Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
When I look at this passage, I see two types of people. There are the righteous who are characterized as those who delight in and meditate on God's word. They are characterized as yielding fruit, not withering, prospering, assembling with other righteous, standing on judgement day, and on a path that is watched over by God. Then there are the wicked who are described as sinners, mockers, chaff that the wind blows away, humbled at judgement day or in a group of righteous people, and on a path leading to destruction. The Psalmist doesn't include a third group. He doesn't say "And then there are those who can't really be categorized as wicked because they are basically good people, nor can they be categorized as ones who really get into God, His word, or assembling together." Jesus, also, in Matthew 7:13,14 says that there are two paths people are on, one that leads to life and one that leads to destruction...
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
John, in his first epistle, divides the population into Children of God and Children of the devil. It would appear that throughout scripture you are either for Jesus or you are against Him. You are either saved or lost. You are either bound for Heaven or Hell. There is no middle road, no free agent status. There is either the NFL or AFL but the World Football League is not an option.
This is what is so dangerous to us who identify with the Children of God because it is easy to stay away from those mocking God or actively doing evil, but those who really don't appear flagrantly evil are a lure to us. They are our neighbors who don't go to Church or read their Bibles but have good families and maybe are even more appealing than our brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead of church on Sunday, they go with their family to the lake or camping. Maybe they just invested in a boat or lake house to enjoy with their family. Maybe they just built a swimming pool for their kids. They are about to go on an extravagant Disney vacation that you can't afford. Now obviously, I've been to Disney, the lake, camping, and I have a swimming pool. Therefore, I relate to them and see nothing wrong with walking with them, standing with them, or sitting with them. I don't see anything wicked about them and that is why they are so dangerous. If you examine the Sermon on the Mount closely, you will see that Jesus wasn't contrasting extremely wicked people with righteous people. Jesus was contrasting people who both prayed, went to church, gave money to the poor, fasted, and had similar looking "houses" or lives yet both were built on different foundations - one that stood and one that was blown away by the wind like chaff.
Therefore, as David tells us to be careful to avoid intimacy with the wicked because we don't want their wicked behavior nor its consequences rubbing off on us, we need to remember that their foundations on which they base their lives can be contagious, too. This is the subtle, insidious, hidden danger of intimacy with unbelievers. What is their foundation? Basically it can be summarized as idolatry. Anything that we are substituting for God as the source, meaning, love of our life is an idol. So as I listed some theoretical "good" activities that they may be involved in, the danger is that we might start putting the family, pleasure, money, leisure ahead of our love for God and not even know we are doing it. Slowly we start living for this Earth and all it has to offer, even though James says that our life here is like a vapor. We start making Kingdom of Earth decisions rather than Kingdom of Heaven decisions.
What are the results of this drifting? First of all we lose the "blessed" in verse 1. When we talk about "blessed" we usually make the mistake of seeing it through earthly eyes - a nice house, a fat paycheck, a good job, good looking kids, health, intelligence, and other covetable characteristics. I'm not saying God can't bless you with those things but a lot of that is "First-World" or Western thinking. I think what the Psalmist is saying is more the ability to sleep at night. The freedom from an ulcer or high blood pressure due to anxiety, stress, or indebtedness. The absence of worry about death, the economy, politics, terrorism, the future. The Peace of knowing that your forever is a lock. The Hope of a new body and a great future inheriting the riches of the King of this Earth as an adopted member of His family is forgotten as you strive for riches and a great body. The blessed life is one with peace, joy, and hope and this is what the idols of this world steal from you. I believe this is the fruit being yielded in verse 3.
Another result of drifting is seen in verse 3 when David talks about withering. What does withering mean? I think it relates to your relationship with God drying up. Your prayer life gets stale, your times in God's word are dry like you are reading words on a page not the living breathing word of God. You have nothing to offer people because you are exhausted and tapped out. Your previous growing, exciting faith has dried up. Maybe your family relationships are taking a hit because they have become casualties of new priorities. This is withering and it usually leads to a trip to the doctor for antidepressants.
Verse 3 also talks about "whatever he does prospers". A life not delighted on and in God would lose its prospering. I think of Joseph in prison and because he delighted in God, everything he put his hand to prospered. James says, "whom the Lord loves, he disciplines." If we are replacing God with idols, He is not going to make it smooth sailing for us. Verse 6 says "He watches over the way of the righteous". If everything is going wrong for you lately, you seem to have a black cloud over your head, maybe God is saying that your new motivation for life is not working. Come back to the One who blesses, prospers, and brings a fruitful not withered life.
Lastly you will start drifting from the assembly of the righteous. It doesn't thrill you anymore. Worship is just repeating the same words over and over. The pastor's message was a bore and you didn't get anything out of it. You can worship God just as well on the golf course or fishing boat." How can I have a day of rest if I have to get up at 8AM to get ready for church?"These are all the lies and excuses you start telling yourself as you drift away from God at the center.
Do you recognize any of those in your life? It is easy to get off-center because Satan is clever enough to know you aren't going to hang out with blatant sinners or mockers of God. He will bring people into your life to entice you to slowly drift away until you become the thorny not fruitful soil. Beware! Remember your first love. Repent and return!
What are the results of this drifting? First of all we lose the "blessed" in verse 1. When we talk about "blessed" we usually make the mistake of seeing it through earthly eyes - a nice house, a fat paycheck, a good job, good looking kids, health, intelligence, and other covetable characteristics. I'm not saying God can't bless you with those things but a lot of that is "First-World" or Western thinking. I think what the Psalmist is saying is more the ability to sleep at night. The freedom from an ulcer or high blood pressure due to anxiety, stress, or indebtedness. The absence of worry about death, the economy, politics, terrorism, the future. The Peace of knowing that your forever is a lock. The Hope of a new body and a great future inheriting the riches of the King of this Earth as an adopted member of His family is forgotten as you strive for riches and a great body. The blessed life is one with peace, joy, and hope and this is what the idols of this world steal from you. I believe this is the fruit being yielded in verse 3.
Another result of drifting is seen in verse 3 when David talks about withering. What does withering mean? I think it relates to your relationship with God drying up. Your prayer life gets stale, your times in God's word are dry like you are reading words on a page not the living breathing word of God. You have nothing to offer people because you are exhausted and tapped out. Your previous growing, exciting faith has dried up. Maybe your family relationships are taking a hit because they have become casualties of new priorities. This is withering and it usually leads to a trip to the doctor for antidepressants.
Verse 3 also talks about "whatever he does prospers". A life not delighted on and in God would lose its prospering. I think of Joseph in prison and because he delighted in God, everything he put his hand to prospered. James says, "whom the Lord loves, he disciplines." If we are replacing God with idols, He is not going to make it smooth sailing for us. Verse 6 says "He watches over the way of the righteous". If everything is going wrong for you lately, you seem to have a black cloud over your head, maybe God is saying that your new motivation for life is not working. Come back to the One who blesses, prospers, and brings a fruitful not withered life.
Lastly you will start drifting from the assembly of the righteous. It doesn't thrill you anymore. Worship is just repeating the same words over and over. The pastor's message was a bore and you didn't get anything out of it. You can worship God just as well on the golf course or fishing boat." How can I have a day of rest if I have to get up at 8AM to get ready for church?"These are all the lies and excuses you start telling yourself as you drift away from God at the center.
Do you recognize any of those in your life? It is easy to get off-center because Satan is clever enough to know you aren't going to hang out with blatant sinners or mockers of God. He will bring people into your life to entice you to slowly drift away until you become the thorny not fruitful soil. Beware! Remember your first love. Repent and return!
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