Read: Psalm 1
Read: Matthew 5:1-16
Someone once said that if a picture paints a thousand words, then a poem paints a thousand pictures. When we add music to poetry and imagery, it makes it stick inside our soul. Have you ever been driving down the road, listening to the radio, and you hear a song that perfectly puts your thoughts and emotions into words. Sometimes, in words that you were struggling to find on your own. Maybe words you just needed permission to vocalize. Art, poetry, and music have a unique power to help us see ourselves and relate to truth.
In the center of our Bibles, we have the heart of Scripture, a prayer book of songs that span a wide range of emotions that include joy, anger, confusion, and anxiety. It’s a remarkable insight into knowing God, knowing ourselves, and living in a complex world.
The first two Psalms serve as a sort of preface to the rest of the book. They lay out two fundamental ideas that are essential in understanding how to prosper and overcome in a hostile climate. How do we flourish in a desert? How do we thrive when we are being persecuted? How can we change the world? The Psalms tell us.
A Progression into Evil
The songbook of the Bible starts with a blessing. If you want to prosper, this is what you have to do. Don’t walk in the council of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers. While the Bible makes it clear that we were born with a sin nature, it also suggests that our unrighteousness is in part due to a pattern of living apart from God’s created design. The progression of walking, standing, and then sitting shows a downward spiral into wickedness.
First, the idea of walking is taking the advice of the wicked and following their instruction. It’s what children do as they develop, they try to imitate the adults around them. Before my little sister turned one year old, I had taught her how to whistle. I remember going to her first year check up at the doctor and I got her to perform her special trick. The doctor was surprised. She had never seen anything like it before. That is how we become like the world.
The second description is a little more confusing in English. It doesn’t mean to stand in the way as in to be in opposition, or even to solicit others like you’re handing out leaflets. It means to identify with someone and embody their worldview. Character is cultivated through the patterns of living. There is a need to feel like we belong to a community, so we adapt ourselves to fit in.
Then, third, we see the conclusion of this is to sit in the seat of the scorners. You could say that the problem with this individual is that they slowed down in life and gave up, but this is a gradual progression. Listening to the instruction of the wicked leads to identifying with them, and identity leads to criticism. It’s a negative result, but it’s something that we can all identify with. After being worn down by life over many years, we lose a sense of excitement for learning and discovering new things.
A Blessing for Delighting
The positive in all of this is the one who is blessed for avoiding the way of the wicked. But how does he do it? By delighting in the Law of the LORD and meditating on it day and night. Notice, first of all, how the psalmist doesn’t have a three part list of things to do before they can be blessed. This is intentional. We are not blessed after we go through certain modes, jump through hoops, or summit the mountain. Our blessing is immediate when we delight in God.
Secondly, it is not a chore. There is a delight in seeking God. Our reward is not superficial. As we draw closer to Him, we are transformed back into our designed purpose. This is a blessing that cannot be measured by money, fame, or power. It is richness that comes in knowing our creator, who’s treasures, glory, and authority are unfathomable.
Furthermore, the righteous man meditates on Scripture day and night. This is a direct reflection of the Shema, the instruction given to Israel by Moses on how to “Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and might.” If the Scriptures are going to be useful to us, and bless us, we have to know them. That means they need to be taught to the next generation and meditated upon by adults. It should permeate every aspect of our lives. Notice what it says in Deuteronomy 6, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Note the similar pattern of physical posture that is given in Deuteronomy, this time to symbolize positive ways of seeking the LORD.
Trees: Evidence of Streams of Water
The blessing of the one who delights in God will be to prosper. The psalmist gives us this beautify depiction of a tree that is flourishing because it’s roots are able to reach the streams of living water.
This illustration might be difficult to wrap our minds around because we see trees around us all of the time. But in Israel, where it is practically a desert and it doesn’t rain but a few inches a year, there aren’t many trees that grow to a substantial size. That is why, when you see a tree flourishing, you can be assured that there is a natural stream close by. As a tree, we cannot prosper if we are not being fed. It’s not enough to be watered once a week, when we come to Church. We need the Word of God daily, all day, morning and night.
Now, if you have been following my writing for the past several weeks, you will know that we just got out of the series in I John, following an earlier series of study in the Gospel of John. John uses a vine to describe what is taking place here with the tree. As long as we are rooted in God, we will prosper. Not because we are generating the fruit of righteousness through our own effort, but because that is what happens when we are being provided with the essential nutrients.
When Jesus told the woman at the well that He had living water, she asked Him to give it to her so that she wouldn’t have to keep coming out to the well every day. What Jesus was referring to was Himself. If we knew how much Jesus was offering our parched souls, we would delight in Him every day.
Not So The Wicked!
Notice, again, the contrast. The wicked are not like the trees, deeply rooted and finding satisfaction in God. They are like the chaff. Chaff is the outer shell on the seed. When the farmers would thresh their grains they would toss them into the air. The weighty grain would drop down while the light and useless chaff would blow away. The chaff has nothing to offer. It can’t be made into bread. If it’s planted and watered, nothing will grow. So the psalmist tells us that the wicked cannot prosper because they lack the source of life.
Therefore, the wicked will perish. Notice how the last two verses parallel the first. They can’t stand in judgment, sit with the righteous, or walk in a worthy manner. As God judges the hearts and intentions of the world, they will be condemned.
Standing before the Judge of the Universe
It’s not easy to stand before God. He is the creator of the universe. The Bible tells us that we all will come before Him as our final judge. Every knee will bow before His throne. Would you like to stand before Him and have the record of everything you’ve ever done brought under strict scrutiny? How well do you think that you would be able to fare before the thrice Holy God?
I had to go before a judge when I was 16 because I got a speeding ticket. I have to admit, I was incredibly scared leading up to it and nervous when I stood before the judgement seat. I didn’t have any defense. I had been speeding. All I could do was apologize and say that I was sorry. Fortunately, the judge was really nice and let me off on a warning, but I took that warning to heart. She told me that if I ever got another speeding ticket, she would throw the book at me.
I can’t imagine standing before the throne of God and defending myself. There’s no one to blame for my actions. I’m guilty of everything that could be said against me. I would be crushed. But I don’t have to come into the courtroom as a defendant. I don’t approach God as a judge. Jesus was already crushed for my sins. I am a joint heir with Christ and a child of God. I come into His court with thanksgiving because He is my Father who takes pleasure in hearing me pray. Do I take pleasure in hearing Him speak by delighting in His Word?
Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. This article is a condensed version of one of his sermons.