Preached at: Wrexham Gospel Hall

On: Sunday 21 January 2024

Text: Psalm 1

Gospel Hymn Book

424 Blessed assurance Jesus is mine

135 Blessed Savour! Son of God

V1 –     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.

The Psalm begins by preaching to us. We see in the first verse the words, “blessed is the man”. This points to the joyful state of God’s people who walk in the counsel of His will. Jesus was not the first person to declare the blessedness of God’s people. Here the writer of the Psalm encourages God’s people to be blessed in Him. Among the general populate of the world there is a longing for happiness, but seldom do people find it. They seek happiness in things that ultimate make them miserable. For example, people seek happiness in following their favorite sports team, taking care of the family, making money and doing well at work. Now, there is nothing wrong in these things, but you will not find lasting peace and contentment in these things. True and lasting happiness is found in Christ.

If you would let me digress for a moment to tell you a person story about the last peace of God that passes all human understand. Yesterday marked the third anniversary of my mother’s death. She was being treated for cancer at the Christie Cancer Hospital in Manchester. During here treatment she spoke to the doctors and nurses about her peace and assurance in Christ. Even though she was very weak and sick she had a confidence that no matter what happened to her, her soul was secure in Christ. I will never forget a telephone call I had with a doctor a few days before she died. The doctor wanted me to speak to my mother to explain to her just how serious and sick she was. The doctor asked me if mum knew just how sick she was and how things can change very quickly. I assured the doctor that mum was under no illusion. She knew that if she lived, she lived unto the Lord and if she died, she died unto the Lord. What a great testimony and witness of Christ’s peace and comfort. This is the joy and hope that Christ offers us. We can have peace in the face of pain, trials and even death.

 Here we see a progression of walking, standing, and sitting. The verbs are used to show us the downward spiral of sin. “To walk in the counsel” of something points to the model of a person’s life. “To stand in the way”, means to follow the conduct of the wicked and finally, to “sit in the seat”, means to enjoy the company of the wicked. Here we see the snowball effect of sin. It starts seemingly harmless and quickly progresses into much larger and serious sins. Let us draw from the wisdom of 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Or to put it another way, “Don’t fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you.” We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. Our Lord and Saviour met with sinners during his public ministry, he even eat with them. But never did he accept or approve of their sin, rather he exposed and rebuked their wickedness and pointed them to the way of forgiveness.

The lesson here is that the Lord knows those who are his by name, but we are to know them by their character. We are known the way we live and conduct ourselves in both public and private.  The Christian bears the name of Christ. We are known by Christ. Listen to this quote I heard recently on the radio, “The devil knows your name, but calls you by your sin. God knows you by your sin but calls you by your name.” The man of God does not go where the place of evil is. He passes by the evil way, avoiding it at all costs. What path will you take? The path of righteousness or the path of wickedness?

V2 – But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Let me quote Matthew Henry on this verse. Henry said, “All that are well pleased that there is a God must be well pleased that there is a Bible, a revelation of God, of his will, and of the way to happiness in Him.” We find the way of happiness in the Word of God.

Here we see the life and character of the man of God. He has a delight in the righteous law of God. He is so happy he mediates on the law of God both day and night. Luke 11:28 says, “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” Obeying God should be our delight. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”

V3 – 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.

People who shun evil and disassociate with the wicked are likened to a tree of life. The godly are nourished by the Word of God, so they prosper and grow in grace. They live for the honour and glory of God. The Christian bears spiritual fruit and encourages others to do likewise. We may not prosper materially, but we sure do and will prosper spiritually.

In a way the wicked do also prosper, but not spiritually like the child of God. The worldly lifestyle is to be avoided. Do not envy the wicked or think of them as fortunate. Let me address the children and young people for a moment. Don’t be deceived when you see your school friends and fellow students and people of your age group living the so-called, “good life”. Them may seem to be happy on the surface but inwardly they don’t have what the Christian has. If only you could see what people of your age group are like when they are alone and not posting how great their life is on social media, you would be shocked. They lack the one thing that will make them truly happy, a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ.

The ungodly at best have the fleeting pleasures of sin for a season. They may appear to be enjoying life, but the very things they lead you to believe they are enjoying are the very things that draw them away from God and enteral life.

Listen very carefully to the words and wisdom of Proverbs 14:12-16.

12 There is a way which seems right to a person,

But its end is the way of death.

13 Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,

And the end of joy may be grief.

14 One with a wayward heart will have his fill of his own ways,

But a good person will be satisfied with his.

15 The naive believes everything,

But the sensible person considers his steps.

16 A wise person is cautious and turns away from evil,

But a fool is arrogant and careless.

Listen to verse 12 again, “There is a way which seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death.” Don’t follow the way of death, follow the way of life, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Saviour said in John 14:6, ““I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

V4-5 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.

“The ungodly are not so.” They are likened to the chaff. The chaff is opposite to a thriving tree. Chaff is lifeless and easily blown down. The tree on the other hand is full of life, strong, stable, steadfast and has strong roots. The difference here could not be further apart. It is like the difference between life and death, light and darkness that we have just heard from in 1 Corinthians 6:14.

The chaff represents those who lives are not rooted in the Word of God. The ungodly shall not stand in the day of judgement. They have no place in the assembly of the righteous. There is great wisdom in this Psalm. There is not greater wisdom than living according to the Word of God. Central to that wisdom is the finished and saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

V6 -For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The last verse in the opening Psalm gives us a summary of the whole of Psalm 1. The Lord knows the way of the righteous. He knows those who belong to Him and who do not. The Lord’s people shall live eternally, but the ungodly shall perish. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches at Galatia, he addressed an important Gospel matter. Paul wrote to the believers at Galatia to counter the teaching that Gentiles (non-Jews) must follow parts of the Jewish law to be saved. For example, there was a view that Christian men had to accept the Jewish rite of circumcision. Galatians is likely the first book in the NT to be written. Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches at Galatia. In Galatians 5:1 the Bible says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The application of this verse is this. Stand firm, be unmovable in Christ. Stand for holiness, stand for truth, stand for Christ, stand fast Christan soul.

Amid all their trials, sorrows, pains, reproaches, let the righteous lift up rejoicing heads. The eye of God rests on their way. He called them to the narrow road. He upholds their feeble steps. He safely leads them to the glorious end. Unfailing watchfulness surrounds them. But the broad road, with its unrighteous throng, goes down assuredly to hell.

Just to give you a contrast between Psalm 1 in the Bible and the Metical Psalm version in the 1650 Scottish Psalter.

¹ That man hath perfect blessedness,
who walketh not astray
In counsel of ungodly men,
nor stands in sinners’ way,

Nor sitteth in the scorner’s chair:

² But placeth his delight
Upon God’s law, and meditates
on his law day and night.

³ He shall be like a tree that grows
near planted by a river,
Which in his season yields his fruit,
and his leaf fadeth never:

And all he doth shall prosper well

⁴ The wicked are not so;
But like they are unto the chaff,
which wind drives to and fro.

⁵ In judgment therefore shall not stand
such as ungodly are;
Nor in th’ assembly of the just
shall wicked men appear.

⁶ For why? the way of godly men
unto the Lord is known:
Whereas the way of wicked men
shall quite be overthrown.