Let's open the Bible to Psalm 1. Let's read the Psalm together. And once again, the whole Psalm will be the text we consider. 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 sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Beloved in the Lord, Psalm 1 is a bit different than a few of the psalms that we have recently looked at in that it is what is often called a wisdom psalm. Whereas the psalms that we've looked at recently have been psalms of lament or psalms in which The psalmist gives voice to his troubles and cries out to the Lord. Psalm 1 is a psalm that is meant to teach truths which are to be lived out practically. It's a wisdom psalm. And the voice of the psalm, rather than being a cry erupting from down below, is the voice of a teacher that speaks to us with authority. Not a teacher who is detached from our lives and from our experience, a very caring teacher of course, but a teacher who with authority imparts truth that we must take into our hearts and with which we must do something. Truth that is not merely to be understood and grasped with the mind, but universal principles that are to be applied and practically worked out and lived out in our everyday lives. Truths and principles for the life that is truly good and truly blessed. A wisdom song. And so the language and the tone and the content shares much in common with wisdom books in the Bible such as Proverbs. If you compare Psalm 1 to various Proverbs, you'll find that this Psalm sounds a lot like Proverbs. And the central concept in Psalm 1 is a concept that we find all throughout the book of Proverbs. The concept of there being at bottom only two ways of life. Verse 6 identifies those two ways of life. There is the way of the righteous. That is the way of life that is lived in harmony with the being and the will of God. And there is the way of the ungodly. The way of the sinner, which at heart is a way of life that disregards God. The way of life in which God is not the decisive factor in one's thinking, in one's decisions. In one's choices, in one's words, in one's actions, but rather someone else takes that center place. Self. The way of the righteous, the way of the ungodly. Psalm 1, by way of layered contrasts, sets before us the blessed life of the child of God in stark distinction from the way of the ungodly. And Psalm 1 as a wisdom psalm He calls out to us and says, take heed. Here and here alone is the only way of blessedness. The way of life that is in harmony with God and with His will and with His word. And the psalm warns us that the way that so often appeals to the sinful flesh, the way of the ungodly is a way that shall infallibly perish. One of the poetic devices that is used in Psalm 1 is a kind of inclusion. The first word of the psalm is blessed. That's really the main focus of the psalm. It's teaching us the true way of blessedness. But that word blessed begins with the very first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, the letter Aleph. And then the last word of the psalm, perish, begins with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, tau. And in a poetic way that makes the point that Psalm 1 is a basic guide to the life of godliness and blessedness. It is an A to Z guide for the Christian life. A life that is truly good and truly happy and truly God glorifying. Blessed is this man, Psalm 1 says, and this man alone, who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, and so forth, whose delight is in the law of the Lord. True blessedness, which is happiness of the highest order, is found not in treading the well-trodden path of the wicked, That broad way of Jesus' sermon on the mount. But it is found and enjoyed as one walks the straight and narrow way. The way of the righteous. So tonight we are going to look at Psalm 1 as a whole. We are going to look at it as that basic A to Z guide for the Christian life. The only way of blessedness is what Psalm 1 calls our attention to. Now one last point of introduction as we go on to look at this Psalm. We need to understand that when we come to a passage like this which sets forth the reality that the experience of true happiness and blessedness is found only in the way of righteousness. We must understand that this teaching of the Psalm cannot be disconnected from the entire body of gospel truth. The theological context of the scriptures in which this psalm is found is the theological context of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the promised Christ alone. Psalm 1 as it sets forth, the way of righteousness as the one way in which the child of God walks and enjoys true happiness. The psalm is not saying that our righteous works is the means by which we obtain true blessedness. Or that doing righteousness is the doorway into eternal life. Or that doing righteousness is how we win favor with God. What the psalm is teaching us is that the saved child of God is placed by God upon a path. And the path that God has ordained in which we will flourish, in which we will enjoy true happiness, is the path that harmonizes with who He is. That's wisdom. Wisdom perceives that joy and blessedness is happiness, and happiness is not found in the way of rebellion against God, but is enjoyed in the way of harmony with God. And it is that way of righteousness upon which Christ our Good Shepherd leads us through this life. To the eternal glory He has earned for us. But we as His people need to be taught, this is the way we must walk in. This is the way. that is most blessed, the only way of true blessedness. So let's consider Psalm 1 under that theme, the only way of true blessedness. Our first point is delighting in the Word. True blessedness is enjoyed by the child of God as he delights in the Word of God. And that true blessedness has its root in Jesus Christ. As the child of God delights in the Word of God, he flourishes in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the center of that Word. And then lastly, we will look at how Psalm 1 teaches us that part of the blessedness of the child of God is that by faith, from the Word, he knows his end. He knows where life's pathway is leading. And what lies at the end of that path. The first half of Psalm 1 paints the portrait of the child of God who alone may be called truly blessed. That is happy with a happiness of the highest order. Not merely a carnal happiness, which is not really worthy of that name, but a true spiritual wholehearted happiness that is grounded upon something of eternal significance and value. Salvation in my Savior Jesus Christ. The truly blessed man. Now, in verse one, the psalm describes the truly blessed man and his way of life negatively by contrasting him with the ungodly man. 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. And those three negative phrases are meant to describe the entirety of the ungodly man's walk, the man who does not regard the Lord, nor bend his neck to the yoke of Christ. His way of life is a way of walking in the counsel of the ungodly. Counsel here simply means advice, wisdom, that which those without God both recommend and commend as good and worthy of living for. It is the pursuit of happiness in all of the various forms that exist in this world. Happiness defined by man apart from God. Blessed is the man that walks not according to that counsel. nor stands in the way of sinners." And here the idea is not of a man who stands still in a road, but a man who takes his stand with those who are walking on that road. There is a progression here that you see. The ungodly man who walks according to the counsel of the ungodly. His thinking, his values, everything about him is shaped by what the ungodly say is good and worthwhile. This man takes a stand on that path. He fixes his identity to his sin and to those who are apart from God. And finally, verse one says, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. The scornful or scoffers represent those who have traveled long down the way of the ungodly. They are shameless sinners who sneer at God's word and revile the Lord. These three descriptive phrases, Express how on the way of the ungodly, the one who walks more and more down that way, becomes more and more engrossed in the wickedness of that way. Beginning with walking in the counsel of the ungodly, heeding that advice, basing one's values upon what the ungodly say is good, in turn shapes one's thinking so that one takes a stand with the ungodly and identifies himself with the ungodly until at last he is sitting in the seat of the blatantly ungodly who revile all things holy. Sitting in the seat of the scornful could also be translated dwelling among the scornful. That man is not blessed, the psalm says. But, there's the contrast, verse 2 goes on. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. Here the psalm brings forward what you might say is the outstanding characteristic of the blessed man. The man who has true happiness and whose life and way of life will be marked by the enjoyment of that happiness of a highest order. His delight. is in the law of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate day and night. There's the positive that answers the three negatives of verse one. The law of the Lord is front and center here. And now the word in the Hebrew is Torah. And that Hebrew word narrowly refers to the first five books of Moses. The Jews referred to the books of the law, the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, as the Torah. But throughout scripture, and here in Psalm 1, Torah has its more broad meaning of simply teaching or instruction. And so while the law of God is in view here, it's not just the ten commandments or the imperatives of scripture, but all of God's teaching, the law of the Lord, Jehovah's teaching, Jehovah's instruction. The way of the righteous then has this as it's outstanding characteristic, that the one who walks that path, His life is shaped and governed and directed and illuminated. Not by the counsel of the ungodly or first of all by the impulses of his flesh or the thoughts of his own heart. The human heart which Jeremiah says is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? But divine teaching and divine wisdom found In the treasure trove of the Holy Scriptures. God's Word. The happy man. The man that Psalm 1 terms as truly blessed. Is fundamentally the man who embraces Jehovah's teaching. Like Mary sits at the feet of the Son of God. With open ears. open heart and a ready mind and takes what is heard and applies it and walks according to it. That central reformation doctrine of sola scriptura is right here in Psalm 1. The Word of God. In the Word of God, we find God's will. For all of life. For His worship. For service. For every dimension of our human existence. His Word. The truly blessed man The psalm says, delights in that word, in that law, in that teaching of the Lord. And that word delights is a very strong word. It connects back with the first word of the psalm, blessed. The blessed man is the man whose life is full of true spiritual delights. Delights that are substantive. Delights that do not pass away. Delights that do not turn into ash. A moment after you begin enjoying them, He delights in the Word of the Lord, the teaching of the Lord. He loves it. He rejoices in it. He finds His richest pleasure in it. Because this Word, this teaching of the Lord, sets forth that which is most delightful of all. It reveals the heart of the one good God. At its center is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The fountain of all true delight. It's interesting to note that right after Psalm 1 finishes, making the point That the blessed man, his life is characterized by delight in the Word of God. We come to Psalm 2. Which is the second introductory psalm to the Psalter. Psalms 1 and 2 are kind of like an introduction to the whole Psalter. And Psalm 2 is preoccupied with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the King. Who vanquishes the foes of the Lord and the enemies of God's people. And who is established forever as the King over all. The Savior King. It is as if the Psalter rushes to set forth the One who is the center and source of all true delight. The core of happiness of the highest order. The Word of God is delightful because in it we find Christ. Christ who is the revelation of God and of His purposes and of His will and of His plan and of all that He intends for His people. And in light of that gospel, the commandments, the precepts, the rules of God's law, these too become delightful. For as God's people saved by grace, we are no longer under the law in the sense of being under its curse or its condemnation, but we are under grace. Freed from the curse of the law and freed now to take the law in hand as the guide for a grateful life. as a guide for a truly good life. Lived for the glory of God. And that is the life that is truly blessed and truly happy. The words of Psalm 19 verses 7 and 8 become our words where the psalmist exclaims, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Is that how we view the word of God? Delight. And so we come to the last part of verse 2. The truly blessed man in God's law doth he meditate day and night. And the connection there is that delight is the mother of meditation. Delight in the law of God leads to meditation upon it. Meditation day and night. Now the Hebrew word meditate could literally be rendered murmur, to speak quietly under your breath. in the ancient world, people didn't usually read silently like we do. could read quietly just in their head without speaking the words. But usually when someone would read to themselves and carefully study a text, they would read the words aloud under their breath. They would mutter it, murmur it to themselves. And there's the idea of meditation. It is a speaking of the word to yourself as you ponder it, reflect upon it, and take it into your heart. The psalmist in Psalm 119 verse 11 expresses it this way, Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. That's meditation. Meditation in the biblical sense is very different than the meditation of heathen religions which consists of emptying your mind and maybe finding your true self in the midst of that emptiness. Biblical meditation is filling one's mind and filling one's heart with all manner of good. The treasures of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Filling oneself with God's Word. And taking that Word and applying it. Meditation is the feeding of the believing heart and mind. It's an action of faith. Eating our daily spiritual bread and digesting it such that its nutrients may enrich and strengthen our spiritual life. Meditation is feeding upon Christ. The Word of God which sets forth Christ is a delightful thing. And like a delightful meal that appeals to all of the senses, the Gospel pulls us in. It pulls the child of God in and he or she feasts upon it. That's meditation. The text says, day and night. And the idea there is regularly and continually. That's not to be interpreted in an overly literal fashion like some of the Jews did. Some of the Jews back in Old Testament times and in the intertestamentary period in their schools would have someone appointed to read or teach the scriptures 24 hours a day so that they would literally fulfill the letter of this text day and night the scripture was being meditated upon. But that's not the thrust of the text. The idea is regularly, often, Just like we partake of our daily bread for the nourishment of our bodies, so too we must be meditating, feeding upon the word of God and upon the Christ presented to us in that word. Our daily spiritual bread. And this is much more than merely in an outward way doing our devotions at stated times. We can do our devotions religiously three times a day and still not meditate in the sense of the text. Sometimes our devotions can be like sitting down at a table and looking at a delicious meal that is on that table and studying it and smelling it and mentally taking note of the nutritional value of that food but then failing to really eat it and digest it. Meditating is taking that food of the Word into myself, savoring it, digesting it, and drawing life and strength from it. By making personal application of that Word to my life here and now, to my circumstances, to the decision I have to make, to the struggle I'm going through and wrestling with right now. That's meditating on the Word. all the time and everywhere, meaning, unlike our physical food when we eat it three or four times a day, we're always chewing on our spiritual food. We're always chewing on the Word. It permeates our whole being and our whole life. We carry it with us wherever we go. We shine its light on everything we come into contact with. That word is hidden in our heart and it becomes a part of us. Meditation, day and night. So to wrap up the first point, the psalmist is saying this is the portrait of the man whose life may be called truly blessed. This man is the believer. This man is the one who is saved by grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. And now delights in the word of his Savior. That word is his meditation. That word is his guide. That word is his food. That word is the light upon his path and the lamp for his feet. True happiness is found in the Christ presented in the gospel. True happiness is enjoyed as we hold fast to him by faith. And as we take his word, live that word. That's the message of Psalm 1. And so from verse 2 the psalm transitions from delighting to flourishing. And here what the psalm does is it illustrates the character of the life and the walk of the child of God as he walks by faith in Christ. As he hides the word of Christ in his heart. As he lives by that word. As he feeds upon that word. As he lets that word permeate his being. As he shines that light upon every dimension of his life. He is a man who truly flourishes. flourishes in Christ. And the psalm expresses this by way of an agricultural picture. Verse 3, 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. A tree. Picture in your mind a tree. A majestic plant. Strong. Stable. With roots that go deep into the soil. Blessed is the man who delights in Christ and in His Word. For this man is like such a tree. who is planted by the rivers of water. And here the word planted could better be rendered transplanted. And that makes a very important point. It brings out here salvation by grace alone. Trees don't plant themselves. And not only that, but by nature we are as plants out in the barren desert of ourselves dead with no source of nutrients or life. But we have been transplanted in the passive verb here in verse 3 indicates divine agency. We are as trees transplanted by the rivers of water. Taken out of that arid desert which was the environment in which we were born and the environment in which we would have died. Transplanted beside the rivers of water. In ancient Palestine, a farmer who planted an orchard made it his practice to dig irrigation channels between all of the rows of his trees. And that's the image here. It's not just a regular river, but an irrigation canal that has been prepared specially for that tree. Prepared by the same hand that transplanted it. And that irrigation canal ensured that the tree planted beside it would have a steady stream of life-giving water to sustain that tree even in Palestine's very harsh dry season, when the trees out in the arid desert would lose their leaves. Many of them die. This tree planted by the rivers of water It brings forth its fruit in its appropriate season because it's healthy. It has a continual supply of nourishment. Its leaves do not wither but stay green even when drought comes. Such a healthy tree by the rivers of water is strong and stable. Its roots are deep and go down to the water. It has a firm grasp upon the earth. And so when the storm comes, the tree is able to withstand the wind as well as the heat of the drought. What would destroy the tree in the arid desert? The tree planted by the rivers of water is able to weather and withstand. That's the picture. It's the picture that the psalmist brings forward as an earthly image of the truly blessed man. The believer who delights in the word and meditates upon it day and night. He shall be like this tree, the psalm says. Grace has transplanted us. Maybe you think of Colossians 1 verse 13 which says, God has delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. Translation there means carried over out of the grips of darkness into the kingdom of Christ. And that translation is our transplanting from the arid desert. to the orchard of the Father, beside the rivers of water." What are those rivers of water? Well, this part of the picture is clear too, isn't it? Remember what Jesus said to the woman at Jacob's well, outside of the Samaritan city of Sychar? Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Jesus himself is that stream of living water that flows to us in the irrigation trench dug by the hand of God, that comes to us through His cross and His resurrection. And the gospel, the center of this word, is the earthen vessel that brings that living water to our faith mouth. so that we receive it, drink deeply of it like a tree with its roots in the moist soil on the banks of the river, drinking deeply of that water. As the blessed man of God meditates upon the word, we see why the word is God's chief means for our spiritual nourishment and strengthening. As he hears the word, as he meditates upon that word, as he receives it into his heart, it's as if he was taking a cup of living water and drinking it, refreshing his parched throat and rejuvenating his thirsty body. And thus the effect is fruitfulness. The tree, planted by the rivers of water, brings forth its fruit in season, all manner of fruit. And so too the child of God, who is rooted in Christ, and who delights in His Word, and drinks deeply of His Gospel, meditating upon it throughout the course of his or her earthly life. That child of God is like a fruitful tree. Who in season, according to God's good pleasure, brings forth fruit. Fruit that is good. Fruit that is sweet. Fruit that is refreshing and profitable. Brings forth the fruit of new life. Of a new sanctified conversation. and whose leaves do not wither. The Christian planted in Christ and drinking deeply of the gospel of Christ is the person who truly flourishes in this world, is the person who is a spiritual evergreen. Yes, our leaves are fragile like any other. but we are able to withstand the drought of affliction, endure the storms that come because we're planted into Christ by the streams of living water. His leaf shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper Prosperity is so often poorly defined in our day. It's defined purely in human and earthly terms. Men getting what they want. Achieving what they set out to do. But what is true prosperity? True prosperity is growing in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Having that growth in grace manifest itself in the fruits that I bring forth in my life and in my calling, in my walk with the Lord, and among the neighbors that God has placed in my life. That's true prosperity. The poor Christian who may lack much in terms of the things of this earth is a truly prosperous person. Psalm 1 calls us to see prosperity in this way. For what it truly is. So a couple of applications. Number one. We see in Psalm 1 that ultimately the source of true flourishing, flourishing which is a fundamental part of happiness of the highest order, the source of all true flourishing is Christ, who is found in His Word. Psalm 1, even though it might not use his name, is a Christocentric psalm. And Christ is the key to understanding this A to Z guide to the Christian life. The center of it all is Jesus Christ. My Lord and my Savior. Secondly, fruit bearing. is a most beautiful part of the blessed Christian life. We are saved unto hurtfulness. We read John 15 this morning. The truth of John 15 connects here to the image in Psalm 1. Why does the father, the husbandman graft us into Christ the true vine so that we might bring forth fruit? And he purges the branches. He prunes them in order that they might bring forth more fruit. A creature is happiest when that creature is fulfilling the purpose for which it was made. Likewise, the child of God is happiest when he or she is fulfilling the purpose for which they have been redeemed and remade. Walking by faith with Christ my Savior and bearing much fruit. Thirdly, by way of application, Psalm 1 emphasizes that the Christian's fruit bearing is a seasonable or a seasonal activity. The idea here is not that there are times when we will have no fruits of the Spirit whatsoever, but the point being made is just as fruit is born on the branch of a tree in a certain season at its appointed time, that is also the case in the Christian life. There are times of great fruitfulness and there are times When we bear less fruit. There are times when a certain kind of fruit might be very prominent. And other times when a different kind of fruit may be prominent. There are seasons of prosperity which in God's providence he brings into our life. And we flourish and bring forth fruit abundantly. And there are seasons of adversity when, like a tree, much of our energy is devoted to enduring the storm and surviving. The point is, thankfulness in prosperity, patience in adversity, both are appropriate even though they look at times very differently. The Christian who is in the storm does not necessarily need to feel guilty that his or her life doesn't look exactly like a fellow Christian who is right now in a season of prosperity. We bring forth fruit in season. But now Psalm 1 is a psalm of contrasts. And so moving on to verse 4, we have the contrast. The contrasting image with verse 3. The child of God, as he walks in the ways of God's Word, is likened unto a flourishing tree. The ungodly are not so. Here the psalm turns our attention back to that other way. The way of the ungodly. The way of sinners. The seat of the scornful. Who do not delight in God's Word or in His Christ. And here the psalm teaches us about what the life of the ungodly man is like using another agricultural image and the difference couldn't be more extreme. A tree on the one hand and chaff on the other hand. The ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Chaff is simply the empty husk or the straw that is left over after the kernels of grain have been removed during the winnowing process. In the Old Testament and in Jesus' day in the land of Israel, after grain was harvested it was brought to a threshing floor. And the purpose of threshing was to separate the precious grain from the useless chaff. Often the grain was thrown into the air using what was called a winnowing fork or a winnowing fan. And the wind would blow away the chaff and the precious weightier grain would fall back to the floor and be gathered into the barn. And so chaff was something that God's people throughout the ages were very familiar with. It was something from everyday life. And it came in the Bible to be a picture for that which is totally vain. That which is useless, without value, rootless, substanceless, purposeless. Chaff serves no good function. Chaff quickly passes away. Chaff is blown here and there by the wind and ultimately perishes. The wind takes it away and it is gone. How very different from a tree planted by the river of water, the roots of which dig themselves into that soil. A stable, sturdy, strong, majestic plant. Even when the wind beats upon it, it goes nowhere. Chaff is lifeless and dead. How unlike tree which drinks deeply of the river and brings forth fruit. Chaff is a waste product. It does not flourish. It cannot flourish. It has no use but to be gotten rid of. Here the psalm is making the point so very pointedly. In contrast to the blessed way of faith in God and in His Christ and delighting in His Word, is every other way of life of human devising In the service of any other God. In the service of self. Any other way of life that disregards the one true and living God. And disregards His Word. And turns away from Him in unbelief. And says, I will be my own God. I will determine for myself what is right. I will live unfettered by the law of any other. Such a life is chaff-like. It is chaff-like here and now, and its ultimate end will be the end of chaff, perishing. And so in application, an important warning naturally arises out of verse five, does it not? Our sinful flesh is so often allured by the ways of the world, By all of the glittering vices that it holds before our eyes. The false freedom that it claims to offer. Chaff. Chaff. Whether we are young. Whether we are old. Take heed. Only the life. of one rooted in Christ and steeped in his gospel, only that life is truly blessed and truly happy. Only such a one as that may be likened unto a tree that is planted by rivers of water and flourishes and endures. Life apart from Christ Life that is built upon any other foundation, but Him and His Word, is a life of chaff. And all of its vaunted pleasures, and all of its so-called freedom, will turn into that chaff, and will disappear, and will come to nothing. This, this is wisdom. This is the wisdom of Psalm 1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Well now the Psalm concludes. Having looked at the way of life that a person lives on these two paths, which in this world often seem to run side by side, now Psalm 1 ends by setting forth the end, the destination, where both the path of righteousness and the way of the wicked leads. And at their destination, these two ways part. and part forever. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. That word therefore links it directly back to the agricultural image of the tree and the chaff. God's judgment will be the great winnowing of the human race. In fact, that image is used by John the Baptist in Matthew 3 verse 12, who speaks of Christ on judgment day and says, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge, that is, thresh his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. On judgment day, all of humankind will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. And the tree that is planted by the rivers of water will stand in the congregation of the righteous. That orchard of the Lord's planting. Not because it was so strong in itself. But because it is of the Lord's planting. Transplanted by that river of water that is Jesus Christ. But the sinner. Here, the term is being used for the persistent, impenitent, ungodly, unbelieving sinner. The sinner will not stand in the congregation of the righteous or in the judgment. The wicked will have nothing to stand on, no defense. When the blast of judgment comes, like chaff they will be blown away. And as stubble they will be consumed by the fires of that judgment. That is the end of the ungodly and their way. But not so the child of God. For God's children, we have a refuge in the Lord Jesus. When we reach the end of life's pathway, we shall stand in the judgment and in the congregation of the righteous. Stand not on our own merits, but in that righteousness of the Savior we sang about before our service in His robes. In that congregation of His people, His flock, the congregation of those He has made righteous, the congregation of just men made perfect. As Isaiah 61 verse 3 says, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified, and God will be glorified, His Christ will be glorified, and the trees, His planting. The child of God has nothing to fear in the end of his life's pathway. The end leads only to the everlasting flourishing of life with God. Flourishing so much better Than even the richest flourishing that we enjoy in this world. As trees planted by the gospel waters. So we have every reason to be confident people of God. Confident in our Christ. Confident in our Lord. Take heart. For as the psalm concludes in verse 6, the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. He knows. The idea isn't just that he knows about his people as they walk upon that way, but he knows them. He has placed them upon that path. He intimately cares for them and watches over them. He leads them as a shepherd upon the way. He keeps them in the way. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Psalm 121 verse 3 says, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He knows. He knows his people. He knows the trees of his planting. He knows the way of the righteous. Thus, even in the face of the fiercest trials, the most difficult doubts, the most intense battle against sin and the powers of darkness in this world, the confession of Job in Job 23 verse 10 is our confession. He knoweth the way that I take, when he hath tried me. I shall come forth as gold. So beloved, where do we look for happiness? Let us heed the wisdom of Psalm 1. Let us look to Christ, lay hold of Christ, delight in the word of Christ, walk in the ways of the word of Christ. And we shall be as verdant trees planted by rivers of water. Amen. Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for this beautiful psalm, for its wisdom, for its instruction. Grant that we may take this Word and its principles into our hearts and apply it to our lives. That Thy Word may be the food for our souls. That it may impart the strength that we need for our lives. That we may walk in the way of godliness. Grant us this, Father, for we do not have the strength of ourselves. Empower us through the spirit of the living Christ. In his name we pray, amen.