Good morning, brothers and sisters. I'm Joey Liu. Glad to see you again. I preached once last year, September. Now I'm glad to come with you, worship our tri-union God again. May God bless our hearing and preaching his word. Please turn your Bible to the Old Testament. Today we will see the first song. So I ask you turn your Old Testament Bible to song one. in your chair Bible of 481, 481. I will read the word of God and prayer. Psalm 1, this is God's word, authoritative, this is God's word instructing us how to live and how to worship him and his gracious will. If you remember, Elder John read the New Testament God hid something from someone, from some people, but revealed his words to his people. This is God's gracious will, revealing to us this is his word. Psalm 1, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scoffer, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of the water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the shaft which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Let's pray. Gracious Father, we so thank you. We give you thanks for your salvation. We give you thanks for the day, the first of seven. The day reminds us who we are and what you did for us, reminds us the salvation, reminds us what we need, certainly. We need your words. We need your church nourish us spiritually. We need your words in our life. We praise you. You have given your words, your gospel, your son, Christ Jesus, who is our mediator, who is our merciful, faithful high priest. We give you thanks. Also, you remind us you are beautifying your church. which is so comfortable to us. You love church, we give you thanks. We praise you, we bless you all while hearing and preaching your word. We praise you when we pray these things in Jesus name, amen. Have you introduced church to others? Introduced church to your unbeliever families, your unbeliever friends? How do you introduce church to others? The church is a covenantal assembling with tri-union God. People in the church are called from this world. This is the reason on every Lord's Day you came to church, you come to church, different from your unbeliever friends, different from your unbeliever families. People in the church are called from this world by God himself to worship him. When you introduce church to others, you should realize and emphasize the uniqueness of church, covenantal assembling with the tri-union God. In today's passage, we see two groups of people, the blessed man and the ungodly man. The blessed man represents The covenantal assembly, they are church, they are blessed, they love the word of God, they love the law of God. And the ungodly man, they are not people of God, they are out of the church, they are out of the salvation. They are against God and his anointed one. Brothers and sisters, by God's grace, you are the blessed man, by God's grace, only with Christ Jesus, by union with him. Therefore, in today's passage, God calls you to worship him with a thankful and fearful heart, because you are blessed man by him. You belong to the blessed group by union with Christ. About this blessed identity, I want to know three facts about this blessed identity. There are two group of people with two different features. coming to two kinds of final ending. Two groups of people, two different features, and two different final ending, two different final judgments. The first fact I want you to know, there are only two groups of people in this world. We see there are First verse, blessed is the man. We have to ask a question, who is the blessed man? Or what kinds of blessing does this man received? Who is the blessed man? Or what kinds of blessing this man received? If you continue read this passage in verse four, we have this comparison between the righteous man and the ungodly man. With this comparison, we see only two groups of people in this passage, also only two groups of people in this word. If you continue read the whole book of Psalm, we will see this comparison clearly showed in God's word. Psalm 32, verse one and two. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Who is the blessed man? What does he receive? The blessed man is a group of people who have the forgiveness of sin, who received forgiveness from God. This is the blessed man. Also, 33 verse 12, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own inheritance. The blessed man is a group of people who are near with God. We have read Deuteronomy chapter 4. So who is the blessed man? Blessed man is a group of people who receive the forgiveness from God and has a very close imitated relationship with God. Very interesting if you read Psalm 37, you can see the comparison is in fact between the righteous group and the ungodly or wicked group. Therefore, in verse one, we see the blessed men, the blessed men are those who have God's forgiveness and imitate relationship with God. Someone tells us this comparison, this comparison is four of the whole book of the psalm. If you come to the New Testament, if you remember New Testament, the Beatitude in Matthew's Gospel chapter five, Matthew's Gospel chapter five, verse one through 10, we call this Beatitude. Beatitude chapter five, Matthew's Gospel chapter five, verse three, are the poor in the spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is verse three. If we come to verse 10, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The same word, blessed, in the Old Testament, in the New Testament. Therefore, we can see who is the blessed man. The blessed man, they are the citizen of the kingdom because they have the forgiveness of God with a close and imitated relationship with God. They come to the presence of God as a righteous people, only by God's grace in Christ Jesus. Verse one, blessed is the man, and verse four, the ungodly man. This comparison are four of the Bible. In the beginning, verse one presents us two groups of people. The first group, they are blessed. The second group, They are wicked. Brothers and sisters, let me remind you of a fact. Only two groups of people in this world, according to the scripture, either you belong to the righteous group or you belong to the wicked, the ungodly group. If you give a glance at the redemptive history, if you remember in the beginning of the Bible, Genesis chapter 3, either you are the offspring of the serpent or you are the offspring of the woman. If you continue to read the Old Testament, in God's eyes, before God, Israel, this is the group of blessed men. This is the group of people. Other nations, they are another group of people. Israel and other nations, we have read chapter four Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter four, especially verse seven and verse eight, God said, Israel, they are very near to God. What's the meaning of near to God? Because they receive the statutes and the law of God. Deuteronomy chapter seven, verse six, four, you are a holy people to Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself. a special treasure above all the people on the face of the earth. Israel has been chosen by God. They are distinguished from other nations, Israel and other nations. In the New Testament, Paul in Roman chapter five presents to us with two men, the first Adam and the last Adam. They each represent two different group of people. Brown sisters, only two groups of people in this world. This is what the Bible teaches us. Now the question you have to ask yourself, which one do you belong to? This is very important. This is concerning your final ending. Which one do you belong to? You are supposed to know that by your nature, you were in the last Adam. You indeed belong to the ungodly man group. You belong to the ungodly group. Westminster Short Catechism 16 said, did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression? This is the question. The answer is, the covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity. mankind descending from him by ordinary generation sinned in him and filled with him in his first transgression. this is what who we were in the last Adam by our nature we are ungodly we belong to the ungodly people but just like the Bible teaches us by God's mercy by his grace alone now we belong to the blessed group we are not the ungodly man by God's grace. Twenty question Westminster's short catechism. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? God, having out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity elected son of true everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of a state of sin and misery and to bring them into a state of salvation by Redeemer. So by God's mercy, by God's grace alone, now we belong to the blessed group. New Testament Ephesians Chapter two, if you read verse one through three, which described who we were. We were working in our transgressions. We were working in the sins. But, in verse four through five, Paul says to us, but God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, Even when we were dead in trespasses, may us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. So when I ask you, which group do you belong to? We, by grace alone, we are now belonging to the righteous group. We are blessed men. Therefore, we as God's church are blessed. We have been saved. This living, imitated relationship we have received in God's grace, by his grace, in Christ Jesus, claims God's mercy and goodness. His mercy manifested in Christ alone. This blessed identity reminds us who we are in Christ Jesus. Also reminds us the church's responsibility. The New Testament, 1 Peter chapter 2, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of the darkness into his marvelous light. Also this blessed identity reminds us reminds the church we should preach Christ because by God's grace only in Christ we become the blessed we become the blessed man, but you should know by our nature in the last Adam, we are ungodly. The ungodly makes us to receive our final judgment, which is God's eternal wrath, wrath. This is why we should preach Christ. This is why every lost you come to church, you are supposed to desire to hear his gospel. In fact, Not only our identity is blessed, our daily life, the reality of our life is different from the ungodly people. Let me remind you again, not only our title, now we become, we are the blessed man. The reality of our life should show the difference, the different fact, the difference between we, the difference between us and the ungodly people. Let's come to the second heading, two kinds of features. There are two groups of people with two different features. Different people have different features. What is the feature of blessed man and ungodly man? Let me put it this way, how does their life express their righteousness and ungodliness? Verse one tells us, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners. nor sits in the seat of the scoffer. The psalmist used three common verbs to describe the life of the righteous, the blessed man. Not walk, stand, and sit. His daily life and the most common actions tell us and express he is different from ungodly man. Brown sisters, your daily life brings out who you are. Your daily life, your common daily life, brings out the real you. What is more important is in verse 2, the psalmist said, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. Now, the psalmist used a very passive way to describe who the blessed man is, what he does daily. His delight is in the law of the Lord. The features of the blessed man, the righteous man, is his delight is in the law of the Lord. He loves God's word. He loves the statutes of God. Why does the blessed man not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of the sinner, nor sits in the seat of the scoffer? The reason is he loves the word of God. He loves the law of God because he loves the law of God. We have read Old Testament and New Testament. We know receiving the Word of God is the mark of God's people. Israel, what's the uniqueness of this nation? They have the Word of God because God giving them the Word of God. In the New Testament, Matthew 11, God hidden something, hidden His Word, His will from the people. understanding and wise man, but reveal his will to the children, to the godly, to the poor man. This is the mark of the God's people. They receive the word of God. Psalm 19, the longest psalm, Psalm 19 verse 1, blessed are the undefiled in the way who loves the law of the Lord. Verse nine, how can a young man claim his way by taking according to your word? Verse 15, I will meditate on your precepts and contempted ways. I will delight my life in your word. Well, I will not forget your word. This is the feature of the blessed man. Brothers and sisters, maybe you can find many things, many joy in this world. Maybe you can find the joy and the satisfaction in this world. But let me remind you, only in the church, the word of God can be preached. Preaching the word of God as a means of grace, granted by God only to church. Only the gospel can bring you life, the eternal, not the temporal joy, satisfaction. Verse 3 very clearly said, when the blessed man, his delight is in the law of God, he is very near the source of life. Verse 3, he shall be like a tree planted by the river of water that brings forth its fruit in a season whose leaf also shall not weather and whatever he does shall prosper. This is a picture, this picture shows a very a very life-bearing picture. Because this tree planted by the river of the water, this tree is very near the source of the life. The Word of God brings us life. This is an internal life we receive by the Word of God. Here again, we see our Lord Christ Jesus. Because Christ Jesus, he is the Word of God, who gave his people life. In the New Testament, the author of Hebrew tells us, in the Old Testament, God spoke to his people in many ways and many times. But in the Last Age, he spoke to his people by his Son. His Son is the capital W, the Word of God. Also, in the New Testament, We should know when God gave his people his word, this is the shadow of coming in the New Testament, because in the New Testament, God gave his son to us. He is the word of God. Roman chapter 10, verse 5, for Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone who believe. Christ, he is the end of the law in the new testament we receive the shadow in the old testament we receive the reality who is christ our lord christ jesus the blessed man loves the word of god the capital w the word of god because their life controlled, their life is controlled by the Word of God. If you remember in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, John, he said, in John 14, 15, Jesus says something like this. He said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. reality is, the fact is, when you love God, when you love his word, when you love Christ Jesus, your daily life, your daily life, your whole life will be controlled by his word. This is the feature of the blessed man, the righteous man, their daily life and the moral conduct of are controlled by the law of God. On the contrary, the ungodly men, verse four and verse five, shows the situation of ungodly men. The ungodly are not so, but are like the shaft which the wind drives away. Verse four, the Psalms tell us the situation of ungodly men. compared with a tree planted by the river of water. Shift is worthless. It's removable. Why is this the ending of an ungodly man? Worthless and removable. Why? Because their light is not in the law of God. Because they dislike, they hate the word of God. Song two, if you continue, read song two. Why do the nation rage and the people plot in a vain thing? The king of the earth set themselves and the ruler take counsel together. They gather together, they plot, they gather together, they take counsel together, for what? Verse, song continues, the sing the song continues, to tell us they take counsel together for they against the Lord and against his anointed one. Psalm 119 continues tells us indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked who forsake your Lord. 119, 155, salvation is far from the wicked for they do not seek your statutes. So what's the feature of the blessed man and ungodly man? The blessed man loves the word of God. The ungodly man, the wicked, they hate the word of God. In the New Testament, when Jesus come to this world, he said himself, he is the light of this world. And this is the condemnation, he said, that the light has come into the world, and the man loved darkness rather than light. Because their deeds were evil, for everyone practicing evil things hates the light. and does not come to the light, lest his deeds shall be exposed. Why does the wicked hate the word of God? Because the word of God, his deeds shall be exposed. The word of God, the light expose their evil deeds. So when we refer to two groups of people in this world, the blessed man, and ungodly man, we shall know their feature, that righteous loves, that righteous man loves the word of God. They love Christ Jesus. Their daily life, their daily life are controlled by the word of God. The ungodly man, they hate Christ Jesus. They hate the word of God. They plot and take counsel together against God and his anointed one. Brown Sisters, the Christian life is a procedure of sanctification, which is a whole life to learn how to understand and obey the word of God. The word of God can give you life. The word of God is God himself. He is the source of life. His word is the eternal life. Psalm 63, verse 1, the psalmist say, O God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you. Why, the psalmist say, I desire you? Because man is made in God's image. We are the image of God. We desire as a creature. We desire our creator. Only our creator, only the word of God can satisfy us. Only we can find satisfaction in God. Only in God alone. Brown sisters, do you love the word of God? Do you have the feature of the blessed man? Do you love Christ Jesus? You should know and you should acknowledge only by him, through him, you are blessed. This is the reason we love him, only by him, because by our nature we are the ungodly man. Therefore, only two groups of people in this world, either the group of the blessed man who love the word of God, who love the law of God, meditates day and night so that they don't do the evil things. Or the group of ungodly men who hate the word of God. They do not seek God's statutes, though their minds and their behaviors are full of evil. This is not a simple moral teaching, but this is the word of God. Scripture is not a moral conduct handbook like other religions, but God revealed by his gracious will to his people. And the Holy Spirit sent to God's children, God's people, dwelling in them, walking in their hearts, transform them into the likeness of Christ Jesus. I want to remind you again, which the psalmist tells us is not a simple moral teaching. You should do good things, you should do good things. No, this is what the salvation wants you to do. This is the purpose of salvation, transforming us into the likeness of Christ Jesus. This is the purpose of salvation. This is the teaching of the Bible, which is different from any other religions. Because the Bible teaches us we are supposed to be responsible for our behaviors. What you do every day will bring a different final judgment in the future. This is the third fact I want you to know. Two groups of people with two different features coming to two kinds of different final judgment. Verse three and verse four are comparison in which two pictures are used to describe the quality of the ungodly man and the blessed man. Verse five and verse six refer to their different ending. Verse five, therefore, the ungodly shall not stay in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Because verse four refers to The ungodly, who are like shafts that the wind drives away, they are worthless. They are removable. Therefore, the ungodly will not stand in judgment. Here we see a very important thing in God's word. We will face the final judgment. The psalmist also reminds us a eschatological judgment in the future. The ungodly man will not stand in the final judgment. This is the ending of the ungodly man. Very interesting, the basic meaning of this word stand, the Hebrew word, the basic meaning of this Hebrew word is arise or stand up. When the Septuagint translated this word using a Greek word, this Greek word, the basic meaning of this Greek word is also arise, stand up. But in the New Testament, the New Testament author often used this word to describe resurrection. Arise, stand up in the New Testament means resurrection. In Acts chapter 2, 24, whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be healed by it. Jesus, he was raised up by God. His resurrection in the New Testament is described raised up. Jesus was raised by God. So you can understand verse five, the ungodly will not be raised in the judgment. They will not be raised in the congregation of righteous. Congregation, this word in the Old Testament, often to be described the nation of Israel. They are God's people. Therefore, the ungodly will be not raised in God's people, among God's congregation. The congregation of righteous is church. The ungodly will not be raised in the congregation of church. The second part of verse six. Verse five said, the way of ungodly will. This is the second part of verse six. What about the blessed man? The ungodly will face the ending. The ending is a perish ending. What about the blessed man? For the Lord knows the way of the righteous. We don't know the way of the righteous. Verse one tells us the way of the righteous, they don't stand alone. in the way of the sinners. They don't do the evil things. But here we don't exactly know the way of the righteous, but we know God knows the way of the righteous. The way of the righteous is not something we concerning or we talk about the moral things, but the way of the righteous. is the way of God's Word. They're working in the way of God's Word. Very important, God knows them. In the beginning, I mentioned the psalmist, the first song is similar, is very like the Beatitude in the New Testament, the Beatitude in the New Testament, Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5 through chapter 7, they are the Sermon on the Mountain. In the end of the Sermon on the Mountain, chapter 7 verse 15 through 19, the New Testament, Chapter 7, Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 7, 15 through 19, A Tree and Its Fruit. This is the title of this passage. But following Jesus said 20, Chapter 7, 20, Matthew's Gospel, and then, well, I declared to them, I never know you. Depart from me. You work of the lawlessness. lawlessness. In the New Testament Jesus said I never know you. Jesus who is a god of the second trinity. He knows everything. Even man's heart, he knows everything. But here Jesus say, I never know you. So when we consider the first song, the psalmist said, the Lord knows his people. The Lord knows the righteous group of people. There is a very close covenant relationship between God and his people. He knows his people. But about the weakened man, the ungodly man, God say, I never know you. No covenant relationship between God and the ungodly man. Also in the New Testament, the John's Gospel, Jesus said, I'm the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own knows me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. The God has the covenantal relationship with his people. Therefore, God knows the blessed man, the godly people, the righteous man. There is a common whole relationship between God and his people. Therefore, Jesus says, I know them. I lay down my life for them, for his church. But we should know God knows everyone, knows everyone's heart. Therefore, God knows what the ungodly man, they desire. They plot. They take counsel together against God and his anointed one. 2 Timothy 2, verse 19. Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands. Having this seal, the Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquities. God knows his people. So in the final judgment, the righteous, they are those who are blessed by God's grace. God knows them because they know God. Why? Because they love the word of God. They love the law of God. They love the capital W of God. They love Christ Jesus. And the ungodly, they hate the law of God. Therefore, they don't know God. They don't like God. They hate God. If you continue read this song, in song two, the second song, we see the last verse, the first verse of song one, Blessed is the man. The last verse of Psalm 2 said, kiss the son, lest he be angered, and you perish in the way, when his wrath is kindling but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. Who is the blessed man? The blessed man are those who love the word of Lord, who love Christ Jesus. The last verse of chapter 2 said, blessed are those who put their trust in him. This is Lord, the Son of God. We are closing to the final judgment day by day. Every lost day reminds us we are closing to the final judgment. Every lost day when we come to the church to worship the triune God, you stand in the congregation of righteousness. Remember, the ungodly will not stand in the congregation of righteousness, but by God's grace, You are now standing in the congregation of God's people. Sing the song, hearing the word of God, give thanks to God. This is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. By God's grace, we are the blessed men. By God's grace, we are the righteous men, only through Christ Jesus, by union with him. When you introduce church to others, Do you know or do you realize you have had this blessed identity? Not by your own grace, not by your own good works, by your merits, but by God's grace. By God's grace, now we are the blessed man. Very interesting, the first verse, blessed is the man. The man is masculine singular. Blessed is the only man. We know there is only one blessed man. By union with him, we become the blessed man. He is the head of church. He is the last Adam who gives us life. Let's pray. Gracious Father, we give you thanks. We give you thanks for your salvation, for your amazing grace. Our Lord Jesus Christ, he is the one blessed man, because in him, through him, we are becoming. We are now becoming the blessed man. We are blessed men. We are righteous men as your church come to your presence. We ask you bless our church. We ask you. Help our church to discern the responsibility in this last age, to preach the word faithfully, and to proclaim the excellence of our Lord Christ Jesus faithfully. And we give you thanks for your words, because you review your words to us, you review your will to us, and help us to cherish your word because this is a mark of christian and we ask you help us in our christian life help us to learn how to understand and obey your word and help our daily life to be controlled by your word because we love you lord our jesus we pray these things in our lord's name amen