We're turning then to these words
at the beginning of Psalm 1, and I want us to consider the
content of these first three verses. I'll read them again.
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. What we have set before
us here, of course, is a description of the godly man. And the theme that I really want
to address then is out of the life of the godly man or the
life of the blessed man. Psalms have a great deal to say
concerning this blessed man, and we have, on previous occasions,
looked at some of those verses that speak of him and define
to us something of his character. You can think of the words of
Psalm 32, for example, Blessed is he whose transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputed not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no guile. And then again in Psalm 65 we
read of this man, Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, it
says, and causest to approach unto thee. There in the 32nd
Psalm we see him as that man who is forgiven and justified,
though a sinner in himself he is accounted righteous, by his
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there in Psalm 65 we see
him as that man who being chosen of God's evidences is in action
by prayer. God causes him to come, to approach
to him, to call upon him. And there are many other Psalms
we could refer to that speaks of this particular character,
the the blessed man or the words might well be rendered the happy
man the happy man what we have here in the Greek version of
the Old Testament the Septuagint as it is called uses the same
word that we find in the opening verses of Matthew 5 remember
there we have the Beatitudes those opening words of Christ's
Sermon on the Mount where he speaks of those who are the blessed
and that word literally means happy the happy man is spoken
of by the Lord Jesus Christ and the happy man is also spoken
of here in the book of Psalms and it's interesting that the
very first Psalm gives us a description of this particular character,
and is contrasted with another man, with the ungodly. As we see from verse 4 following,
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. And then now the Psalmist continues
there in the second Psalm to speak of these heathen men, these
ungodly men who rage against God, who set themselves in opposition
to Him, refusing to submit to His sovereignty. Further description
then of the folly of the ungodly. And then at the end of that second
Psalm again we have that man who is blessed. the end of Psalm
2, blessed are all they that put their trust in him. All this
man then that we are coming to consider here in these opening
verses of the book of Psalms is that man who has faith, he
is trusting in his God, he is trusting in the name of the Lord. But how in the verses that we
have, the verses that I read for our text, verses 1, 2 and
3, He's described really in negative
terms but certainly in the first verse we are told that he is
that man that does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly nor
does he stand in the way of sinners nor does he sit in the seat of
the scornful and there we see that there's a certain progression
in the way of the sinful man first of all we see him walking
in that way of ungodliness and then he becomes very settled
in that way he's quite content to stand in the company of the
sinners and then eventually he is so much at home he doesn't
just stand he sits he sits with them and scorns God and scorns
the ways of God But the blessed man is the man who does none
of those things. The blessed man really is that
man who is made to feel sin as a dreadful burden. He has known
something of the conviction of his sin. And not only that, he
has had the Lord dealing with him in the way of chastenings
and correctings. Again in another of the Psalms,
Psalm 94, we read of this character. Blessed is the man, it says,
whom thou chastenest and teachest him out of thy law. How God deals
with his people, constantly reminding them of what they are, making
them to feel their sin is an awful burden that they might
know more and more something of the preciousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ and that precious blood that purges the conscience
from all those dead works. Well, let us consider something
of the ways, the life of this godly man. The first thing I
want to observe with you tonight is that this man has been planted
and set, as it were, and established by the Lord Himself. It says in verse 3, planted by the rivers of water. He shall be like a tree that
God himself has set and planted. Now, remember the figure that
is used constantly here in the Old Testament with regards to
the children of Israel. Israel is likened to a vine. In Psalm 80, for example, That's
the particular figure that's used. The psalm of Asaph, and what
does Asaph say? Verse 8, Thou hast brought a
vine out of Egypt. Thou hast cast out the heathen
and planted it. Thou preparest room before it,
and it caused it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the
shadow of it. The boughs thereof were like
the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto
the sea and her branches unto the river. And then we read of
the sad state that has come upon that vine that God himself had
planted. And the same figure is used also
by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 5 of his prophecy. And he's rebuking
the children of Israel. How that vine had been so neglected,
so despoiled. But it's the Lord God who establishes
the vine. Why? When we come to the New
Testament, remember how the Lord Jesus even speaks of Himself
as the vine. And His people are the branches.
And His Father is the vine dresser. But here we have the idea of
God's people being those who the Lord Himself has set and
planted. He shall be like a tree. planted
by rivers of water, it says. And again, we see that figure
in the book of Isaiah, in chapter 60 for example, the end of chapter
60, Isaiah chapter 60 and verse 21, thy people also shall be all
righteous, they shall inherit the land forever, the branch
of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. And then again in the following
chapter, on verse 3, that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. Oh, it is the Lord Himself then
who establishes his people. That work that is accomplished
in their souls is not anything of their own doing. Christ said,
Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall
be rooted up. All salvation is very much of
the Lord, not only in its accomplishment, the Lord Jesus Christ and that
great work that He finished upon the cross when he made that great
sin-atoning sacrifice, but also it's God's work when it comes
to the blessed application. Again, in another psalm, Psalm
92, those that be planted in the house of the Lord, it says,
shall flourish in the courts of our God. Who plants them in
the house of the Lord? It is the Lord's own work. Only he who made the world to
make a Christian and there we have to be brought to recognize
that we cannot make ourselves Christians we cannot make ourselves
the children of God it's God's own prerogative He has to bring
us to that we're brought to the complete and utter end of self
God turns the man to destruction he loses all hope in himself
and then God says return and God comes and God saves those
who feel themselves to be so utterly cast off from Him shut
up to what they are as sinners shut up to their native unbelief
and they cannot deliver themselves but God comes He shall be like
a tree planted by the rivers of water who is it that establishes
His plantation then? it's the husband And Christ says,
my father is the husband. But as God plants them, so God
makes a wonderful provision for them. Again in verse 3, it's
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, it says, that bringeth
forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither,
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. He is planted then by
the rivers, by the rivers of water. All remember the words
of Psalm 46. Psalm 46 and verse 4, there is
a river. It says, The streams whereof
make glad the city of God. There is a river. What is being said before us? What is represented by that river
that's spoken of there in Psalm 46? Well, it is God himself.
It's God himself, it's God's attributes. And the hymn writer
brings out that lovely idea, doesn't he? This river is his
heavenly love. proceeding from the throne above,
says Samuel Medlar. It's God, it's the attributes
of God and it's interesting what it actually says there in that
46th Psalm. We have the singular and we have
the plural. We read of a river but then we
read of the streams There is a river, the streams thereof. And that reminds us, doesn't
it, that though God is one, there is a river, but the streams remind
us that God is also three. There is God the Father, there
is God the Son, there is God the Holy Spirit. And though All
of the persons in the Godhead, this is a wonder of the doctrine
of God, all of the persons in the Godhead are there to refresh
this blessed man. He shall be like a tree, it says,
planted by the rivers of water. Or there is the Father, God the
Father. What does he say to his servant
the prophet Jeremiah? My people have committed two
evils. They have forsaken me, the fountains of living water.
And you to them founts, cisterns, empty cisterns. There's no water
at all. They're forsaking God. God is
the fount of all blessings. that he's God the Father, but
then we see that the same sort of terminology is used in respect
to the Son of God. Think of the words that we have
there at the beginning of Zechariah 13. In that day there shall be
a fountain opened to the house of David and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. What is the fountain that has
been opened for sin and uncleanness. Why? It's that precious fountain
of the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. There upon
the cross He came and He poured out His soul unto death. There we see Him, His body bathed
in blood as He dies, His very lifeblood flowing from all those
wounds, His hands, His feet, His side, His head, bathed, bathed
in blood and there we have that fountain open for sin and uncleanness
God the Father is that One who is the fount of every blessing
and there in God the Son we have the cleansing of that fountain
of blood and then also there's that ministry of the Holy Spirit
spoken of there in John 7 Christ says, He that believeth on me,
as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. All those that believe in Christ,
what is the Lord saying there in John 7? Out of his belly flows
rivers. What are the rivers? Well, it
goes on to explain in the very next verse, John 7, verse 39. He's speaking of the Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit, John says, was not yet given because Jesus
was not yet glorified. Well there was a ministry of
the Holy Spirit there in the Old Testament, of course there
was. There's a ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old
Testament. Time and again he is that one
who is spoken of as the angel of the Lord. But Christ himself
ultimately comes in the fullness of the time. And then following
the coming of Christ and the accomplishment of that great
work that the Father had given to him, there is the coming of
the Spirit. There's that blessed promise.
And then on the day of Pentecost, How it's the Lord Jesus Christ,
Peter reminds those Jews and Jewish proselytes. It is Christ
who has shed forth this which they now see and hear, the gracious,
the blessed outpouring of the Spirit of God. Oh, what an outpouring. And how the Lord speaks of that
ministry of the Spirit of God to the woman at the well of Syca,
There in John chapter 4, Whosoever drinketh of the water that I
shall give him, he shall never thirst, but that water shall
be in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. That's
the Spirit. That's the blessed work of the
Spirit who comes to reveal the things of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a river. And there's the singular, the
river. It's God. But then there's the streams
that make glad the city of God and the streams, that gracious
work of God in all the fullness of his triune being, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost. And so, when we look at the words
here in verse 3, He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers
of water, we can think of those rivers in terms of God himself.
and God in His triune being and God in all His holy attributes,
all that He is as God. He's the God of all grace. He's
a merciful God. He's a loving God. Yes, He's
a holy, righteous and just God and all these things. All that
God is. He's there for the sinner, even
His holiness and His justice. Oh, remember what John says there
in the opening chapter of that first general epistle. He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. It's not just the attributes
of mercy and grace that are for the sinner. It's all the attributes. Why, mercy and truth are met
together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. In the Lord Jesus Christ we see
God all together. for the sinner his faithfulness
and his justice why God has been altogether satisfied by the dying
of Christ and so the rivers might be said to refer to God himself
however when we look more carefully at this passage and take account
of the context Does it not appear that the rivers
are more particularly to be identified with the Word of God? Look at
the juxtaposition of these verses 2 and 3. This blessed man, his
delight is in the Lord of the Lords, and in his law does he
meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water. And so it's not surprising that
with some the rivers are more identified with the Word of God.
More especially than identifying the rivers with God himself.
And that's what Isaac Watts does in another hymn. That sacred
stream, thine holy word, that all our raging fear controls,
Sweet peace thy promises afford, and give new strength to fainting
souls. Watts interprets the words then
in terms of the Word of God. And when we read here of rivers,
the tree planted by the rivers, of water, doesn't it remind us
of the blessed fullness that there is in the Word of God? David in Psalm 119 says, Thy
commandment is exceeding broad. Of course, that Psalm is a celebration
of Holy Scripture. As you know, it's really an acrostic
poem. It's built around the letters
of the Hebrew alphabet. And in every verse, I think it's
bar 2, there's some reference to God's Word under different
synonyms, statutes, judgments. commandments so when it says
there in verse 96 Thy commandments it's really referring not just
to the commandment but to God's Word God's Word is exceeding
broad in other words God's Word ministers to his people wherever
they are and whatever circumstances they find themselves in whatever
needs they may have there is such a glorious fullness in God's
Word And aren't we reminded of that by what Paul says to Timothy,
all scripture is given by inspiration of God, he says, and is profitable. And how is it profitable? For
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto every good
work. It's profitable for doctrine,
for teaching, there's doctrine. to be learned, great truths that
have been revealed. But it's also profitable when
we stand in need of reproofs or corrections. And there are
times, oh there are times, aren't there, when God's Word needs
to come and maybe convince us and cut us. And we're not to
be partial. Our Malachi reproves the children
of Israel because of their partiality in the Word of God, in the Law
of God. We're to not only delight in
the promises of Scripture, thank God there are many exceeding
great and precious promises, and what comfort they are, but
how about those Gospel precepts, those Holy Commandments? We're
to embrace the precepts as well as the promise of God. But then, the interesting thing
is, of course, that when we think of the Word, we're not just to
think in terms of the Word of God in Scripture, we think of
Him who is the Word, the Word incarnate. Or the Lord Jesus says to the
Jews, search the Scriptures. in them you think that you have
life, and these are they that testify of mercy." When we come
to the Word of God, surely we should be diligently seeking
that we might find the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to discover Him
in all the Scriptures. He's there in all the Scriptures.
He is the Word of God in the beginning was the Word and the Word was
with God and the Word was God the same was in the beginning
with God all things were made by Him you know the words there
in the opening chapter of John's Gospel where Christ is set before
us the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld
His glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full
of grace and truth all the scriptures and the Lord
bear one tremendous name the written and incarnate words in
all things are the same oh it is God it is God who establishes
who plants this blessed man and he plants him by rivers of water
there is a union you see with the Lord Jesus Christ himself and so he bringeth forth his
fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper. He is God's planting and the
Lord provides richly for him. But what does this man do? He
said we'd say something with regards to the life of this blessed
man. Well, he has the Word of God
and he makes use of the Word of God. In the second verse,
It says, His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law
doth he meditate day and night. Now this word that we have here,
meditate, in his law doth he meditate, he delights in the
law of God, and what does he do? Because he loves it, it's
very special and precious too, he meditates in it. And the word
that we have here literally means to mutter or to chatter. Now, think of the experience
of that godly king Hezekiah. We read of him there in Isaiah. We have quite an account really
of events that occurred during his reign when the armies of
the Assyrians under Sennacherib came and laid siege to Jerusalem
and they come taunting the men upon
the wall and a letter is sent to the king and it's taken by
the king and he goes into the temple of the Lord and he spreads
it before the Lord and eventually there's deliverance the Assyrians
don't take the city. They're not to take the city.
They may have destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, but God will
protect little Judah in the south. Jerusalem's not going to fall
to the Assyrians. But then the prophet comes to
him, Isaiah, and tells him to set his house in order. He's
going to die. And what can he do? He can't
go now to the temple of the Lord. He's on his sickbed. He can't even rise from that
bed. But he turns to the wall, remember.
And he prays to the Lord. And the Lord sends the prophet
back to him because God has heard his poor prayer and he's going
to extend his life for some 15 years. And then he goes, when
he's recovered, he goes to the temple of the Lord and we have
that lovely, that remarkable prayer of thanksgiving in Isaiah
38. and he speaks there of his experiences
and how he prides when the Prophet came with that dreadful news
that he was about to die in the midst of all the political turmoil
that was about him he was going to die and he says like a crown
or a swallow so did I chatter I did mourn as a dove and he's
using the same word really there as we have here in the psalm. In his law doth he meditate. To meditate is to mutter, to
chatter, or even to mourn. And that's what the king did.
His prayer was like a crane or a swallow, a bird chattering
away, or like the mourning of a dove. And I like the remark
of Martin Luther. Luther says this, As chattering
is the employment of birds, so continual conversing in God's
law is the employment of the godly. As the birds chatter and
mourn, so the godly converse in the word of God. Chatter,
as it were, in their own spirits over the very words of God. And see out here We have mention
of day and of nights and of various seasons. In his law doth he meditate
day and night, it says, and he bringeth forth his fruit in his
season. Oh, there are days and nights
and there are the different seasons of the year. And in all these
various experiences of life, in all the various seasons of
his soul, the believer is ever familiar with the Word of God.
It's his delight, it's where he goes to. It's where he comes
and meets with his God, and communes with his God. He prays over the
Word of God. And he acknowledges God's sovereignty
in all the various circumstances, whatever they may be. Oh the
psalmist says elsewhere the day is thine, the night also is thine. Oh there are dark seasons sometimes
that come upon the souls of the people of God, it's night time
in the soul. But as the day, as the daylight is the Lord's
so also is the night season. Again the psalmist says thou
hast made summer and winter. Not always summer We have to have the various seasons
of the year. We're moving now, of course,
very quickly out of summer into the season of autumn, and before
we know where we are, we'll be in the midst of winter. This
is what God has ordained, as long as the earth remaineth.
Cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. But it's also true with regards
to the experiences of the people of God. There are different seasons
in his soul, but his delight is in the Lord of the Lord, and
in his Lord doth he meditate day and night. One of the Puritans
says here, concerning this man, this blessed man, this godly
man, this happy man, as the meditation is, such is the man. Or does
that not find us out, as the meditation is, such is the man. How much do we meditate in the
law of God? How much do we come to God's
word and mutter as it were and chatter and ask the Lord to open
our eyes to it and to the truth of it and to reveal to us the
Lord Jesus Christ who is there in all the scriptures. The wise man says as he thinketh
in his heart so easily. How do we think? What do we think
upon? Sometimes in the night season when we can't sleep, where
do our thoughts run? Do we seek to think upon the
Word of God? And Him who is the Word of God
incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not easy, I know, I mean
sometimes one's awake and you try to pray and your thoughts
are all scattered, it's almost impossible. to gather your thoughts,
and you begin to compose a prayer as it were, and before you know
where you are, you're drifting off into sleep and everything's
gone, but the Lord knows. Isn't that muttering, chattering,
mourning? Wasn't that the experience of
that godly man, Hesychiah, like a crane or a swallow, so did
I chatter? And he cries out, I am oppressed!
Undertake for me! Well, this is the man then, the
godly man, the blessed man. He's a man who is familiar with
the Word of God. It's his delight, it's his meditation.
And then finally, what does the Lord do with this man? He causes
this man to prosper. He is leaf, also it says, shall
not wither. And whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper. Oh, this man, you see, is able,
by the grace of God, to suck sweetness out of bitter things. He's hungry. Oh, he's hungry
for the Word of God. And we're told, to the hungry
soul, every bitter thing is sweet. All that the Lord brings him
into, then, is for his profit. All things are to work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the core, according
to his purpose. All these things are sanctified
to him, and made profitable to his soul, even his chastenings. All the blessed man is he whom
the Lord chasteneth, as I said, Psalm 94. The Lord chastens him
and teaches him. Now no chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. But nevertheless, we're told,
Afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them
who exercise thereby. Nevertheless, the chastening
is not profitable. It's hard, it's difficult, correction. Not pleasant is it when we were
children and we had to be corrected. But whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. It's a
mark of his fatherly care of us that he wants to correct us
and put us right. and so too the Lord, it's not
pleasant but afterwards all that nevertheless it yields the peaceable
fruit of righteousness but who is it to? it's to those who have
exercised and this is the man you see, the blessed man he knows
much of soul exercise, he's not a thief 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." Or God grants that we might be found here then in
the first part of the psalm. God forbid that we should be
numbered amongst those that follow in verses 4, 5 and 6, the ongoing. May the Lord have mercy and bless
his word to us. Amen. Now before we close the
meeting we'll just sing the hymn 1141 I was going to also have a third
in but there's no no one to call on no brother to call on in prayer
tonight so we'll conclude as we sing the hymn 1141 which is
a paraphrase of Psalm 46 we refer to Psalm 46 God is the refuge
of his saints when storms of sharp distress invade ere we
can offer our complaints behold in presence with his aid. There is a stream whose gentle
flow supplies the city of our God. Life, love and joy still
gliding through and watering our divine abode. 1141 and the
tune 435. God is the refuge of his saints
When storms of short distress invade Ere we can offer our complaints,
Behold him present with his saints.