Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Welcome to our program today.
I'm glad you could join us, and I hope you'll get a blessing
out of the message that I'm going to preach. I'm going to preach
from the very first Psalm, Psalm 1 in the Old Testament. A while back, someone asked me
about the Psalms and how all of them fit into the scheme of
salvation, the plan of salvation, the revelation of Christ and
the gospel, and they do. Because it's all the Word of
God. The Psalms are songs. That's what we call them today.
Many of them were meant to be sung. Not all of them, but many
of them were. Or you can look at them as poetry. They're part of the section of
the Bible called the poetry books or the poetic books. They're
also prophetic in many ways. For example, most of you are
familiar with the 23rd Psalm, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. And of course, that is a very
poetic song concerning the shepherd theme that runs through a lot
of the Bible. And of course, it's a prophecy
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the shepherd of his sheep.
In John chapter 10, he said, I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But also many Bible scholars
look at Psalm 23 as the second Psalm in a trilogy. Psalm 22
showing Christ, the suffering servant in his office as priest,
bringing the offering of himself unto God for the sins of his
people. And then Psalm 23 would be Christ
as prophet, declaring himself as the shepherd of the sheep,
in whom we, who are his sheep, have freely and fully provided
all the provisions of salvation and its blessings. I shall not
want, he said. And then Psalm 24 is the Psalm
of the King, the King of glory. So that would be Christ's mediatorial
office as the King. So these Psalms, they are poetry,
but they are prophetic. There are also words of God that
teach us to worship and to pray. So it's good to read the Psalms,
but we have to read the Psalms just like we need to read all
the Bible. which is through the lens, or
you might say the glasses, of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified
and risen again as the Lord our righteousness. And certainly
Psalm 1 sets the tone. Now the Psalms, all the Psalms,
just like all the Bible, were written by God, God-breed, but
they were written by different people. Most of them, or a lot
of them, let's say, were written by King David. And that's what
Psalm 1 is. I believe it's a Psalm of David,
but it doesn't matter what human instrument was used to write
the Psalms. But what I'm going to talk to
you about in Psalm 1, it sets the tone for all the Psalms.
It's the same theme of the whole Bible. And what it does, it divides
the whole human race into two separate states. And it's the
godly and the ungodly. And that's the title of the message.
The godly and the ungodly. And so we're going to see from
this psalm who is a godly person and who are the ungodly. Who
are the godly and who are the ungodly that he says. Now we
need to understand that none of us by nature are godly. Now some people interpret that
as being god-like. Well, we can talk about that
in some other time because it's take too much time. God has attributes
that only belong to him and cannot be given or communicated to any
creature or human being, especially a human being. For example, God
is immutable. Well, there's no way that I can
look at myself even as a sinner saved by grace and say, well,
I'm immutable. I change all the time. In fact,
my salvation brought about a great change, regeneration, conversion,
the new birth, a new creation, new creature. And then there
are other attributes that God has that he does give and communicate
to his people in salvation. For example, his love. That love,
the Apostle Paul wrote, is shed abroad within our hearts by the
Holy Spirit when we see Christ and come to Him and believe in
Him and then are united with His people, put into His family. Just like you are born into an
earthly family and you grow up in that family and you love them
in a physical way and in a heart way. When you're born into the
family of God, you love Christ and his people. So none of us
by nature are godly. only those who are believers
are godly. So let's look at this. Psalm
1. Now a lot of people say that this psalm, when he talks about
the godly, only refers to Christ himself. And certainly these
things would fit Christ. Look at verse 1. It says, blessed
is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, You
might have a concordance in your Bible, and that word ungodly
may be translated or it may be described as wicked. Blessed
is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked. And
that's okay, but let's use the word ungodly as in the King James
Version. It's a good word. 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 that certainly would apply to Christ. He certainly did not
walk in the counsel of the ungodly. He is God in human flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ is God
manifest in the flesh, the perfect God-man. And he walked on this
earth. He conducted himself in his youth
and in his earthly ministry. He even sat down and ate with
ungodly people, publicans and sinners. The Pharisees accused
him of that. But he himself did not walk in
the counsel of the ungodly. He didn't listen to their counsel,
to their advice, to their direction. He's the one who had the counsel.
And of course he didn't stand in the way of sinners. Christ
is the way of salvation himself. He is the way of righteousness.
The way of godliness. 1 Timothy 3.16 says, Great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That's Christ. And He certainly
didn't sit in the seat of the scornful. Those who scorn are
those who do not value the things that are valuable. You've heard
the old saying, you know, about a woman being scorned. That's
when she thinks that others do not appreciate her, her worth. Well, all that certainly could
apply to Christ, but it applies to his people, his sheep. Sinners
saved by the grace of God, justified in Christ by his righteousness
imputed, born again by the Spirit who have seen the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. and that's a godly person. They've
been made so not by their works, not by any supposed goodness
in themselves, and not even by their decision. They've been
made so by the grace of God. You see, if you're a sinner saved
by grace, you didn't make yourself a sinner saved by grace by deciding
to follow Jesus. You say, but preacher, I did
decide to follow Jesus. If you're following Him, you
did decide to do that, but even that decision was a product of
God's grace. You need to understand that.
You see, I'm not saved because I'm better than the ungodly. I'm not saved because I'm better
than the rest of humanity who refuse to decide for Christ. I'm saved totally, completely,
100%. by the grace of God. And my decision
to follow Him, you know where it comes from? It's a God-given
gift wherein He made this rebellious sinner willing to submit to His
way of salvation. There was a time I was unwilling.
There was a time I actually hated it. But the Lord changed my mind
and my heart. He gave me a new heart. That's
what the scripture says. And so, when we talk about this,
we're talking about a godly person is a sinner saved by grace. Now
let's look at verse one again. And listen to this. He says,
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. You know what that describes?
That describes the whole life of an individual. He's walking. That's your conduct. That's your
thoughts, even. You don't walk around blindly,
I hope. When you usually walk, you're either doing it for a
purpose or for a destination. I try to get out and walk to
get exercise. I don't particularly have a destination
in mind. But I'm walking for a purpose.
But usually when I'm walking, I'm walking somewhere. I'm going
to the grocery store or going to the doctor or going to worship. Walking, that's the conduct.
Either for a purpose or for a destination. And then he talks about those
who stand. Now standing involves making
a stand. This is where I stand. One of
the old reformers said, here I stand, I can do no more. This
is what I believe. This is what I think. This is
what drives me. And then sittings in the seat.
Sitting has to do with resting, has to do with where you find
peace. You see that? Now, he says blessed. What's the opposite of blessed?
Cursed. And that's what he talks about
in verse four, the ungodly are not so, but I'll get to that
in a minute. Blessed, a person who is blessed
of God is not just a person who has wealth or health. It's not just a person who has
a good family, a good marriage. Now those are all blessings in
and of themselves. But you know a person can have
a happy marriage and still be cursed of God. A person can be
wealthy, have a lot of money, a lot of possessions, and still
be cursed of God. You remember the parable, the
rich man and Lazarus? You remember the one that Christ
spoke of in Luke chapter 12, who gained so much material possessions
that he had to build bigger barns to put his stuff in? He was cursed. So when we talk about a person
here being blessed, who is a godly person, we're talking again about
a sinner saved by grace. Chosen of God, blessed of God. Ephesians 1.3 says, those who
are in Christ are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. That's the blessing. These are
blessings from God. You see, God gives good things
to a lot of people. It rains on the just and the
unjust. It's been raining here in Albany,
and people have been saying, well, we need the rain. Well,
it's raining on the believers and the unbelievers. That good
rain, that brings the water. But you see, the difference between
the blessed and the cursed is the grace of God that comes to
them through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. A blessed
person is one who's chosen of God, justified before God. That means that their sins have
been washed away by the blood of Christ. They're justified
based upon His righteousness imputed, charged, accounted to
them. And the evidence of that is that
they have been, and they've been redeemed by His blood. And the
evidence of that is they have been born again by the Spirit.
And the evidence of the new birth is they believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ. They look to Him for all salvation,
not to themselves, not to others, but to Him alone as their Lord,
their righteousness. They rest in Him. So when you
look at it, verse one, blessed is the man that walketh not in
the counsel of the ungodly. The counsel of the ungodly refers
to any way of salvation that man by nature comes up with,
and it's any way that is other than or opposed to the way of
God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, if somebody
counsels you to seek salvation based on your works, based upon
your law-keeping, based upon your own goodness, or based upon
anything you do or don't do, anything conditioned on you,
if that's their counsel and you believe it and you live your
life that way, you're walking in the counsel of the ungodly. Do you see that? Now, those who
have been brought by God to walk in His way, which is the way
of Christ, the way of God's grace, the way of the cross, the way
of the blood of Jesus Christ, the way of His righteousness
imputed, they're walking in the counsel of the godly. That's
the gospel. God saves sinners by grace through
Jesus Christ the Lord. And it's based upon His blood
alone, not your decision, His righteousness alone, not your
works. He said, I am the way, the truth, the life. No man cometh
under the Father but by me. So blessed is the person that
walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners. Where do you stand? If you stand
on your decision, or if you stand on your works, or if you stand
in your church membership, stand on your baptism, my friend, you're
standing You're standing in the way of sinners. Because that's
an unbeliever. That's one who, if God doesn't
bring them to salvation by grace, is cursed of God. Where do I
stand? I tell you where I stand exactly.
I stand by the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's my
representative. Christ is my surety. My sins
were imputed, charged to him. His righteousness is imputed,
charged to me. I stand in his righteousness.
Paul said it in Philippians chapter three, he said that I may know
him and be found in him. Not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law. You see those who have righteousness
of the law, they're standing in the way of sinners because
the law condemns them. We've all sinned and come short
of the glory of God. So to be found in him, not having
mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith or the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. I stand before
God in Christ, washed in his blood, clothed in his righteousness
imputed to me. And I'm not gonna stand in either
way, by the grace of God. But those who stand in any other
way stand in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. Now, as I said, to scorn something
is to see no value in it. My friend, the gospel of God's
grace in Christ Jesus, his righteousness imputed, that is the most valuable
message that you could ever hear. And if you don't believe it,
if Christ is not your whole salvation, you're scorning him. And so I
would ask you, where are you sitting? Where do you find peace
and rest? Give you an example of what I'm
talking about. You go to a church and you sit down in the pew.
You're comfortable. A man gets up behind the pulpit.
What does he preach? Does he preach the true gospel? Salvation conditioned on Christ
alone? who fulfilled all those conditions
or does he put the burden of salvation upon you? Because if
he puts the burden of salvation upon you and you gain comfort,
peace, and assurance from what you've done or what you think
God's enabled you to do, you're sitting in the seat of the scornful.
Now that may sound harsh, but it's true. Now that sets the
tone, but now those who rest in Christ, the only thing that
gives me peace is to hear Christ crucified and risen from the
dead. The God-man who brought forth everlasting righteousness
by which God could justify a sinner like me. That's my peace, that's
my hope, that's where I sit, where Christ is at the right
hand of the Father. Now that gives the psalm the
whole tone here. Verse two, it says, this person
who's blessed, his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in
his law, God's law, doth he meditate day and night. Now the law is
the word of God. Whenever you see the word law,
don't always just think of the 10 commandments. That can be
referred to in certain context. But you need to understand something
about the law. The law of God condemns all of
us based on our works. So if that's the case, how can
I delight in the law of God? There's only one way. The blessed
people, the godly people, they delight in the law as they see
it fulfilled in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is my law
keeper. Christ is my law fulfiller. Romans
10 verse 4 says, Christ is the end of the law, the fulfillment,
the completion, the satisfaction, the perfection, the finishing
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. In
Christ, I can delight in the law, because in Him I have a
righteousness that equals and answers the demands of the law
of God. And so I meditate on Him all
day and night, you see, my salvation. And then verse three, it says,
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. That's the fruit of
salvation for the godly people, the blessed people, sinners saved
by grace, that comes through Christ. They're like a tree planted
by the rivers of water. Isaiah 61 says they're trees
of righteousness which the planting is of the Lord. I didn't plant
myself. I didn't create myself. I didn't
give life to myself. It's all of the Lord. and the
water of life by the power of the Spirit, His Word, and bringing
forth fruit in His season." I don't produce fruit. No save sinner
does. We bear fruit. Christ said in
John chapter 15, I am the vine, you're the branches. The life
and the fruit come from the vine. We just bear it. We bear the
fruit of faith, of repentance, of obedience. motivated by grace. His leaf shall not wither like
the leaves on the trees wither and die in the fall. That won't
happen in Christ. He's life. And whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper. That is in the way of salvation
and glorifying God, a right relationship with God. But look at verse four.
The ungodly are not so. This doesn't apply to everybody. This doesn't apply to unbelievers
now. The ungodly are not so, but are
like the chaff which the wind driveth away. The chaff speaks
of judgment. It's like the leftover, no-count
material after they harvest the good wheat. And it's driven away,
it's burned up. Verse 5, therefore the ungodly
shall not stand in the judgment. How can I, a sinner, stand before
God at judgment and not fall? Only in Christ. only washed in
His blood, only clothed in His righteousness. I cannot plead
my works, my efforts, even my preaching. I can't go before
God at judgment and say, Lord, I've preached for over 30 years.
Well, that doesn't make me righteous. That doesn't save me. I preach
Christ. He's my righteousness. He saves
me. I stand in Him. But the ungodly
shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation
of the righteous. Now, who are the righteous? Well,
they're the justified. How are sinners justified? By
the grace of God grounded upon the righteousness, the obedience
unto death, the blood and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. My sins charged to Him. He put them away. He drank damnation
dry. He suffered the full measure
of God's wrath for my sins imputed to him. And I have his righteousness
imputed to me, charged to me. And out of that righteousness,
he gave me life. The righteous are sinners saved
by grace. And then he says in verse six,
for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way
of the ungodly shall perish. Now that word knoweth, it means
more than simply God just acknowledges or is aware of the way of the
righteous. That word knoweth describes an
intimate relationship, an unbreakable fellowship between the Lord and
His people who are the righteous. He knows their way because He
is their way. Christ is the way. and God loves
his people. My friend, the ungodly are not
so. The way of the ungodly shall
perish. There's no love from God to those who go through this
life and perish in their sins. The love of God is only found
in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Herein is
love. Not that we love God, but that
He loved us and gave His Son to be the propitiation, the sin-bearing
sacrifice that brought satisfaction to His law and justice for our
sins. That's the godly, you see. And
they're blessed of God, they're not cursed. They may suffer in
this world. I mentioned the parable of the
rich man and Lazarus. The rich man who was cursed and
who was ungodly, fared sumptuously in this life. But old Lazarus,
he was poor and sick. But when he died, he stood with
the righteous. He was a sinner and he wasn't
saved because he was poor and sick. He was a sinner saved by
grace. That's the difference between
the godly and the ungodly. That's basically the theme of
the whole Bible. And it carries through all these
Psalms. I hope you'll join us next week for another message
from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1-1-0-2 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia 3-1-7-0-7. contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
or email us through our website at www.TheLetterRofGrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.