Psalm 1: Two Ways To Live

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(1) Sermon Script

Big Idea

There are two ways to live: the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked. These two ways have two different futures, in that the righteous will prosper and the wicked will perish. We have a choice to make. Jesus Christ is the ultimate blessed man of Psalm 1, and we will be successful if we are grafted into Him.

Introduction: A Fork in the Road

Psalm 1 opens the book of Psalms. But we will find that the Psalms will open us up. We have read Psalm 1, but Psalm 1 reads us. It will ask us questions, "Who am I? What have I done? Where am I going?"

In coming to Psalm 1, we come to a fork in the road. Two highways stretch out in opposite directions before us. Two ways beckon us. For the Psalm outlines for us ‘Two ways to live’: the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked. And we will be asked again to choose which way that we want to live.

Psalm 1 is a bit like a personality profile. Psychologists sometimes do personality profiles on people. They profile the type of suspect that commits the crime, and then the police go out and look for them. Or them do them on potential clergy, to see whether they have serious personality flaws before they are inflicted upon congregations.

Psalm 1 gives us the personality profile of the righteous and the wicked. What do the wicked do all day? What do the righteous do all day?

What do the wicked do all day? (v. 1)

First, what do the wicked do all day? Verse 1:

1:1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.

The first way the righteous are defined is that they are not wicked. And the wicked are defined by their mates, their friends. We become who we hang with. Peer pressure is real, whether you’re 15 or 50. Your friends today are you tomorrow. Look at your friends, you’re looking at your future.

We have a temptation to be misled about this. We think, "I’m strong enough. I can handle my mates." But the bible is more realistic. "Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Cor 15:33). That is not to blame others for what we do. That is simply recording an observable fact.

Augustine (AD 354-430) talks about how this process of 'peer pressure' worked in his life. He recounts the influence his teenage friends had on him:

[…] among my companions I was ashamed to be less dissolute than they were. For I heard them bragging of their depravity, and the greater the sin the more they gloried in it, so that I took pleasure in the same vices not only for the enjoyment of what I did, but also for the applause I won […] I gave in more and more to vice simply in order not to be despised.’ (Augustine, Confessions, Bk II, 3 p46, Penguin edition).

We want to be liked. This led Augustine into sin. And he isn’t alone.

And in verse 1 we’ve got a little cameo of how a man plunges into wickedness. You don’t become wicked all at once. I don’t think anyone wakes up one morning and says: "My, what a beautiful day today! The sun is shining. The birds are singing. Looks like a good day to become wicked!"

Notice this progression: the man who becomes wicked first walks, and as he walks, he listens to the advice of the wicked. He walks in the counsel of the wicked. That is his walk, his manner of life. And then he slows to a stop with sinners. He stands in the way of sinners. He is brought to a standstill in the company of sinners. And then he sits down with them, in their seat, to mock with them.

He goes from listening to them to calling out with them. He has become one with them. And his journey to the dark side is complete. And this comes about through small decisions. "I think I’ll listen to him. She knows where it’s at. I’ll join them."

Who is giving you your advice? The talkback gurus, the shock jocks? Who are you hanging out with? Who is your guru? The person you reckon knows where its at? Who do you want to be liked by? Who is your in crowd, who can teach you to be popular, attractive, and desirable?

Are they people who continue to practice wickedness, and approve of those who practice the same? (Rom 1:30-32). "We can show you how to party hard. We can get the right stuff: bong on, booze up, and bury the pain. Don’t save sex for someone special. It’s fun. It’s fulfilling. It’s free. It feels right. You're ready. Lend yourself out. We’ll show you who to exclude, who to humiliate, who to hang with. We have new exiting words of derision."

And in the end they manipulate you. You are their food, feeding their own ego needs, a victim of their dysfunctional personality.

What about Jesus? Didn't he hang out with tax-collectors and sinners? Yes, but he did not walk in their counsel, join the sinners in sin, or the mockers in mocking. He changed them, they didn’t change him. Sure, copy Jesus, but on this condition: that you’re changing your friends for the better, and not that your friends are changing you for the worse. Let us not think of ourselves more highly than we ought. "Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked."

What Do The Righteous Do All Day? (v. 2)

OK then, we’ve heard about the wicked. What do the righteous do all day? Who do the righteous listen to? Verse 2:

1:2But rather, his delight is in the law of Yahweh, and on his law he meditates day and night.

The righteous person don’t listen to the wicked. The righteous person listens to Yahweh, the God of Israel, who is the God of the whole earth. And they listen to the LORD by listening to the law of the LORD, literally, the Yahweh’s ‘torah’ or ‘instruction’. They listen to God by meditating on God’s instruction. Some versions have ‘chattering’, ‘reciting’, or ‘mumbling’ here for ‘meditating’. They chew over the instruction in God’s word. They do not merely read it, but they chew the fat and get interactive with it.

Meditation here is not the 'Star Wars' idea. "Empty your mind [...] trust your feelings [...] feel the force flow through you. It is not empty your mind but fill your mind.

And notice he delights in God’s law. "Oooo … tell me more God."

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants after you (Psalm 42:1 NIV).

The righteous person seeks to be taught by God’s word.

Teach me your ways I want to walk in truth and righteousness. Teach me your ways, Let your word speak to my heart. ('Teach Me Your Ways', from St Paul’s Castle Hill CD)

But there are heaps of different ways we can meditate on God’s word. I know from experience that the 'Quiet Time' can be too quiet. Not enough chattering, too much sleeping. I reckon 'Noisy Times' are underrated: that's where we read and pray out loud, talk it out, maybe sing a song to yourself, or write out stuff. Others might think you’re mad. But if you’re like me, you’re more likely to stay on task doing something interactive. Other types of 'Noisy Time' are Home Groups, Growth Groups, or Bible Studies. So if you’re not in one, why don’t you join one.

Another way to chatter over God’s bible is to memorise verses, so that you can just run it off the tongue.

Or you can chatter with a beat. You can sing to yourself. I know heaps of Bible just by listening to Colin Buchanan songs: Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5, Isaiah 53:6, Romans 6:23. That’s why we need to sing songs that teach us the Bible, and that have catchy tunes: so that we can consider Christ and all his benefits.

Or get out your pen while you read. Often I find some books hard to understand. To get it, I’ve frequently got to do more than read it. Sometimes I need to write a little summary, or do a flow chart, or I need to draw it. You get some interesting results in Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation: a four headed lion and bear monsters covered with eyes. Or for tough verses, I look up a commentary, to find out what someone else’s idea about what a passage means. Or you can go multi-media, and listen to the Bible on audio in the car.

We need to have the Bible in our heads, on our hearts. We need to be ready with it at any time. Because, let’s face it, temptation comes at any time. The day of testing takes us by surprise. And the day might come when you can’t read the Bible anymore. Plenty of people in hospital or nursing homes can’t easily read the bible for themselves. If we want God to instruct us then, we need to meditate now.

Q: What do the wicked do all day? A: Listen to the wicked. Q: What do the righteous do all day? A: Listen to God.

And we can know that these two different ways to live have two different destinations, two alternative futures: a stairway to heaven and a highway to hell.

The Future of the Righteous (v. 3)

Let's look first at the future of the righteous in verse 3, and this is the New King James Version, which is a little more literal in this verse:

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. (NKJV)[1]

What does cultivation by God’s torah bring forth? It brings forth a tree that has been transplanted, that is well watered, filled with fruit, and always greener. In everything that he does, he will prosper. This tree prospers.

How can I live a prosperous life? The truly prosperous life is to meditate on God’s instruction day and night, to delight in God’s instruction. This is the observation the Psalmist makes. The righteous will flourish. More than that, it is the promise. Bible people will live prosperous lives.

In one sense, it is natural for the righteous to prosper. God’s instruction is the best way to live. He is our maker. He knows what is best. He doesn’t just command us on a whim. He commands us because it is good for us, because that is the way he made us. And obeying him is the way to flourish. So when most people become Christians, their standard of living improves. Some people become more educated because they have become Christians. Some people become the first person in their families buy a house, because they have become Christians. Some people remain in regular employment because they have become Christians. And so we see Jesus fulfilling his promise:

I tell you the truth,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in the present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.’ (Mark 10:29-30 NIV)

This is a promise of present prosperity, present persecutions, too, and future eternal life.

But hang on! The righteous do not always prosper, do they? We know that. We see that. The righteous suffer persecutions. Bad things happen to good people. How is this prosperity? What sort of prosperity can we expect?

Our prosperity is not one free from adversity. Now is a time of prosperity mixed with adversity. We receive a hundredfold, with persecutions. But in and through adversity, God brings prosperity. We expect prosperity through adversity: Romans 8:28:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28 NIV)

Whatever the righteous does prospers, because God is working through it all for our good. God turns all our adversity to prosperity.

So we can prosper through a bankruptcy or retrenchment, because in it God is making us more like Jesus. We can prosper through a relationship breakdown, through failure at school or work. Through failure we can succeed, because God is working for our good. Because through it all he makes us more like Christ Jesus.

We see this tension in Psalm chapter 37 verses 23 to 25:

If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread (Psalm 37:23-25)

The righteous receive present prosperity and future eternal life.

The Future of the Wicked (verses 4-5)

What about the future for the wicked? Verses 4 to 6:

1:4Not so the wicked! Rather, he is like chaff which the wind blows. 1:5For this reason, the wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 1:6Because Yahweh knows the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked shall perish

They are like chaff, the husk of wheat, the useless, insubstantial rubbish, that gets picked up by the wind. They are fluff and bubble that will not stand in the judgment. They will perish.

But here too we don’t always see this. Often we see the righteous blown like husks by the wind, and the wicked well planted, bearing fruit. Good things happen to bad people. The book of Psalms also has noticed this. For example, Psalm 10 verses 4 to 5:

The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts. His ways are always prospering. (Psalm 10:4-5 NKJV)

Or Psalm 73 verses 3 and 12 to 13:

For I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked […] Behold, these are the ungodly […] they increase in riches, Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain (Psalm 73:3, 12-13 NKJV)

The wicked prosper, and the righteous are jealous. And they might be tempted to say, "Why have I followed God? Why have I kept from sin? What do I gain from being righteous?"

The dishonest businessman doesn’t pay his taxes and gets away with it. The Christian pays his taxes and goes out of business. The dishonest student cheats and gets away with it. The Christian student studies, and fails.

It might happen. But one thing is sure. There will be a time of judgment. Perhaps in this life for this sin or that sin. But definitely on judgment day, when Jesus returns, when our whole life will be laid out before God. Verse 5 again:

The wicked will not stand up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For there is a judgment day for all our deeds. Each one of us will come before God. And we must give an account for the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad (2 Cor 5:10). There is a judgment for us. We will be judged according to our works. But not only that, but God will judge things we have hidden from people. He will expose our motives (1 Cor 4:4). He will judge the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts.

And it is at this point that it is worth asking, am I righteous? Or am I wicked? This is a profound question. Which way represents the way you are living now?

Conclusion

Let me tell you how I answer it for myself. I can say, "Yes, there is a sense where I am righteous. I am not one of the wicked. God has been changing me and working in me in these areas. In terms of evidence for being a Christian, I can see that there have been big changes in my life."

But there is another sense when I think, "No, I think I best fit with the wicked. Sometimes I know that if you could see into my heart, you would spit into my face. Thoughts, attitudes, words, deeds, that before God cannot stand. And so I cry with the Psalmist:

Do not bring your servants into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you (Ps 143:2 NIV)

I confess with the Psalmist:

My sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head (Ps 40:12 NIV).

We know that each of us must confess our own iniquity, and that we are each of us troubled by our sins (Psalm 38:18).

We know, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1).

But we also know, "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him" (Ps 32:1-2 NIV).

And the wonder is, we can know both blessings. We can know both blessings through Jesus Christ. He is the righteous one. Because Christ is our righteousness (1 Cor 1:30), we are the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor 5:21). And God gives the wonder gift of the righteousness that comes from Christ. We receive his righteousness, it comes to everyone who puts their trust in him (Rom 5:17; 3:21-4:25), so that we are credited with a righteousness that is not ours, but comes from God and alights upon faith (Phil 3:9). We are righteous in Christ. That's justification by faith only, through the imputed righteousness of Christ.

And God is also making us more and more righteousness. That is our ongoing sanctification (Rom 6:19,22), whereby we are being transformed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ day by day (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners? Who has not sat in the seat of mockers? Who continually delights in the law of the LORD? Do you meditate on God’s instructions day and night?

If you run the ‘Psalm 1 Geigacounter’ over you, do you get the green light ‘righteous’, or the red light ‘wicked’?

There are two ways to live, but only one way to ultimate prosperity. Everything else is froth and bubble, and insubstantial belly-button fluff.

Perhaps you realize today that for too long you’ve been sitting in the wrong seat. You’ve been listening to the wrong people, not to God. You haven’t delighted in God’s instructions.

Now is a God time to start walking with God. Because God can change our delights. This need not be another false start, like starting a diet, or giving up smoking, only to give up. The invitation in front of us is for a completely fresh start.

For there is a man who is planted by streams of God’s living water, who wants us to be grafted into him. Everything he does prospers. And that man is Jesus Christ. He is the vine, and you can be one of his branches. He is now grafting people into him, so that they can bear fruit, fruit that will last.

Ultimately, the blessed man of this Psalm is the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are the blessed people, who are included in him by faith. Connected to Jesus Christ, our way will prosper into eternity. Apart from Jesus Christ, we are insubstantial fluff, and our way will perish. So trust in Jesus Christ.

And maybe you’ve already trusted in Jesus Christ. You’ve long delighted in chewing over God’s good law and instruction for you. And you’ve experienced that God’s way is best, and that you have ultimately prospered when you’ve obeyed him. You’ve seen that you’ve become more like Jesus, which is the best prospering of all.

If that’s you, let’s not give up on meditating on the Law of the LORD. Let’s not envy the wicked. Rather, let us prosper in adversity, knowing that God works all things for our good.

Let’s pray.

Father,

In a group like this some of us need to be replanted. We need to walk in your ways, and to be changed from wicked to righteous. And all of us need to continue in that righteousness. Help us listen to your instruction, so that we bear fruit in time. Thank you that Jesus Christ is the true blessed man, and that he invites us to be grafted into him. Please enable each one here to be grafted into Christ by faith.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

[1] NIV translates the verse as present, but Mitchell Dahood and NKJV seem to be right to translate the converted perfect followed by yiqtol as future.

(2) English Translation

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