I'm trying to figure out which
way to turn that. There it is. Wherever you go, they've got
a different device. I'm going to go to Psalm 1 today
to speak to you. It's always good to see folks
that you haven't seen in a long time. There's a lot of people
here that I do know and a lot of folks I don't know. But I do love this psalm. I thought this week for Sunday
School, we'd look at something very simple. I know oftentimes you preach
and teach and you can't ever tell if anybody believes you,
but you sure want to make sure they understand you. And this
psalm is something that That, I think, is a great psalm. It's actually the preface to
all the other psalms. And by that I mean the content
of this psalm, basically, seeks to teach us the way of
blessedness. That's what that psalm's about.
And I tell you, I want to know about the way to blessedness.
And the psalmist here speaks of this, and he says here in
verse 1, 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." Now, this word blessed there
is actually in the plural. You can't tell if it's a noun
or verb. You don't know what it is. It
actually means blessednesses. If you can imagine that, it means
heaps upon heaps upon heaps of blessedness belongs to the man
being described right here. I want to know all about that.
I want to know all about that. And it can actually be translated,
oh, the blessednesses of the man here, the man that's being
described. And what's lovely about that
is it's talking about a man. It's not talking about angels. It would be wonderful to live
constantly in the presence of God, looking upon Him and crying,
holy, holy, holy. This is talking about a man,
a person like you, like me. Woman. Man. Born in this world. Born a vile descendant of Adam,
a maggot, walking this earth, blessed of God. Now, that's a
wonderful thing. That's just a wonderful thing
to talk about. It's a subject I love. People that are subject
to losses, sickness, subject to infirmities, subject to faults
and temptations. Anybody here don't have any faults?
I haven't run into you. I haven't run into you. And that's
what we're talking about here. These are common men being described
here, but they are distinct men. In this respect, the grace of
God has been given to them. Now that, my friends, is blessedness. It's a righteous man. He says
that in verse 6. For the Lord knoweth the way
of the righteous. That's what we're talking about. A man who's
righteous. Now how in the world does something
like that happen? Well, it's God's doings. It's
not something you and I possess by nature. We don't have it.
Never going to have it. Never going to have it. And he
says here about this man, he gives some negative things about
him, things that are negatively true. It says here, he does not
walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Now, that's true of a righteous
man. That's true of a blessed man. He's got no time for the
opinions of this world. And boy, they're everywhere.
The men you work with, the people you live around, their tongue
walketh through the earth. They've got an opinion about
everything. And you have your subject at times to pay attention
to them. And my friends, that's just not
the way we should be. We're not to walk in the counsel
of the ungodly. The ungodly. These folks are
ready to give their assistance at everything you ask them about. But really, a man who's blessed
of God is a man who finds his counsel in the Word of God. In
the preaching of the Word of God, the preaching and teaching
of the Word of God, that counsel, that's a blessed man. He's a
blessed man. He refuses the counsel of those
who are on the broad road of destruction. You know that? There's
two ways. A broad road and a straight and
narrow path. And I don't care how well you
can navigate that broad road, your advice don't mean anything
to a man who's blessed. And it says here, he standeth
not in the way of sinners. A blessed man is very picky about
who he hangs out with. Is that right? It's true. We
talk about discriminating grace. God's grace towards his people
is discriminating. That's a fact. And I'm thankful. I know the world hates the word
discrimination, but God's grace is discriminating. And when that
grace is given to a man or woman, that person becomes discriminating
about who they're willing to hang out with. They don't stand
in the crowd. They're not a part of the herd.
They're blessed. They're blessed. Lonely at times,
but blessed. And they stand, if not in the
way of sinners. They're sinners just like everybody
else, my friend. But I'm telling you, the difference
is they're blood-bought sinners. They're not their own. They're
not their own. And it says here that they don't
sit in the seat of a scornful. Now you see progress here as
you're reading this, and you see this in a life of sin. A man who's left to himself will
progress in his life of sin. He will walk in the counsel of
the ungodly. He will stand. and the way of
sinners, and eventually he will just set down in the seat of
the scornful. He'll never get any better. He
just gets worse and worse and worse. That's true of men. You see it. How else do you explain
the corruption that we witness every day in our own culture?
I find myself shaking my head. I'll tell you how. The depravity
of man. The total depravity of man. And
unless God Almighty does something for somebody, that's the way
they're going to be. But oh, the blessednesses. The blessednesses. It says here
now some positive things about this man. It says in verse 2,
his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, doth
he meditate day and night. Now, you know, the human heart,
they say, is the vacuum. It's got to have something filling
it. You've got to love something. Where a man's treasure is, there
will his heart be also. A man who loves this world will
treasure it, and it's going to be all he's going to be about.
But a man who loves the Lord, a man who's blessed, is a man
whose delight is in the law of the Lord, in the Word of the
Lord. Not just the Old Testament law.
I know when David wrote this, he was talking primarily about
the first five books of the Bible. But this is about the whole Bible.
The law of the Lord, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. A blessed
man is a man who loves and delights to meditate on these things.
Chew on them. Chew on them. That's what that
word... You know, actually, the word means chatter. Martin Luther
pointed that out. He said, have you ever found
yourself talking to the Bible? You read a verse and you talk
to it and you let it talk back to you. That's chatter. Meditating
on the Word of the Lord. That's a blessed man. And he
does that day and night. Now, that doesn't mean you walk
around constantly all day. Constantly with a scripture on
your mind, although it's wonderful when you can or night every night. If you did, you'd never get to
sleep. I had a hard time sleeping last night because I was thinking
about this morning. But I will tell you this, a man
who meditates on the word of the Lord. will meditate in the
daytime. In the daytime of his life when
he's prospering, when he's doing well, when the sun's out and
everything's going his way, he will meditate on the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He'll thank the Lord for what
he has when that light's shining on him. And that same man, when
the night comes, the night of his life, when the clouds roll
in and the rain comes after the clouds, And going through all
the trials and tribulations of this life, that same man in the
nighttime will meditate and think on the promises of God. Oh, the
blessedness. The blessedness. Isn't that right? Isn't that
right? That's why I don't like to read
the Bible in a hurry. I read one time, if you read
four chapters a day, you can go through the Bible one time
a year. Once through the Old Testament, twice through the
New Testament, twice through the Psalm. Four chapters a day.
That's wonderful. I just can't read that fast.
I come across some verse and it just locks me in. I want to
always be able to read and study and meditate on the Word to such
an extent that you can get the comfort from the promises. These
things aren't just There's nothing insignificant in the Word of
God. And he says here about these people in verse 3, These blessed
people, he or she, 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. Now, he's a tree planted. Did
you notice that? I was driving in today, you drive
along looking at all these trees up here in the woods. They all
have one thing in common. Some seed dropped off another
tree and fell out there, like them maple leaves. Every year
I clean those out of my gutters. I've actually had maple trees
start growing in my gutters. Those little whirligigs. They're
just loose, flying everywhere. That's not the kind of tree we're
talking about. We're talking about a tree that's been planted. It's
a tree that's owned by somebody. It's a tree that's being cultivated
by somebody. It's a tree that's absolutely
chosen and placed by the rivers of water. That's the person of
God. That's the man of God. That's the child of God. Our
Lord said, every plant that my heavenly Father hath not planted
shall be rooted up. But we're talking here about
plants that He's planted. He has planted this. And I'm
telling you, He plants them by the rivers of water. Did you
notice that? It's plural. Not just a river of water. The
rivers of water. When one of them rivers dries
up, There's plenty of sap. Plenty of water for the sap of
that tree. That's just the way it is. Plenty
of water. An unfailing source to provide
life for these people. A constant source. A constant
source of growth. You're to desire the sincere
milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. And I'm telling
you, this is rivers. I've heard stories of persons
being converted by having just a section of a page out of a
Bible and reading one page. We're talking about rivers of
water the Lord's given us. He's kept this book for all generations. And I love what it says here.
These people are rooted. They're stable. You know that
a blessed man is a stable man. He's just stable. Who can explain
it? Who can explain it? The stability of a blessed man.
I can tell you, his roots are going way down yonder and there's
rivers of water taking care of him. He's a stable man. He's a growing man. And he brings
forth fruit in his season. Do you know that? In his season,
he always brings forth fruit. In his season, whenever it's
right for the fruit to be there. That's what that means. Whenever
it's right, at the right time, that fruit appears. When a trial
comes, he'll be given patience. Why? Because he bringeth forth
fruit in his season. When sorrows come, and they always
do, they're always accompanied with some form of joy for a believer. He has what he needs. The fruit
he needs shows up when he needs it. A blessed man. And even when it seems as if
the worst of things are coming his way, it's really the best
of things that are coming his way. Oh, Jacob said, all things
are against me. Oh, no. No, sir. No, sir. You've got a son on the throne
in Egypt. It's true. Planted, planted.
Bringing forth fruit in season. Always having what he needs at
the right time. And his leaf shall not wither." Not going anywhere. Driving in
yesterday, and you see these evergreens out along the... Out
here in the wintertime, you still see evergreens. Well, a blessed
man is an evergreen. But he's more than just an evergreen,
because they don't bear fruit. He bears fruit in his season. He's always bearing fruit. He
does not wither. The signs of life will always
remain in the believer. There are times when he goes
up and times when he goes down. But I'm telling you, he's always
beautiful in the sight of his Lord. And whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper. Isn't that amazing? Do you know what that means?
That means that the fruit we were just talking about will
always come to maturity in the life of a believer. You know
why? I can tell you. It says it in Philippians 1,
verse 6. It's the verse I think sometimes
we run by and we don't pay much attention to. But whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper. And here's why. Because I'm confident
of this very thing, that he that hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. A man
of God, a blessed woman, is going to be blessed of him and bring
forth fruit. And it'll always prosper. It'll
always prosper. Because of the work of the Lord
in him. Now, we're not talking here about worldly prosperity. You know,
people talk about that. Oh, that means I'm going to be
rich. Don't hold your breath. But we're talking about real
prosperity. We're talking about prosperity of the soul. We're talking about actually
being blessed eternally. We can't even begin to understand.
I can't begin to tell you what I'm talking about. Blessed eternally. Prospering
of the soul. And I'll tell you, that's what
he's talking about. You know, it's not just talking
about the things of this life. You know, I read Spurgeon one
time, and he said this. He said that there's a curse
wrapped up in a wicked man's mercies. Every man that's wicked,
even his plowing is sin, the Scripture says. Every wicked
man, his mercies have got a curse wrapped up in it. But the opposite
is true of a believer. There's a blessing concealed
in a righteous man's crosses, losses, and sorrows. I wish I
could say things like that. That's true. That's true. And that's what he means here.
Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. In verse 4, on the flip side
of this, back in the text, it says this. I need to get back here, I didn't
mark it. Verse 4 says, not the ungodly are not so. There's actually
a double negative there. It's not so the ungodly, not
so is what it says. Not so the ungodly, not so. This is not the case. That's
a terrible thing when God says not so two times, you better
pay attention, but they are like the chaff. The chaff, which the
wind driveth away. You know, a godly man's like
a tree planted by the waters. This man's not even to be compared
to the tree I was talking about out there in the woods. You know,
that old tree out there in the woods, you can go out there and
cut him down and at least heat your house with him. This man's
not to be compared to that. He's worthless. He has no value. He's like the chaff on the outside
of that kernel. The wind driveth it away. You
know, they'll leave that chaff on the wheat until the day that
things are put in the garner. And then they'll take it up and
throw it in the air and the wheat and barley will hit the ground
and the chaff will fly away in the wind and when they're done,
they take a fan and just sweep the floor and burn it with unquenchable
fire. Worthless. Of no value. Of no value. Of no value. And the wind will just blow them
away. I talked about the stability
of a believer. There's no stability in these
folks. The wind will blow them away. Therefore, the ungodly shall
not stand in the judgment nor the center in the congregation
of the righteous. You know, while we're here, while we're here,
they stand in our congregations. And it's hard to tell. You know,
any time you speak, you always hope and assume the people you're
talking to are actually believers. But there's terror among the
weak. But this coming day, there's
going to be a great separation. A great separation. And they're
not going to stand in the congregation of the righteous. They won't. Just like the days of Sodom and
Gomorrah. A lot was vexed with the people
around him. And you and I are vexed with
the people around us. And sometimes vexed and folks
even in our own congregations. But I'm here to tell you, the
Lord knows the way of the righteous. Verse 6. You see that? The Lord
knoweth the way of the righteous. It actually means the Lord is
knowing the way of the righteous right now. He is knowing the
way of the righteous. He is knowing the way of the
blessed people. He's knowing. He's attending.
That's what that means. He's loving the way of the righteous.
That's what that word means. Looking to their way. The Scripture says the hairs
on your head are numbered. I'm telling you, that's a running
tally. I lose them all the time. Daily, the tally on my head is
known by Him. It is now. And at times of darkness,
temptation, trial, and sorrow, the Lord knoweth. Job said it. He knoweth the way that I take.
And when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. That's what Job said. He's tried
me, I'll come forth as gold. He'll lead me by his counsel
and he'll receive me into glory. And God alone knows this way.
You know that? The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. Don't
you wish you did? How many times have I got up
and wished I knew what I was doing? I don't know what I'm
doing. I don't know. God knows the way. He's omniscient. And I tell you,
He has an infinite love for His children. And this way is hidden
to even the righteous man. But he leads us, cares for us,
and at no time in our lives will we ever be led by our senses
or by our sight. As long as we're down here, we're
going to be led by faith. By faith. That's the only way
to walk. A faith that sees in darkness.
A faith that sees the one who's invisible. A faith who acknowledges
the providence of God in the lives of his people. I tell you,
I wouldn't want to face life without thinking there was a
master whose hand was behind it. We'll have his support, his deliverance,
and his acceptance. The Lord knoweth the way of the
righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. I'm telling
you, the contrast is amazing. Not so, the ungodly, not so. Not only will he perish, but
his way will perish. Everything around you, this world,
everybody's glory and end, this entire way is going to perish. The earth is going to be cleansed
of it. He's going to cleanse this world
and there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth wherein
dwelleth righteousness. There won't even be a sea. Because
when he comes down here, he's going to heat this place up so
much that the water is going to evaporate. And I'm telling
you, that's no nuclear bomb, okay? That's the face of the
one who sits upon the throne. And that day is coming when the
righteous will know the blessedness spoken of in the first three
verses there. Right now, we just believe it. We just believe it.