Welcome to the Susquehanna Valley Baptist Pulpit, preaching a life worth living, abundant life in Christ, and now the message. I want to talk really on a little bit more of this on why believers aren't happy. Now I want to say in a minute, I'm not expecting, in fact I would much prefer you didn't stand up and start laughing at me to prove how happy you were. That's not at all what I'm talking about. It is again a state of the heart. a blessed contentedness that exists in life. I realize at times there are things that are gonna come in life that will elicit a little bit more happiness. In fact, there are some times where I'm going through the day and I might open my phone and I have a little app that will cycle back to all the pictures that were taken on a specific day as far back as you, and I like those. And some of them remind me of memories that I had with my family. And some of them elicit literal laughter to see it. I remember we had one of the children, and it was around this time of year, and I don't know what possessed my wife to do it. I was not involved in this. In case you think it's a malicious thing, I had nothing to do with it. I just took the picture. She took one of our children and put him in a pot. with carrots and onions and stuff and took a picture of it. And that was part of the Christmas card that year with that little child sitting there with a turkey hat on in a pot with vegetables. Now, we did not put it on the stove. That's abusive. You don't do that. We left it on the floor. And I see this picture. And though this happened many years ago, I cannot see it. It's gonna come up soon. But every time I see it, it makes me laugh. Now that's not what I'm talking about when I talk about being a blessed, happy Christian. I mean that peaceful rest despite the turbulence of time. Do you realize a lot of believers today, maybe they're present, maybe some are present here this morning, are discontented in their Christian life. They're not happy. And again, I'm not speaking of some audible laughter. I'm talking about there's no contentedness in their soul. But yet they are the blessed people of God. They are to ones that Christ has died for. They are the ones that He has given the heir or the promise of the Father and the indwelling of the Spirit of God. It is to them that He has said, I go to prepare a place for you. It is to them He has said that where I am there ye shall also be. It is to them that He said, I will never leave ye nor forsake thee. It is to them that He said, I will be with you until the end of the world. It is to them that He said in Philippians chapter one, Paul writing of this, being confident of this very thing, that he would say, we're going to do good work and you shall perform in the day of Jesus. That's an awful lot of promises. It's to them that he said, I shall supply all your needs according to my riches in glory by Christ Jesus. It is to them that God said, you'll reign with me in heaven. That's an awful lot of promises. And though I dwell right now in the present, not in the future, and though because I dwell in the present, there are no doubt troubles and trials that surround me, and there are things that I'll be called upon to do next week and next year and next month that will not elicit the same blessedness in my heart, I am indeed consistently and persistently a blessed person. And yet sometimes, Christians, we fail to recognize this. I was thinking of this a moment ago. But if you Google this, you'll find it to be true. Just don't do it right now. But do you know January? You know what January is referred to by some as? Divorce month. More divorces occur in the month of January than any other month of the year. Now I'd like to stand here and tell you that marital problems are exclusively had only by lost people. But all those saved couples say amen. There's some trouble that married couples that are both believers have. And by the way, you know the root of many marital problems? It's trying to forge two sinners into a selfless relationship. That'll give you trouble enough. And yet there's many of them go through this time of year and it's the extra pressure perhaps of the holidays or it's the extra burden of this or that. And then they look at the new year and say, I'm just gonna start off different. I often wanna say, are you really now blessed and happy? Because that's a state I'm to be in every place my life is to be found. A lot of miserable and unhappy Christians. So why are they that way? Here in the Psalms, There's at least three reasons that believers do not experience the blessedness that God would have them experience. We're only gonna touch on one of them this morning, but I am gonna give you my outline for the next couple of weeks. So if you'll look at these first, I want to take you to this. Look in Proverbs. You're in Proverbs chapter two. Sometimes when you're reading through Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, it's important to realize that Bible students classify these as poetic books. It's important to note this is prose and poetry. In fact, if you were to go to the 119th Psalm, in the 119th Psalm there's 22 divisions of 8 verses. That's intentional. There's 8 sections or I should say eight portions to all of the 22 sections. And each section starts with a specific Hebrew letter. So Aleph is the first eight verses and Be is the second and so forth and so on. And in the Hebrew, each line would start with that Hebrew consonant. There are technically no vowels in Hebrew, so Aleph is a consonant, but each one of them would start with an A all the way down. Hebrew and make it into good English, the words get moved around so it doesn't format the same way, but you can go online to our website. We did a whole study through the 119th Psalm. There's handouts accompanying all that, and you'll actually be able to highlight the word that is present there, but we'll save that for another day. You can come to Ecclesiastes. You can come to Lamentations, which is another type of a poetical book. It's a funeral dirge that is given, and there's an arrangement therein to be had. But it's important to know that these words, these verses in Proverbs and Song of Solomon and Psalms are poetic. So with that in mind, part of Hebrew poetry would be to take a passage and give you a negative and positive within the same section or sometimes within the same verse that is present. So you're in Proverbs chapter 2. Let me give you two illustrations. Here's one where it's in the same section of verses. So for instance in Proverbs chapter 2, draw your eyes to verse number 21. In verse 21 it says, For the upright shall dwell in the land and the perfect shall remain in it. Note the first word of the 22nd verse which is So it's contrasting. So there's two promises and it's a poetically given thing here. In the first one it's a promise to the upright. They're going to dwell in the land. and they'll remain in it. The perfect shall remain in it. But then also there's a promise made in a negative sense to the unbeliever. The wicked's gonna be cut off from the earth and the transgressor shall be rooted out of it. Sometimes you'll find the same positive and negative in the same verse. You're in Proverbs chapter 2. Look in Proverbs chapter 15. This might be one that is very familiar to many folks, but Proverbs chapter 15. You'll see the positive and negative enveloped in the single verse. Proverbs 15 and verse 1. A soft answer turneth away wrath. There's that conjunction, isn't it? But what? Grievous words stir up anger. There's both a positive and a negative in the same thing. It's something of a prose. Now back to Psalm, you'll find this same type development, grammatical development in Psalm 1. And you'll find it in this sense. First, the psalmist says, he says, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the godly, that's the first, walketh not in the counsel of the godly, nor sitteth in the seat of the way of the sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. And then you come to verse number two and three. But his delight is in the law of God. Number two, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Number three, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Here's part of that number three, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His lease also shall not wither and whatsoever he do shall prosper. So you've almost got a plus and a negative there in the same passage to the ultimate promise that is given of this blessed man. And as you move down through this, this morning we're going to deal with the idea of one of the first reasons the psalmist gives that causes unhappiness and the means by which a child of God can elicit some happiness and the power and work of the Almighty God. So what is our means? The focus this morning will be on walketh not and the counsel of the godly and then the promise by which we can have some blessedness. His delight is in the law of God. Those are our two focus. In the next week we'll perhaps look at standeth in the way of sinners and meditating in the law of God. And then the final portion will be sitteth in the seat of the scornful. and bring forth his fruit in season. Otherwise, I'd have to catch these and we'd have a whole bunch of negative messages and then a whole bunch of positive ones. And I'd rather have a little, what I'm saying is I'd rather have my hot dog with the sauerkraut instead of completely separate. That's what I'm telling you. So we're gonna look here at the scriptures, this first one. Why is it that the child of God isn't happy? Well, it may be because he's walking. in the counsel of the ungodly. Let's break that phrase down a little bit. The word walketh. You'll note there Bible students that the word walketh ends with what suffix? So what does that denote to us? It's continual. It's continual. And if you're really interested in the Hebrew, if you went in the Hebrew, it's denoted as continual. That's why you have the ETH. They didn't speak like this in the 1600s. No, rather it's added to help you read and understand the Word of God. He walketh. It's a continual thing. At first glance, when you think of the word walking, you might think of something that fashions a direction or movement. Perhaps we might say with something like this, I'm going on a walk, or I'm walking around the block, or I'm walking to the grocery store or from the car or in the parking lot. Yet, if you really want the Biblical understanding of what walketh means as it's conveyed in Psalm 1 here in this passage, we should cross-reference it with Scripture and it leads us to a much more focused understanding of what God meant when He said, walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. In fact, the first time that you'll find the word walketh anywhere in the Scriptures, that Hebrew word, the first time you'll find it is in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 8. Let me read this to you. And you write it down in your notes. But listen, it says, and they, it's talking about Adam and Eve. They heard the voice of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and Eve, Adam and his wife, hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you ever saw a voice walking? Does your voice walk? I've heard of voices booming. I've heard of voices silencing. I've heard of voices praising, shouting, and singing, but walking? The demonstrative view of this deals not expressively just with the idea of a direct movement. It has an ongoing means of fellowship and association with someone. I mean at first gaze here, a walk is not in the counsel of the ungodly. The idea you could say is I should not go on a walk with somebody that's lost. But that's not the conveyance of the word. It also means this word walketh to have fellowship with it. In the garden, the Lord Jesus Christ, His voice was wooing for Adam and Eve to have fellowship with Him. You know of this. You ever heard someone speak so kindly and politely to you that they invoked you to movement? Yes. You might hear these very words in the Lord Jesus' in Matthew where he says, come unto me. That's a voice that walketh. That's a voice that's invoking movement on my behalf. That's a voice that says, come unto me in fellowship and know that I am God. That's the voice of God that was speaking in the garden. The second time you'll find it is Genesis chapter five. And Enoch walked with God And he was not, for God took him. I would ask that same question. What did it mean that Enoch walked with God? The scripture is very clear that no man at any time has seen God. How do you walk with that which is unseen? He's not talking simply in a matter of pitter-patter. He's not talking about the idea that Enoch was walking and the Lord was right by his side. Rather, the idea is he was lockstep in fellowship with the Almighty God. It's communion, it's fellowship that is given. In Genesis chapter 6 and verse 9, you'll find the same expression that Noah walked with God. In Leviticus chapter 26 and verse 12, the Lord promised, and I will walk among you and will be your God and ye shall be my people. Again, the invocation that is given, the focus that is made is not walking in the sense of putting the left foot in front of the right foot or the right foot in front of the left foot. The idea is a harmony together. moving, if you will, to the counsel and fellowship and the association of the Almighty God. I would note that one of the reasons that the child of God fails in happiness in this life is because they're looking for fellowship everywhere but the one place that can give them blessedness. We have in many churches today a whole level of codependency. where believers are tethered to a priest or a preacher saying something kind to them and that uplifts their spirit. And then Monday, their spirits are downtrodden. And Tuesday, their spirit is downtrodden. And by Wednesday, they need to hear from somebody else that everything's gonna be okay. And then Thursday and then Friday, and by the time we get to Sunday, we're exasperated. My friend, you can walk with God and he will be your ever strength and confidence and courage as well. That's what it meant. And keep in mind that when Noah is walking with God, How many believers were present? There was a whole world that was frustrating unto God because their wickedness was only continual evil. In fact, that's what chapter six says. It talks about their imagination of their heart. The imagination equal in form with meditation was completely evil. And there's one man, Noah, and three sons and a wife and their wives that find grace with God. Where was he going to turn to find an encouraging word from God? Was he gonna go to the local town square? And could there he be given some encouragement about the things of God that would make him happier in the Lord? No, his happiness was directly tied to his association and fellowship. May I give you just a key component here? When you get the place in your life and you find that misery pleasant in your heart and there's not the pleasantness of soul and happiness, ready, chalk it up. You're not in sync with fellowship with God. You're not walking with the very God of heaven. What sustained Noah in an evil day was the fact that regardless of how dark the world is, it had no bearing whatsoever to his walk with God. Now may I tell you this as well? No matter how dark this world is, No matter how isolated you may feel at work, no matter how unhappy, happy your home life may be, rest in this. None of those things have any bearing to your walk with God. I'm thankful that I'm not walking. I do not get to walk closer to God when things are going good or closer to God when things are going bad. If I deviate in my walking with God, it is just that, my deviation. He's ever willing. He's ever desirous. Just as Enoch and Noah walked with God, just as God promised Israel that He would walk among them, so that promise is given of us. It's interesting that word there I mentioned in the ETH. In Psalm 58 verse 7, listen to this. Let them melt away as waters which run, and it's the same word used slightly differently, continually. My walk with God can and should be continual. Walketh. Association, fellowship. Notice the second part of this. What causes unhappiness? Walketh. Walking, I should say, in one sense, in the counsel of the ungodly, causes unhappiness. Notice this word, counsel. This word, counsel, is used about 85 times in your Old Testament. This word, counsel, it means to provide direction or advice. If you will, it's a course of action, a plan. In Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 28, for they, the Lord says, are a nation void of counsel. Neither is there any understanding in them. In 2 Samuel chapter 16, David had a counselor who became, his name was Ahithophel, who became irate at David and hatched a plan with Absalom, David's son, to overthrow David as king. Reading in 2 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 20, then said Absalom to Ahithophel, give counsel among you what we shall do. Job makes interesting responses about the advice or the plans or the course of action of the unbeliever. In Job 21 and 16, he says, lo, their good is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked is far from me. That probably was a delivering thing to his soul. The fact in all the trials of his life, he did not lean on the counsel of the ungodly to get truth. You know, we live in this post-modernistic, sometimes referred to as a post-modernal age, and it's a hard thing to convey what truth is. You know, you'll hear folks today in the public media and online, this is what I believe. This is my truth. What is your truth? You know the end result of a plurality of truth? No absolutes. You want to know why there's an ever-growing section among Americans that cannot identify? Do you want to know why we have Supreme Court justices that cannot identify what a woman is? Because there's no, in their mind, absolute truth. Absolute truths mandate absolutes. The counsel of the wicked has to come to the point of knowing or believing in their heart that there's a little truth in everything. And if you believe it with all your heart, it must be true. You know, as a child, I believed a lot of things with all my heart. Did it make it true? Not at all. One great saving grace that Job had throughout all his trials is he would not, he entrenched in his heart that he would not keep the counsel of the wicked. In fact, he says it not only in verse 16 of chapter 21, but in Job 22 and verse 18. They fill up their house with good things, but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. If you want to know one thing that will rob you of your spiritual happiness, not communing with God, but rather adhering to the counsel of the ungodly. He'll go on in Psalm 13 and verse 2 in Proverbs chapter 8 and verse 14 is a great promise. In Proverbs chapter 8 you have a picture of God as eternal wisdom. In Proverbs chapter 8 he says, counsel is mine, sound wisdom. I am understanding, I have strength. In Jeremiah chapter 32 and verse 19, speaking of the Lord, he's great in counsel, mighty in work. For thine eyes are open unto the ways of the Son of Man to give everyone according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doing. You don't know where good counsel comes from? The truths of the Word of God. I don't know that I included this in my notes, but a lot of times when you deal with counsel, some want to say, well, in the multitude of counselors there is wisdom. You know, that is a truth. It is. But it has to come with an understanding of the whole truths of the Word of God. Not all counselors are equal. If you're seeking to do the will of God, The last place that you want to seek wisdom on what the will of God is, is from the ungodly. They'll never advise you to do what God has clearly declared you to do. You know, that's some of the perplexity that comes with the will of God. I don't know what the will of God is. I don't know what the will of God is. Well, I promise you, if you go ask people that are confused, you're going to get a confused answer. If you go ask the ungodly who deny and reject the authority and existence of the Almighty God, you're not going to get any clarity theirs either. Yes, in the multitude of counselors there's wisdom, but you know what there is in the multitude of ungodly counselors? You know what there is? Confusion and every evil work. But you go find someone that's walked with God, like Enoch to Noah, a friend, they'll have no problem whatsoever articulating to you with great clarity what the will of God is. You know, today, a lot of believers wondering what their marriage should look like or wondering what their home should look like or wondering on so many critical things of life, we run to Facebook and read the comments. We Google it and we YouTube it. And perhaps there's someone there that is given an element of truth, but I promise you for every ounce of truth, there's a pound of ungodly philosophy that permeates the airwaves. You want to rob yourself of blessed happiness in the Christian life? Walk with the ungodly. Walk, I should say, in the counsel of the ungodly. Speaking of this phrase, that last word, what does it mean, ungodly? Well, cross-referencing again, this is a very well-used passage in the Old Testament. It's used, I don't know, maybe 260 plus times. And it can mean a series of things. For instance, someone is classified as ungodly if they are morally evil. So if one lives a life that is directly opposed to the commandments of God, they are considered ungodly. In that sense, it would be applied to those that are condemned. It would be applied to those that are criminal. In a sense, those that are wicked. Essentially, it can be used as one that is guilty of a crime or guilty of a sin. But there's another place in which you'll find the word ungodly used, as it's used in Psalm 1, that means more than just criminally negligent. It means more than just someone that has sinned. It's one that, if you will, is hostile towards God. the wicked, the ungodly, synonymous, hostile towards God. For instance, in Genesis chapter 18 and verse 23, Abraham is praying. You know, Abraham was one that walked with God. He sees far off a city named Sodom and Gomorrah. And he knows that Lot's there, and the Lord had already delivered unto Abraham his plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He said, the stench of their wickedness, it fills the heavens. And Abraham begins to pray and in verse 23 it's part of his prayer. It says, And Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? What made those in Sodom and Gomorrah wicked? It certainly wasn't because they lacked hospitality as some would have you believe today. What made them wicked wasn't because they had broken the laws of their city. Though that is one sense the Old Testament uses is classifying someone as wicked. What made them wicked was not the fact that they had singularly broken part of God's law which had yet even been penned for man in the New Testament. It wasn't even part of that broken natural law. You know what made them wicked? That they had broken the law and in doing so the law that they had broke made them in such a way absolute hostility towards God. And you can cross-reference that with Romans chapter 1 and the very lifestyle that was lived by those inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah is equated in Romans chapter 1 to a reprobate mind, meaning a mind that has rejected. You see, to be wicked in connotation with Psalm 1 is to be hostile towards God. You'll find it present again in Numbers chapter 16 and verse 26 and Deuteronomy chapter 25 and verse 2. In Psalm 7 and verse 9 he says, And Psalm 9 and verse 17, Essentially to walk in the counsel of the godly is to receive advice from the wicked as to the direction of life. And this wisdom to which they convey, this counsel to which they give is vain, godless, hopeless counsel. And the child of God that fills their heart, mind, and ears with this godlessness will soon find themselves unhappy despite their salvation. I want to say just a word about the wisdom, if you will, the counsel, as the scripture says, of the ungodly. What kind of counsel would a wicked, ungodly person give? Well, the scripture mentions some of those. In fact, there's a significant number of them found in Psalm 37. But let me just share a few of them with you. In Psalm 10, What is the counsel of the ungodly? Here's what it sounds like. In verse 3, the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire and blesseth the covetous whom the Lord abhorreth. Doesn't that sound like counsel you as a child of God don't need in your life? I'll read that again. It's Psalm 10 in verse 3. The wicked boasteth of his heart's desire. You want to know what ungodly counsel in 20-25 sounds like? all the things I've gotta have in life to be happy. It boasteth of its heart's desire. And what's the next phrase there in verse number three? He says, and blesseth the covetous. You ever notice that who the world looks up to with prestige in life is often very far from whom God treasures? Let me give you a case in point. This world system It praises the one that stands up for his own rights. If someone's gregarious and loud and, you know, nobody, they're going to be a doormat to nobody. They stand up for their own rights. That's what the world says. Boy, they're a champion of civil rights. And isn't interesting in 1 Peter, it says the Lord prizes a meek and quiet spirit. You couldn't get more different if you tried. The wicked's counsel is an abhorrent thing to God. Psalm 11 and verse 5, the Lord trieth the righteous, but the wicked in him that loveth violence his soul hateth. You want to know another piece of counsel that you'll get from the ungodly if you're walking in the counsel of ungodly? Violence. And why not? The wicked will have a lot in common with their father, the devil. And that same one in John 10, that cometh not but to kill and to still destroy, the counsel of the ungodly, the wicked person, dealeth to violence. And today, in this time that we live, oh, there's a lot of loud voices that often speak of violence. That's not God's means, but that is the way of the wicked. In Psalm 32 and verse 10, the result of a godless counsel, many sorrows shall be to the wicked. But he that trusts in the Lord's mercy shall encompass him about." In Psalm 37, verse 12 and 21, let me read these to you. Well, you know what? Let's turn there. I don't want to do you the disservice of me having to read all these to you, but I also want to maximize our time that we have together. You're in Psalm 1, just hold your place there, but look in Psalm 37. In fact, more than 10 years ago, our church memorized all 40 of these verses. Last year in the supplemental reading, many of you joined and memorized this entire 40 passage. But look, if you will, at Psalm 37. And just by way of biblical study, what's that first word? A fretting Christian isn't a happy Christian. A fretting Christian is not recognizing the blessings that come from the Almighty God. Well, draw your eyes to verse number 12. Here's more danger in the counsel of the ungodly. And that word ungodly and wicked synonyms is the same Hebrew word. The wicked plotteth against the just and gnasheth upon him on his teeth. You want to go for the wicked for counsel? They're going to chew the godly up with their teeth. It's interesting. You go to the wicked for counsel, they're going to tell you all the reasons that say folks aren't good people. That's what they're going to do. Why? Because they're wicked and they're going to gnash on godly people. We live in a time today where that, well maybe it's always been that way. Where you can get real excited about a Sunday service that you might have had or a devotion that you might have had and you go and you're sharing it with a co-worker and they're gnashing upon you. That's a very line of demarcation that divides the godly from the ungodly, the wicked from the un-wicked. Notice if you will in verse 21. Want to know the counsel of the ungodly? The wicked borroweth and payeth not again. You want a synonym for that? They'll steal. What's the counsel of the ungodly? Well, you know, you don't have to pay it back. Everybody understands. You can default on your student loans. You can default on this. You can default on that. It doesn't really matter. Somebody else's. That's what the wicked tell you. The Bible even Christian has to say thou shalt not. So go get your counsel from the ungodly and they're going to tell you to conflict yourself with the very express precept of the commandment of God's law. After all, it doesn't even matter. I had one of the teenagers told me this past summer, said, Preacher, guess what I learned at work? I said, what'd you learn at work? He said, I need to become a smoker. And I said, why do you need to become a smoker? He said, I've noticed that smokers get like 15 work breaks during the day. I'm only allowed two, but smokers somehow get more. So that's what I'm thinking about doing. I said, really? He said, no, I just, it bothers me. And I looked at him, I said, what do you call that? I said, what? I said, all those breaks are getting paid for they're not supposed to have. There's actually a New Testament word, it's called pure loining. Theft by unlawful taking. That's the way the wicked sees life. Notice the promise of verse 21, the righteous sheweth mercy and giveth. You know, I'll be honest with you, friend. That is a paradox in itself. It doesn't say that he has substance. Some of the greatest givers, examples of giving in all the scriptures, come not out of abundance, but out of limitations. The widow and her mite. That's the smallest coin of imperial Rome. It's a fraction of a penny. It wasn't much. She gave out of her abundance, though she had little. Verse 21, she showed mercy and giveth. I'll give you another example. I think of 2 Corinthians chapter 8. The churches of Macedonia gave to their power, yea, beyond their power. They were facing great crisis in life that justified from wicked counsel that they should never give and never do anything, but they gave beyond their measure, dependent upon their God. Yes. You look at the history of the New Testament age, a lot has been done with God's faithful people. Verse 21, that shew mercy and giveth. Let me just tag this quickly. Unashamedly tag it. We think of our benevolence fund we're talking about. We're all living under inflation. And that's not changing tomorrow. We're all dealing with rising cost of goods. and tariffs and things that I don't think any of us directly actually would say, yes, I love how my life is now that political things have happened. We're all living under the same banner. But I would note the counsel of the godly, he lendeth unto the poor and he trusts the Lord to restore that. He showeth mercy and giveth. I must hurry. Note their wisdom. in Psalm 50 and verse 16. Some of you may have experienced this. You come to a dilemma in life, a major decision. You talk to a co-worker and you say, well, the Bible says, oh, come on now. I don't want to hear that mess. as the mark of the ungodly. A child of God, do you want to sear your happiness in your life? Walk, have fellowship, and gain advice from those that are opposed to God. There's a number of other verses. Let me just share this last one with you. In Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 5, the thoughts of the righteous are right, but the counsel of the wicked I don't care how many there are of it. I don't care if it's a whole host, a massive population. The counsel of the wicked are deceit. Time will not allow us, but we could speak about the end of the wicked. He casteth him to the ground. He will destroy him. Those commands, prophecies that God made upon the wicked. The happy, blessed state of a child of God is ruined when they fellowship in the counsel of the ungodly. Their peace, their hope, their outlook are ultimately diminished. And the wicked all the while fail and reject their Creator. But there's the positive side, isn't it? What can I do to maintain it? Well, notice if you will, verse 2. His delight is in the law of God. His delight, that is His pleasure, His purpose, His longing, that which is desirable, in the 16th Psalm, but to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom all my delight, in whom is all my delight. In Psalm 111 and verse 2, the works of the Lord are great sought out of them that have pleasure therein. It must be noted that the first step to spiritual restlessness and unhappiness starts with fellowship with the counsel of the ungodly. From there it progresses onwards. Hencely, there are overt warnings in scriptures. For instance, in Psalm 101, that we're to set no wicked thing before our eye. In Proverbs chapter 13 and 20, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 14, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? Proverbs 15 and verse 22, without counsel purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counselors they are established. This is why if I'm going to delight in the law of God, it is of a necessity that I put the counsel of the wicked in its correct place. This is even true as it deals with carnally minded believers. That's why in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 11, but I've written unto you now not to keep company. If any man that is called a brother, be a fornicator or covetous or idolater or a raider or a drunkard extortioner with such a one, don't eat. Why? What's the counsel? If they're called a brother, yes. There are some believers, well, at least they're called believers, and they'll talk about how they love Jesus, and they'll talk about how God's working in their life. But then you begin to listen to their counsel, and then you begin to analyze your life, and you find out that their faults and their counsel and their life are in direct opposition to the truths of the word of God. God said, that individual, I don't care if they're saved or not, leave them be. The cost for you to be part of them is going to be ruinous to your spiritual well-being. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 11. Much damage has been done by Christians that lack discernment. And they go about and find someone else and says, well, they're a Christian. But again, their life and their thoughts and their counsel are not biblically accurate. But I like them. We like the same ball club. We like to wear our hair the same way. We like the same colors. We like the same decorations. We like all this. And pretty soon we've opened our hearts door to someone that is godless. Do you know what's going to happen? Well the scripture shares that in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 33. Be not deceived. Evil communication, corrupt good manners. A believer that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, but delights in the law of God, will apply biblical truth to his daily life. He'll let God's world be his direction. When he veers from this truth, he will fall, but he will return to the word of truth, and it will raise him yet again. The psalmist in 37, Psalm verse 23 and 24, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be what? utterly cast down for the Lord upholded him with his hand." Listen, that's a beautiful narrative of scripture. We can talk of Abraham walking with God. Was Abraham a perfect man? No. But Abraham didn't listen to godless people. Yes, his heart's just like my heart. He could be drawn away of his own lust and enticed. And there were times he did sin on several accounts and they're recorded in scriptures. But you know what? He repented and he returned to the truths of word of God and God restored him every time to fellowship. The same could be seen of the life of Noah. The same could be seen of the life of David. And you can chase that all the way through the beloved apostle Peter if you so like to do in scriptures. For the promise of Proverbs 24 and verse 16 rings clearly. For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again. But the wicked shall fall into mischief, and there is no record of him rising. When the mind of the new man is under constant barrage with carnal, sensual wisdom, we could consider James chapter 3 wisdom that is from below that is devilish and sensualist, they will soon embrace those actions. It is why we must guard the mind and the counsel that will influence the mind and the direction of life. Romans chapter 8 speaks of this matter when it says, For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit mind, if you will, the things of the Spirit. Ungodliness will never, ever, ever prosper. In the end, ungodly people's lives are deemed as chafe. That is, they are worthless, lifeless, useless, and one day they will be driven away by the wind of God's judgment. They will not dwell with the people of God and the congregation of the righteous. For this reason, a believer must necessitate daily a renewing of their mind and striving to keep themselves pure. For the only fullness of joy can come in the presence of Christ. I conclude with this psalm, Psalm 16 and verse 11. Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. And at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Why aren't Christians happy? In part, they have forsaken the promises of Psalm 1. And they began to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, rather than delighting in the law of God. Let's stand with me, Father. Thank you for listening. If you would like to contact us, please write us at P.O. Box 126-541-Harrisburg, PA 17112 and visit our website at www.svbcpa.org. Until next time!