Psalm 1 this evening. So I'll be reading that psalm. Familiar words to you all, I trust. 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. Well, in this evening sermon, we've been looking at the Psalter. And we began with that old adage that I read in Mortimer Adler's book, that if you want to know a book and all the contents thereof, it's helpful to read the conclusion, because if you know where the author's going, all the parts will make sense. Well, the second part of the book that he recommended reading was the introduction. So after having seen where the Psalter ends, with the joy of the saints in heaven, with everything that has breath, praising the Lord with all the instruments that we looked at, with the saints in heaven executing vengeance with the sword, with all of creation being summoned to praise God, when remembering God's work and His love for the church, and that only in Jehovah's name is true help found, not and the princes of the earth. We now take a pause and we begin to look, where does the Psalter begin? And the answer to that question is of course in Psalm 1. And Psalm 1 is an introduction to the whole Psalter. And it begins with these words. It doesn't even have a title like many of the other words. It just begins with, blessed is the man. And this word blessing is used in such a way to communicate profound blessing. You'll read another translated, oh, how blessed or extremely happy is the man. Or in our own Metroco version, trying to get that meaning out a little bit more, that man hath perfect blessedness or complete blessedness. And so as you come to this book of Psalms and you read, blessed is the man, the Psalter is showing us the way of blessing. the way of happiness and the way of holiness. And Psalm 1 stands at the very beginning of that idea. And that same idea is carried throughout the whole Psalter. It is what some have called a Torah Psalm, in which the law of God features prominently. There are two others. And children, it's very easy to remember. You want to know what the Torah Psalms are? Well, it's one. 19 and 119. Those are the three Torah Psalms. And as it stands here at the beginning, it's showing us that the Psalter itself is Torah. Instruction, the way of happiness, the way of blessing, the way that pleases the Lord. And now looking at Psalm 1 in particular, if you have a a Bible with headings at the top, you may see these words, the happiness of the godly, one to three, and the unhappiness of the ungodly. And after thinking quite a bit, I don't think that outline can be improved. So we'll look at it under those heads. You want to be blessed. You want to be happy. You want to walk in the ways of the Lord. Psalm 1 will tell you how to do that. So blessed is the man. A profound blessing that is describing a singular character. One man. And this happy man or this blessed man who knows Jehovah's favor is defined first and foremost by what he does not do. He begins to describe what he does not do, and this is a very helpful thing for us. I remember Dabney in his book on preaching talked about the didactic use of contrast, and he used an illustration of a painter who will have really ugly, gangly pictures on his painting, and somewhere in the middle have a beautiful, well-proportioned greyhound. And that when you compare the greyhound with all the ugly things, the contrast brings into focus just how different they are. So the blessed man, the happy man, defined first of all what he doesn't do. He doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly or the wicked. We remember in Ephesians 4 that walking is a common word in scripture for your way of life. your course of life. And Paul will plead with the Ephesians there and in other places that they walk according in a way that brings glory to the calling wherewith they've been called. But it's not just the godly who have a course of life. It's also the ungodly. They have a course of life too that's also called walking. Paul would say the same thing in Philippians 3, that they walk in a way that is displeasing. Their God is their belly and their glory is their shame. So the blessed man walks not in a counsel, the ungodly. And you know what counsel is. You know that when you receive counsel from other people, they're giving you advice or suggestions or trying to instill in you their values. It's the same word here used of Rehoboam when he asked counsel of both older and younger men, he preferred the counsel of the younger men. He took their advice. Now, who's giving the advice here? Who's giving the counsel, the ungodly or the wicked? Those who do not love the Lord. And it's not just that they're wanting godliness, but they're actually positively evil. They are ungodly, rebellious sinners. And the counsel that they give is all around. We live in a fallen world and the counsel of the ungodly permeates our life. Ungodly will come to you and they will tell you the meaning of life. They will tell you what will make you happy. They will tell you the course of life that you should follow if you want to be happy. And they will back it up with all this reasoning, and all these opinions, and all these things. But at the end of the day, what their counsel is, is that Jehovah should not be first in your life. But that they should. Or that perhaps you should. That maybe serving your own lusts, and your own pleasures, that's the way of happiness. Some people have actually argued for that very thing. But the blessed man, The happy man, the man of Psalm 1, does not walk in that advice. Neither does he stand in the way of sinners. First, he's not walking. Now he's not standing. And just like walking is a common use of language that we know, so is standing. If someone does something to you, say, I'm not going to stand for that. or I will stand up for you. It's the presentation of a cause. He's not standing in the way or the path of sinners. And that cause, those values, could be any number of things. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7 that the way that leads to destruction is broad. And there are many that find that way, that path. But the way that leads to life? It's a narrow one. And there are few that find that path. So he's not walking in counsel of ungodly. He's not standing in the way of sinners, nor is he sitting in the seat of the scornful. And listen to how these terms are just escalating from walking to standing to now sitting. And sitting here is the idea of permanence. It's the idea of a home. It's the idea of a place. He's not in the place of the ungodly or the scornful. And scorners are wicked, those who mock, those who openly reject Jehovah, who openly promote the overthrow of religion, who stand opposed to all God's law. He's not there. He's not walking, standing, or sitting in any of the ways that displease God. But, His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law He meditates day and night. These, the ungodly, the wicked, the scorners, They find pleasure in these things, their ideas, their way, their causes, their places of abode. But the blessed man has the light in the law of the Lord. And why wouldn't you have the light in the law of the Lord? It's a depiction of who he is. It's a picture of his moral excellency. It shows his character. It's a transcript of who he is. If you love the Lord, you will inevitably love his law. It would be like saying, I love my wife, but I don't read any of her letters. I love my children, but I don't like to hear what's in their mind. I don't want to talk to them. So his delight, his love is in the law of the Lord. That's where he finds joy. And in that law, he meditates day and night. His love for the law is shown by how often he uses it, how often he thinks upon it, how often it is running through his mind. And as 21st century Christians, when we hear the word meditate, sometimes it comes with many wrong images. Because Christian meditation is down and Eastern meditation is up. So we picture someone sitting with the legs crossed, thinking. That's not the only way you can meditate. Sitting still and running through the law, word of God in your mind is absolutely a way to meditate. But it's not the only way. I promise you that wicked men meditate on many things. The scriptures tell us that. They tell us what's in their heart and in their mind. And fundamentally it is this, there is no God. There are people whose meditation all the day is about their famous favorite football team. They wonder to themselves, well, what if this quarterback gets hurt? Who's going to come and replace? Are there any trades that are going to come down the line? And they think on and on and on. And they're tossing this in their mind. They're looking at things from different angles. They're meditating. But they're not meditating on the law of the Lord. They're meditating on the counsels of the ungodly. So to meditate day and night upon the law of the Lord is to think about it in all courses of life. I trust that you have a daily devotion, that you spend time in prayer and reading God's word. And one of the best ways to meditate day and night upon the law of the Lord is to say to yourself, why has God given me this portion of scripture this day? As you go through your day, be thinking about it, be reflecting on it, and when something happens in providence, connect the providence of your morning Bible reading with the providence of your life experience. And you're meditating. The Lord will strengthen you in that. He gave you a question. He gave you a scripture. Ask questions about it. Look at it from different angles. What other scriptures are there? And day and night, could certainly mean stated times of morning and evening to meditate upon the law of the Lord, and that's a good habit, but it could also have the meaning of by setting opposite ends, day and night, all things in between. You see that, for example, in Psalm 121, it's a common usage in the Psalms, that the sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night, that the Lord will keep you. to preserve your soul and you're coming out and you're going in and all things in between. So the blessed man, the happy man, loves the law of the Lord. And the law can be used narrowly to describe the Ten Commandments. It can be used more broadly to describe the whole Pentateuch. Paul says in Galatians 4, you who want to be under the law, do you not know what the law says? And then he pulls an example from Genesis. And it can be used even more broadly to describe the whole Bible, such that I can hold up the whole Bible and say, this is the law of God. So to love the Lord is to love his law and to meditate on all of scripture day and night. And there are promises given to those who do that. The Lord gives us the law. He gives us his word, and it's fundamentally for his glory and our good. And he picks a common image in the scripture, a tree. And he says the one who does this, the one who meditates day and night and loves the law of the Lord, who shuns wicked company, doesn't walk or stand or sit with them, he will be like this. He'll be like a tree that has been planted by rivers of water. Planted there is the idea of specially cropped, Waters here are channels for irrigation. He's saying you're going to be specially put in the most advantageous place for doing what a tree should do, having leaves and bearing fruit. And your leaf will never wither and you'll bear fruit in your good season and whatever you do shall prosper. Because the one who loves the Lord loves his law, meditates day and night, is showing his love for the Lord. And the Lord honors those that honor him. And he places them by those rivers of water. And after the morning sermon, I hope when you hear water, in this case, you're thinking an image of the Spirit. that we can't bear fruit apart from the Spirit. They're all called fruits of the Spirit. Jesus himself says, abide in me and then you will bear much fruit. So to be planted by the canals of water is to be put by God's special care in the way of blessing by His Holy Spirit. and to bear fruit in season is a promise of bringing forth these fruits of righteousness unto God in Christ. And what many have said that the leaves not withering is a picture here. It's imagery from the garden, and it's to show that the profession of religion will never fail, that the Lord will keep you. And in his season, the season of maturity and whatever he does will prosper. Doesn't mean you always get what you want. It doesn't mean that you will always see the fruit that you bear, but you can bank on this promise from God that any labor that's done in the Lord is not vain. Because there's a resurrection and he remembers it and he will bring it to pass at the final day. So as you read these first three verses and hear them explained, the way of happiness and the way of blessing is to say no to the ways of the world, to refuse it, and to delight especially in the law of the Lord. And that is a message perhaps most, it's applicable to us all, but it's applicable especially to you children, to you who are growing up in a world that wants to see you fall, that wants to see your leaf wither, that doesn't want you to bear fruit. And it always starts small. It starts by walking, and then it goes to standing, and then next thing you know, you're sitting. You may know that St. Augustine had much trouble with fornication throughout his life. And if you read his confession, one of the first things that got him into that world and got him into that sin was his father sent him to boarding school. And the men there were bragging about their exploits. So there's not only the sin of doing that which is unlawful, but there's also the secondary sin of gaining approval from those around you. He wanted the approval of those who walk in the counsel of ungodly. And so he performed the act, exaggerated it, so that he could have approval of these things. Then he lived his whole life, for a time at least, of his unconverted life with this as a thorn in his flesh. And so the call here is stay on guard. Choose your friends wisely. Don't choose friends that are ungodly because peer pressure is a very powerful force. We naturally want the approval of those around us. And if all those around you are walking in the way and the counsel of the ungodly, and you begin to seek their favor, it can lead to great, great, great sins. Even apostasy. So take guard. That's the happiness of the godly. That they have God's Word. That when these temptations come, they can view them in the light of what God has said. That when their friends say that this is the way that will make you happy, they can delight in God's Word and say, let God be true and every man a liar. I will delight in the Torah of God. I will consider it day and night and the Lord will honor you. and enable you to bear much fruit to the praise of His glory. So the simple call, especially to you young people, is to take the light in your Bible, search it out, see these things, meditate upon it, read it daily, and pray for the Lord to bless them to your soul as you seek to bear fruit for His kingdom. And that's the way of happiness. Regardless of what anyone else tells you, that is the way to be happy. Well, the happiness of the godly are said this way, and then the unhappiness of the ungodly in verse four to six. There is an immediate break from everything that the psalmist has been saying. The ungodly are not so, or perhaps even more tersely, not so the ungodly. Everything that's just been said about the godly is untrue about the ungodly. They do walk in the counsels of the ungodly. They do stand in the way of sinners. They're sitting in the seat of the scornful. They don't like the law of God. They have no delight in it. And they don't meditate upon it. They think about other things. In some cases, the psalmist talks about how they think about the acts of wickedness that they're going to do. That's their meditation. And they don't bear fruit unto the Lord. They are not a fruitful tree, but a dry, withered and dead tree that brings forth evil fruits. And you will know them by their fruits. And what do they get for all this? I mentioned that the Christian has the hope that all labor done in the Lord will be rewarded, that it's not in vain in the Lord. Do the ungodly have any such promise? Absolutely not. And it picks up an image that is common. They're like chaff that the wind drives away. And I didn't grow up farming or using weed or any of these kinds of things. But this was very common in the days of the Bible. Wheat and chaff grew together. They had to be separated by putting some pressure on top of them. And then with the winnowing fan, they would be thrown up into the air because they needed the seed. And the wind would separate the chaff from the seed. And the chaff would be driven away like wind, with the wind. And it would go far, far away. in order that the seed may be preserved. And so all the ungodly are like that. They're like useless chaff. That is in this world with the godly. And they're going to be driven away. With the wind. Their days on this earth are numbered. Whether they live 60, 80, 100 years, what does it matter with the Lord who is eternal? even if they should achieve great heights in politics or entertainment or any other thing. What is this? Death is the great equalizer and they will be driven away. And when the judgment comes, verse 5, when God brings an accounting of all men, when every man stands before the King of Kings, and gives an account for his life, their cause will not stand in judgment. All the things that they've done will be proven to be worthless, vain, and empty. That whatever people may have thought of them for their brief time on earth, it will have no matter then. They will not stand in the judgment. and neither sinners in the congregation of the righteous. And thinking back to Psalm 150, when all of God's people are entering into that new creation and praising the Lord for His mighty deeds, praising Him for His glorious excellency, praising Him with all their heart, they'll have no part of that. They won't be a part of the chorus of praise. But their ruin will be social. They will have their part with the congregation. but with only the fallen angels and other wicked sinners given over to themselves in the lake of fire. No more restraining grace from God anymore, but blaspheming, cursing, and living out in eternity the type of life that they lived on earth. And it will be utterly miserable. It will be the height of misery. In verse six, four, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous. He knows the way of the righteous altogether. He knows all things. He is all knowledge itself. He knows when you do the hard thing, shunning bad company. He knows when you delight in His law, even when you're tired. He knows when you are seeking Him and nobody sees. But He also knows in the same way that those whom He foreknew. He loves. He delights. He has pleasure. He chooses. He knows the righteous. But the way of the ungodly, they'll perish. They'll be driven away. Their ruin will be complete. All the things that they sought to do will be brought to nothing. And they will end in utter destruction in the lake of fire that burns without end. The righteous shall inherit eternal life. The wicked shall inherit Eternal death. Not just the absence of life, but all the things that death signifies. All the things of corruption. And so this psalm, as an introduction to the Psalter, it sets some very important themes. Number one, is it puts the final judgment before your very eyes. It takes you to the very end of all times. It puts you there. And it says everyone will be there. And there's a certain group of people that the Lord knows. And there's a certain group of people that the Lord will cause to perish. And that theme is woven throughout the Psalter. That constantly in the Psalter, these two people are being shown before our eyes. The righteous and the wicked. They're being contrasted. What do the righteous think? What do the wicked think? What kinds of things do the righteous do? Or the wicked. What kinds of blessings can the righteous expect on this earth? and in the world to come. Same for the wicked. And one of the most notable Psalms is Psalm 37. Psalm 37, in which it's constantly portraying these contrasting figures, is like an extended commentary on verse six. And it is helpful, it is helpful because when we view the end, just like the same reason we read the end of the Psalter, When we consider the end, it affects what we do now. So Psalm 73, you may know, Asaph is tempted because he has been seeking to mortify sin. He has been seeking to live a godly life. He sees all these ungodly people that have risen up to places of prominence. They have easy lives. They don't have to worry about being poor in spirit or mourning over their sins. And it says, I was tempted to do that. But then I came into the house of the Lord and I remembered their end. But the Lord has put them in slippery places. And this reality of a judgment came and it was a use of grace to keep him from the way of sinners. To keep him on that right path, that straight and narrow that few find, but it's a way of blessing and happiness and holiness. Psalm 1 presents to us many, many themes that continue to be embodied throughout the Psalter. As I mentioned, it is a Torah psalm. It's showing the use of the law of God. And because it's at the beginning, the whole Psalter is Torah instruction. And notice that when we sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, we teach and admonish one another with those words of instruction. We teach and admonish one another of the ways of happiness, delighting in God and in his word and staying away from the way of the ungodly. But it also presents to us something perhaps even more profound or more basic than even those things. Because this psalm speaks of a man. Speaks of the blessed man. It gives his characteristics It teaches us what he's like, what he does and what he doesn't do. And standing at the head of the psalter, this portrait is of none other than Jesus Christ. He is that blessed man. He is the blessed man who's had the law written in his heart, who came to do the will of God. whose ears were opened night and day unto God. You read in Isaiah 50, where it's a profession of the Savior. Isaiah 50, verse 5. The Lord hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned back. I gave my back to the smiters, my cheeks to them that plucked off my hair. I hid not my face from spitting. The Lord Jesus Christ comes and he hears the word of the Lord. The one who opened his ears and it is a means of obedience. Of not turning aside. Psalm 40 we read that he's come in the volume of the scroll of the book of the time. He's come to do your will, oh God. Your law is in my heart. My ears have you opened. We read that the blessed man is set. upon waters, that the waters nourish him. And Jesus Christ is the man who's given the Spirit without measure. Isaiah 11, verse 2, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Jesus Christ was filled with the Spirit, and He's the one that pours out the Spirit. As far as a tree is concerned, He's called in Revelation, the root and branch of David. His church is one tree, and they're engrafted into Him, and they have participation in Him. They're blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, in Him. And they are enabled by the working of the Spirit to be conformed unto His image, day by day in the renewing of their mind. He was tempted beyond measure. He's able to comfort you in all your temptation because He never walked or stood or sat in the way of ungodly sinners or scornful. He's the one. that drives the chaff from the wheat. As John the Baptist said, the winnowing fan is in his hand. And he's the one that's going to judge all the earth. And he's the one that's going to say to those ungodly people that hated his law, hated his people, hated his word, and hated him, enjoy your share in the lake of fire that burns forever. But he will also be the one that looks upon his people, those who have sought by God's grace and the working of the Spirit to delight in the law of the Lord, to meditate upon it day and night, to refuse ill company, and to bear spiritual fruit of righteousness to God. He will look at those his people, and he will say, well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your rest. And he will say even now that we are trees planted in the house of God, bearing fruit, even in old age, Psalm 92. And that the one who trusts in him. is like a tree planted by the rivers of living water. So as we read Psalm 1, this introduction to the whole Psalter, countless themes are placed before our eyes. The happiness of the godly, the unhappiness of the ungodly, the final judgment the godly will receive, and the final judgment that the ungodly will receive. But it's also a portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was testified of the law, the Psalms, and the prophets. who is the embodiment of all God's promises, who is the very word of God, or as we could say, the law of God become flesh. And so all these saints testify as him. And so as we see his face in these opening verses, in this opening song, we see him throughout the whole Psalter. We come to know him, love him, delight in him. And as we take these words and apply them to our hearts, we are conformed into His image. So may the Lord grant a robust understanding of the Psalter. May He grant that we may see the face of our Savior in it, that we may delight ourselves in Him and have our portion in the eternal kingdom, which is soon coming. Let us stand for prayer. Almighty and ever blessed God, we thank you for these things. We thank you for so great a revelation unto the sons of men that you have indeed set before us your character, your righteousness and your glory. We pray for grace that we may more and more delight in these things, that we may prioritize time with you in your word and that we would meditate upon them day and night. We ask even for this Sabbath that as we return to our places, that we would speak of the things that we've heard and that you'd bless them to our souls. And in all things, may you get glory to yourself in the upbuilding of your church and the establishment of Jesus Christ and all that he does. Subdue his enemies, we pray, and grant the everlasting kingdom in due time. And we ask for Christ's sake, amen.