they go? Slavery in Egypt? What about this land thing?

Brethren, it can be a tendency, perhaps maybe a temptation for us to have Asaphian moments, Psalm 73. I saw the righteous suffer. I saw the unrighteous prosper. We read these updates continually about Myanmar. It's just one bad thing after another. It hurts the heart to read it again. I get these emails, I'm sure Steve does too, they come into his email box. It's usually not, guess what, we found bags of money and lots of food. The army came in and built us a fortress. That's never it. Most recent, which we covered just an hour ago, The government knows the orphans under Peter's care that 53 of them are now of military age. So Peter's got a week to go back to court on Friday to discuss the Burmese army taking 17-year-old children and putting them on the front lines to combat. That's hard, isn't it? And we can be tempted to think, again, Asaph, there's never gonna be pangs in their death. There's never gonna be hurt or justice, rather, for them.

But the psalmist assures us, Asaph does as well, he tells us, I looked around, my foot almost slipped. It's almost like he's apologetic to have to admit all this. I saw this and it perplexed me until, until what? Until I went into the sanctuary of the Lord.

Brethren, if you struggle in this present evil age, you shouldn't miss church. You shouldn't miss preaching. You shouldn't miss psalm singing. You shouldn't miss preaching or praying. until I went into the sanctuary of the Lord, until I got God's perspective on the mass of wickedness going on. And what did he understand? You set them in slippery places. This is just a time, this is just a portion, this is just the 70 or 80 years, and then they fly away. Well, Psalm 1 brings us to that point. The ungodly, they're not so. They're like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

Notice that congregation of the righteous. Who are they? They're there because of the Psalm 1 man. They're there because of the Psalm 1, 1 and 2 man. Because of the Psalm 1, 3 man who prospers in all that he does.

Psalm 2 tells us, blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. The trust in him is that means by which we receive forgiveness and a righteousness by which there will be a congregation of the righteous that the ungodly will not stand in. They will be cast out. They will be told to depart. They will hear the words of the master himself, the man of Psalm 1, depart from me, I never knew you, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

The psalmist here is epic. He's going right for the throat, right off the bat, Psalm 1. Basically he's saying everything that follows in the next 149 psalms is of judgment day earnest. Do not disregard this book. Do not take it lightly. Do not neglect it, do not refuse it, do not resist it, but rather understand that it is the very explanation of life. It is the very explanation of the life to come. The very struggles that the people of God are besought with are all answered and all given expression, even in the Psalms of lament.

It's not wrong to cry to God. It's not wrong to agonize before God. You're not surprising him, you're not catching him off guard. We got it in Psalm 22, the voice of the Savior. Psalm 88, the voice of the Savior. The various Psalms. Again, Asaph seemed to be of a melancholy spirit, a sorrowful disposition, and one who was acquainted with the grief of this world. What does he do? He cries to God.

The psalmist is going right out of the gate for what is most important in this world. And then notice in verse six, with reference to the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous. He knows the way of the blessed man. He knows with approval the son of his love. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The Lord knows the way of the righteous, that by God's grace, through faith in Christ, will stand in the congregation of the righteous, will stand when all of the ungodly are blown away like so much chaff.

The righteous are known lovingly and intimately by God. This is the way it's used in Paul in Romans 8, 29. For whom he foreknew. That's not a God foreknowing that you and I would choose for Jesus at a tent meeting and therefore he elected us. That's not it at all. He knew us intimately. He set his love upon us according to his own good pleasure. This is the blessedness of Psalm 1.6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous. He's acquainted. He loves. We have relationship. Not because we did, verses one and two, but because his son did and he did it perfectly. That's the thrust of the psalm. That's what we need to get from Psalm 1.

Well, in conclusion, in terms of the description of the blessed man, again, incarnation, it's not Matthew 1, it's not Luke 1, but it's incarnation. because the king described in chapter two is the only begotten son of the father. That only begotten son of the father is the blessed man of Psalm 1, which cannot be explained except for the hypostatic union, the union of the two natures in the one person, divine and human. We've got the sinlessness of Christ. He walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. He doesn't stand in the path of the sinner, and he doesn't sit in the seat of the scornful. He's sinless. He's holy, harmless, undefiled. Isn't that exactly what we need?

If you look at the situation, what's our deficit? What's our problem? Well, I could use a new car. I don't mean that. I mean, what's our problem with reference to God? It's sin, it's evil, it's vileness, it's transgression, it's a lack of conformity unto that law. What do we need? We don't just need a good example. We need a good savior to come and rescue us, to take our humanity for whatever is not assumed is not healed. So he takes on our humanity so that he can heal us.

The devotion to God by Christ in verse two. His delight is in the law of the Lord. In his law, he meditates day and night. Again, answering to us. That's not us. I'm sure if I asked you all after the service in the parking lot, do you like the Bible? Yeah, I like the Bible. Do you delight in it? Yeah. Yeah. Well, okay. Do you meditate upon it day and night? Well, I need some growth in that area. Jesus had that area.

And the redemptive work of Christ, the prosperity of the blessed man of verse three is the rescue of all those who put their trust in him, according to 2.12. I would say then prescription. Description, this is true of Jesus. Prescription, this is what should be true of Jesus' followers. Again, in a gospel-related manner. Not do this, verses 1 and 2, and live. But you live based on the verses 1 and 2. Man, therefore, in your life, this is what you ought to do. Makes good sense.

This whole pattern of sanctification, consequent to justification that we see all throughout the Bible. It puts it in its proper gospel framework versus a mercenary or a legal framework wherein, oh, I've got to do this in order to be. I've got to do this in order to make it. I've got to be verses 1 and 2 in order to have the Lord know me, according to verse 6. If you haven't read Romans or Galatians, you know, I mean, Paul pretty much destroys that concept or notion in Romans and Galatians, this idea of do this and live.

The Old Testament, remember? The foot of Sinai, ratification of the old covenant. Detailed law had been given. Chapter 20, moral law, 10 commandments. Chapters 21 to 23, judicial law. This is how you flesh these things out, civil polity, which is old covenant Israel. And then 25 to 40, ceremonial law. This is how you're supposed to worship. Judicial being sort of an application of the latter table of the law. Ceremonial being an application of the former table of the law, the first table of the law. 24, what do they do? All that Yahweh has commanded, we will do. What are they doing in 32? Dancing around a golden calf. This is the problem with do this and live. You're dead in Adam. You can't do this and live. You're a sinner. Unless there's a savior, the one described in verses one and two, who brings many sons to glory, there's no knowledge of Yahweh of the way of the righteous. We depend upon Psalm 1 being predicated of Jesus Christ.

Now prescriptively, what should we look like? Well, we shouldn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Right? If everybody around us is trafficking in wickedness and evil, dare to be a Daniel, brethren. Dare to say no. I'm a disciple, a follower of the Lamb, and my master didn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly, so I'm not going to walk in the counsel of the ungodly. My master didn't stand in the path of sinners. He saved me by his grace. He saved me by his redemptive work. I don't want to stand in the path of sinners. My master didn't sit in the seat of the scornful. He was rather the subject of the scornful that sat in the Sanhedrin and that sat in the king's palace and the governor's palace.

Brethren, prescriptively, as those who've been saved, we do what the book of Revelation says in Revelation 14. We follow the lamb wherever he goes. This is good. Turn to Jeremiah the prophet, chapter 17. We're about to close. Jeremiah chapter 17. One wonders if the prophet had Psalm 1 in his mind as he composed Jeremiah 17, specifically about the wickedness of Judah.

Notice verse five, thus says the Lord, cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Sounds miserable. Kind of like the ungodly, who are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

But then conversely, notice in verse seven, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

So why is the man of 17, seven and eight blessed? Because of the man of Psalm one, one and two. By virtue of his redemptive work, by the graces of faith and repentance wherein we close with Christ, we have union with him. His stability is our stability. His fruitfulness is our fruitfulness. His prosperity, not in the same exact way, obviously. His prosperity is our prosperity. We have blessed virtue, or rather union, by virtue of our, or blessed benefit by virtue of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then I think verses nine and 10. Notice, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. Sounds like 1.6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous.

Well, hopefully you see a description of the Savior and a prescription by the Savior as the composer of this altar, a singer and prayer of them, on how then we ought to live. And if you're not a believer here this morning, I hope that you don't go away and say, you know what? My path to salvation is to walk not in the counsel of the ungodly. My path to salvation is to not stand in the path of sinners. My path of salvation is to not sit in the seat of the scornful. If that's what you heard, I apologize, because I really messed it up. The way of salvation is to look in faith to the man described in Psalm 1. Look to Jesus and you will be saved.

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this wonderful description of this holy, harmless and undefiled man. We ask that you would bless and strengthen us as we continue on in the book of Psalms, as we sing them, as we pray them, as we rehearse them and reflect upon them. God, may they get into our lifeblood. May they be those things which buoy us, which stabilize us, which help us along the narrow path. And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.