Perhaps we could turn to God's Word this morning. We want to look at a very familiar passage in the Old Testament. This is a passage of God's Word that I learned as a wee boy. And the strange thing was, I was taught it by a man who knew not the Lord as his Savior. You see, whenever I was younger, even in the schools, God's Word still had that place of prominence. God's Word was still respected and seen as something special. And so I had to learn psalm number one whenever I was in school. And it's a precious psalm. And we want to turn to it this morning and perhaps we can read what God's Word has to say. Psalm number one. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinner in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Amen. Perhaps, just as our Bible is open, we turn to the Lord and ask for His help in what we have to say. Dear Lord, we thank Thee for the words that we have read here in Psalm 1. And we know, Lord, that this psalm is precious to many in the meeting this morning. Yet, O Lord, we fear that there are those in the meeting today that in this psalm also really, although the words might look well, sound well, mean nothing to them. We ask, O Lord, as we look at what we have before us, that Thou will anoint us with Thy Holy Spirit. We would say as one of old, O Lord, examine my heart, that there be any wicked way in me. Lord, expose it today, that Lord, we would have no, Lord, sin hidden in our hearts as we stand before the folk here. Cleanse us afresh, we pray, in the blood of Jesus Christ. Fill us with Thy Spirit. Give us help from on high. For we ask it all in our Savior's name. Amen. This morning, within the six short verses that we have just read, of this most familiar of psalms, there are but two groups of people spoken of. All humanity will fall within either one of these two groups. My, we would even want to narrow it down this morning and bring it focus to our own attention and say all of we who are gathered in this morning will fall within one of these two groups. And regardless of how you think yourself to be this morning and regardless of what categories in this life that you would aspire to belong to. As far as this chapter is concerned, as far as God's Word is concerned, God only sees two people, two types, two groups here this morning. This morning you will either be gathered in as one of the godly, or you will be here as one of the ungodly. The content of this chapter has been pretty much evenly divided between these two factions. The godly and the ungodly. And this morning, for a few moments, I want to concentrate on God and what He has to say about the godly man. And we want to look at a few characteristics that are found regarding this man here. And we want you to examine your heart today to see if you fit the characteristics of the godly man. And then tonight, God willing, we'll come back again and we will look at the other side. We will take this psalm and we will look at the ungodly man and see what God has to say there. But this morning, we simply want to look at three characteristics of the godly man found in this psalm, psalm number one. And they are very simple. First of all, this morning, the godly man is blessed. From the very outset, from the very first word of the very first line of the very first chapter of this very full book We see that the godly man is blessed. Blessed is the man. And my, not through my knowledge of any sort of Hebrew, but I have been well informed by the commentators that this is just not a one-off blessing. What good is a one-off blessing when we need the Lord every day? This is a blessing of plurality. This is blessing after blessing after blessing. It's a multitude of blessings. Many a blessing, and it has been given to those who are saved, washed in the blood, and made justified and right before God this morning. You know, even that simple statement, being justified by God, that's a blessing in itself today. We who were once full of wounds and bruises and putrefying sores that lay open and gaping and we had no time for God, We who once were so full of self and sin, from the sole of the foot even to the head, there was no soundness within us and we didn't even know it. And yet here today, we find ourselves sitting in God's house. We're saved. We're changed. We're at peace with God. Is that you today? Do you know what it is to be made righteous in the sight of God through the Lord Jesus Christ? My, if you are, you are blessed today. What a blessing it is to be a child of God, to realize, study it yourself, get the depths of it. You're blessed if you receive it. We want to look a little closer at this first verse because we notice that much of the blessing, indeed all of the blessing, found here for this godly man, it's received. Because he is living in obedience and adherence to God's Word. Verse 1, we see it as threefold. Firstly, he walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. You see it there for yourself. Walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. And the word to walk here simply means to go along with something. And in this case, it was to listen and to go along with ungodly advice and ungodly counsel. Now, to fully understand this idea of walking in the counsel of the ungodly, we would want to use a very simple illustration. Simple enough for the boys and girls even to understand. My mum and dad was to say to you, maybe after lunch today, come on, we're going for a walk. But you wouldn't expect mum and dad to go this direction and the children to go this direction. Whenever the suggestion is that we would go for a walk, it would be to go together. But listen when it comes to the godly man in this verse. It isn't all about togetherness. He isn't to go along with the counsel of the ungodly. Rather, he is to take his counsel from a much wiser source, is to listen to God over and over. Doesn't the Bible tell us, over and over, doesn't it say, He that have ears, let him hear. Listen only by hearing and then adhering to God's Word, to the counsel of God, will the man of God ever walk aright and be blessed. Because the Bible says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. But not only that, secondly, the blessing for the godly man comes because he is not standing. Not standing in the way of sinners. And you know, whenever I was a wee boy, I always thought that this part of the verse meant that he was standing and blocking the way. Not standing in the way of sinners. But no, it doesn't mean that. Rather, it means to stand in the same way as the sinner and to take the same position, to be in the same place as the sinner. Now, although we are all sinners here, we are all different. We are all sinners ourselves, but some of us are different because we are sinners that have been blood-washed, blood-bought, forgiven, quickened by the Holy Spirit. made new creatures in Christ. And we're not to be herded again with those that love evil. We're not to be associated with. We're not to be gathered with them. We're not to be there. We're not to be coerced. We're not to be bullied. We're not to stand with such. And we're not to stand as they stand. Because there's no blessing for the child of God in such a place. But thirdly and quickly, regarding the blessing, the blessing of the godly man, he's also blessed because he's careful where he sits. He's not sitting in the seat of the scornful this morning. You see, there are two things in this part of the verse. You see, there is the sitting down and there is the scornful. And you know, being seated here in this verse is a wonderful picture Why can you see it in your own mind's eye? It's a picture of someone who is able to relax and to be at ease and to sit in their surroundings. You know, whenever I was a little boy, we used to listen to a radio program at home. And I'd be right up close to the mesh. I was always fascinated by the wee line and the light and all of it. But my, there was one program. And I used to sit up tight to the radio. And I was all ears. And some of you might remember the program. It was called, Listen With Mother. There's a few there who are able to say it quietly there, so we're on the right lines. Listen With Mother. And you know when it came to that bit in the program, where there was going to be a story told. The announcer would say to the boys and girls, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. And my eye would have sat on my wee seat, making myself all comfy, getting myself ready for a great story. But can I tell you this morning, you see when it comes to this verse in God's Word that's before us, the godly should never feel at ease. Nor should he be able to sit comfortably amongst the scornful, whether it be in the flesh with men and women around you, or whether it be in the programming that you allow to come through your television. You should not be able to sit at ease and in comfort. Why not? Because some of that conversation will mock at sin. Some of that conversation will mock heaven, will make little of hell. Some of that conversation will mock the loving name of our Saviour, and will also pour scorn upon our Heavenly Father. And the man and the woman of God should have more sense than to sit and to listen and to yea, endure such blasphemy. Do you know the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament? We are told about him. He preferred to sit alone rather than to sit with those that would mock in the assembly. Because he knew there would be blessing sitting alone with the Lord than being in with this crowd. We need to move on this morning. And not only is the character of the godly man characterized by that word, blessing. But secondly, the godly man is characterized by the book, the Bible. Look there and you will see in verse 2, we see that it is described as the law of the Lord. And firstly, there are three little thoughts. Firstly, this book, God's law, once condemned this man. once condemned the godly man prior to his conversion. And it was words that were sharper than the guillotine that hung over his head. You see, this book, God's Word, God's Law, exposes men. It exposes women. It shows us for what we are. It unmasks us. It shows us in our true colors. We're sinners condemned and clean. That's what God's Word shows us. And you see, in the light of God's Word, in the light of Scripture's all smugness, all self-righteousness, all our doings and our works are swept away. And within the pages of Scripture, man, you and me, we're found out to be sinners from the very day of our birth You and me, we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. So why is it that this man is able to delight in the law of the Lord with all this condemnation before him? My, it would be hard to delight in such things. The list that we have just pronounced. But we see, secondly, that the man of God delights in the law of the Lord because it doesn't condemn him anymore. You read through God's Word as this man did, and you will discover something. You see, this man discovered as he turned the pages that within it was written the very thing that was required of him to be reconciled to God. He was to live perfectly, keep the law without any deviation. And that would satisfy God. But how can we do that? How could we ever delight even to contemplate that? There's not one of us can keep this law. There's not one of us has that perfect obedience within our twisted nature. We break it continually. Yes, we have even broke it today. But you know, despair was turned into delight. As he read on, Because he found, unlike himself, that there was one within this book that did keep the law perfectly. The Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God. And my, he even took more delight when he read on and he discovered, though violent, sinful, though all his efforts made came to nothing, he could be invested with all the righteousness, all that Christ had could be his. There was a way back to God. Christ had redeemed a people. They that believe in Him would be saved. Oh, little wonder He delighted in the law of the Lord. My dear friend, this morning, if you're not delighting in this book and you're saved, there's something wrong. If you don't open the pages of Scripture and see what Christ has done for you and see what you are before Him, and wonder at the miracle of salvation. There is something wrong. And I want to touch on this little thing thirdly. Briefly. Because there may be some in this meeting. Dear friends, I don't know your heart. But there may be some in this meeting today and the delight is gone. God's Word is a closed book. You don't delight in God's Word. Because that delight has been replaced with disregard. disregard of God's Word. And you know, I have found out, I have experienced myself, that when a person gets away from God, when there is that coldness of heart, when there is that hankering again after the world and sin and all the rest of it, it can be traced right back to a Bible that's closed in a home. can be traced right back to God's Word not being open. Communication with the Lord has been broken off. I wonder, is that you today? Are you far from the Lord? Has sin come into your lives? Is God's Word a closed book? This morning is the first time you have opened it this week and yet you profess to love the Lord. Do you know there was a wee boy one day And mummy was cleaning out and tidying up. And she pulled out a box from under the bed. And there on the top of the box was a Bible. And the wee boy said to mummy, is that, is that God's book? Oh yes, that's God's book said mummy, alright. And the wee boy with sincerity said to his mother, maybe we should give it back for we don't use it. Is that you this morning? Is God's Word closed before you this morning? Let me tell you, you need to confess those sins that have set you aside. You need to get back to God's Word. You need to once again make it the rule of your life. The thing that you should delight in. The thing that you should meditate on day and night. You're starving yourself of the daily bread. It should be your song when you're in joy. It should be your solace when you're at downcast. You know, there's a lovely little chorus that the boys and girls sing. And you know, there's great teaching in some of our choruses. And it simply says this, the B-I-B-L-E. Yes, that's the book for me. I read and pray and then obey. The B-I-B-L-E. Dear child of God, we need to study this book. We need to learn this book. We need to give time to this book. We need to obey this book. My then we'll love this book. We need to meditate on this book. We need to get acquainted with this book. Then we'll delight in this book. What a book it is! The gift of God to us, given to us in our mother tongue. And my, you and I both know that there are those of like precious faith, and they don't have the privilege that we have, and they've only got snippets of God's Word, and yet we've got it all. And our time is in everything else but God's Word. Oh, may we find ourselves today delighting in God's Word, the gift He's given us. I will make much of it these days. I will do nothing in the battlefield without God's Word. How can you defend the Lord if you know nothing about Him? How can you defend Him? How can you quote the Scriptures if you don't even read it? But not only is the godly man characterized by the blessing, not only is he characterized by the precious book, but thirdly and lastly, the godly man this morning He's characterized. He's seen as a bar. Look there in verse 3. See what it says for yourself. He is like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Here we see the godly man. He's depicted as a tree. As a flourishing bar. And the first thing I want you to notice is this. He's not a wild tree. He's been planted. He's been planted. He's been cultivated. He's been chosen. He's been set in place by the hand of God. You know, there's great security in this. There's great comfort for the child of God in this. Do you know why? There's coming a day, in the not too distant future, God's Word tells us something. God's Word tells us in Matthew 15 and 13, God's Word says, That every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. If you're not planted as this tree has been planted, one day you will be rooted up. Oh, tonight or today you may feel that somehow you're flourishing all is well. You're doing your best. Problems? No problems. But if you're not saved today, God's Word tells us that one day God will uproot you and cast you away. But not only is the tree planted by God, but look where He plants it. In a particular place. It is planted by the rivers of water. God has put us in the best possible place. A place where we'll grow. A place where we'll prosper. A place where all our needs will be supplied. Let me tell you, dear believer, you have no excuse this morning for being wizened up and dry and brittle and dead. Having drank at the living waters, God has then placed you by the river. Where all your needs will be supplied. You'll be strengthened there. You'll grow there. You'll be vigorous there. You'll be vibrant there. My, as this verse goes on to tell us, there'll be fruit there. That leads us on to our third thought. Not only was this tree planted, not only was it planted in a particular place, but this by-produced, brought forth produce, read there in verse 3, you'll see it yourself, says, it bringeth forth his fruit in a season. Now I got to think about this fruit. And I got to start thinking about those that are young in the faith. And the attitude that perhaps sometimes we have towards those, that perhaps they are only saved a short time. And we expect too much of them. Those that would be more mature in the faith. Longer on the road. Some people say longer in the road. Longer on the road. You need to be patient with those who are just saved. You need to nurture them and not be knocking them. You need to realize that the fruit takes time to come. God's Word says it comes in its due season. Brethren and sisters, we need to be helpful to the weaker brother, to those young in the faith. We need to be helpful, not hurtful, because we'll be a hindrance. But then I got to think about this fruit a bit more. And I came to the conclusion that the fruit on this tree, planted by the rivers of water, this fruit has got to be of more benefit to those around about than to the tree itself. Others would come along, they would see the plump ripe fruit, they would be attracted to it, they would be desirous to have it. Is this not how it should be for the man and woman of God in this service today? growing in grace? Are we not to display those fruits of the Spirit spoken of in Galatians? The love, the joy, the peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, and so on? You know, believe it or not, these characteristics, these fruits of the Spirit, they are actually attractive to the unsaved. Did you know that? Those who are unsaved are empty. They are discontent. They are longing for something to satisfy. And when they see what the godly have had in a strange way, they want it. I often have heard those giving a word of testimony. And they testify that perhaps they've come to God's house for the first time. Maybe in a long time. Maybe ever. And as they sit in God's house, and they hear the hymns being sang, and they see the joy and the zeal in the faces of God's people, what do they say within themselves? These people have something that I don't have, and I want it. You've heard this. Do you know what they're seeing? Do you know what they are witnessing? We are witnessing what 1 Timothy tells us. Godliness with content. Little wonder Timothy 1 goes on to say that it is great gain. But now we can't conclude these thoughts on the bye without looking at one other thing. One special attribute we can't bypass and that is the leaves on this tree. Look at the leaves on this tree. It speaks of the fruit. It speaks of the position. But look at the leaves. You see, elsewhere in the Bible, there have been trees that have been cursed and that have withered because they are nothing, only leaves. But in Psalm 1 verse 3, it's different. That tree is all leaves and all fruit. The leaves, we are told here, shall not Wither? What a picture! What a picture of the godly man's eternal state! Friend in Christ, you will not wither. You will not fade away. You will not die. You have the promise of John 3, 16. You will not perish, but you will have everlasting life. Isn't that wonderful? Your leaf shall not wither. What a blessing in such a thought! to contemplate the fact that those who we cherish and love, who have gone on to be with the Lord, one day we'll see them again. What a wonderful thought, as we sit round the dinner table today, and we look at our husbands and our wives and our children, and perhaps, who knows, we could be cut off during the week. But if we're saved, we're never with it. We'll see them in heaven. Isn't it great to be saved? But not only this, in this study of the leaves, there is a parallel passage in the book of Ezekiel. And there in chapter 47, verse 12, Ezekiel tells us that this tree is planted by the rivers of water. Yes, we know that. But this time we learn that not only do the leaves not fade away, but listen, the leaf thereof is for medicine. It's for healing. The Hebrew tells us that these lees were specifically for the healing of bruises and the healing of sores. Does this not wonderfully take us back to that verse in Isaiah? Does it not take us back to those things we mentioned earlier, depicting the sinner as one that was full of wounds and bruises and putrefying sores? They have not been closed. Neither bound up Neither mollified with outment. Believe we're in the meeting this morning. We have the healing that we receive from Christ ourselves that we can pass on to others. There are those that are sick and dying, perhaps even in this congregation spiritually this morning. There are friends and loved ones. There are workmates. And my, I don't know what it is. Maybe we haven't died to self enough. Maybe we're full of pride. Maybe we'd rather get the well done of man than the well done of God. But we say nothing to them. And yet, we have got the healing. We've got it before us. We've got the medicine for sin sick souls this morning. I often hear of people and they tell me, you know, I would love to know first aid. What a benefit that would be if I knew a wee bit of first aid. But what about the spiritual first aid? You know it. And yet, who do you try to impart it to? You know, Revelation 22 verse 2 tells us that these leaves are for the healing of the nations. There's a missionary challenge to you today, worldwide. Will you serve the Lord? will you be the one to endeavour to go out, apply the remedy, share the leaves, see souls saved. But then we need to move on, because lastly, not only do we have the planting, the particular place, not only do we have the produce, but we have a promise, the crown it all. It says there, whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Being a spiritual man, you see, the godly man doesn't yearn for the prosperity of the world, doesn't want what his neighbour has, doesn't want what the banks can offer, doesn't want the credit so he can go and prosper and get all that he can get his hands on. He's not looking for temporal things. He's not looking for outward prosperity. Rather, the man of God is looking to prosper his soul. This is what he values. He's laying up treasures in heaven for the day when he'll see the Lord. I wonder, is that you this morning? I wonder, is that me? But our time is completely gone and just by way of conclusion, can we sum up? Can we look quickly at these characteristics one more time? What are the characteristics of the godly man this morning? He's one that is blessed because he's living in obedience to God. Is that you? Is that you? He's marked out because he delights himself in the book of God. Do you measure to that this morning? Is that you? And lastly, he's seen as a flourishing boy, planted, growing, having both fruit and leaves for the service of the Master. Is that you this morning? Is that you? If it is, aren't you glad you're saved? I'm so glad that I'm saved this morning. Oh, little wonder this psalm begins with, Blessed is the man. I'm glad I'm saved this morning for two reasons. Firstly, because of all that we've covered and what we see in the godly man. These are things given by God. But I'm so glad I'm saved this morning because of the awfulness, the awfulness of the remainder of this chapter. And tonight we hope to look at it. But this chapter reveals some terrible things about the ungodly man. And I am so glad today that the Lord saved me, because I am not among that group. And you know, if you are not saved today, we urge you to consider your latter end. We would ask of you, and you know God's way of salvation. I would ask of you, would you not come? Would you not taste and see that the Lord is good? Blessed, there it is again, blessed is the man that trusts in Him. We implore you this morning to consider your latter end, lest it be too late and you be lost for all eternity. You know, in this meeting this morning, There may be some we will never see in heaven. I wonder, will that be you? Or will you rejoice with me in the golden streets one day, thanking God that He saved us, thanking God that He did these things for us? Oh, I trust that you will, that you'll partake of this happy band, bound for glory. We trust that you'll make this Saviour the King and Lord of your life today. But blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law he doth meditate day and night. He shall be like the tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season. His leaf also shall not wither. and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. May God bless these words to our hearts this morning.