THE BLESSED MAN AND THE WICKED MAN
PSALM 1:1-6
(September 1, 2019 – SUN p.m. – MBC baesa)

• The Psalms, like the other wisdom literature of the Old Testament (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes), is Hebrew poetry. Unlike English poetry, which emphasizes rhyme and meter, Hebrew poetry relies on other characteristics for its impact like parallelism and figures of speech.
• This first Psalm serves as sort of introduction to the rest of the Psalms. The subject matter of Psalm 1 is very general and basic, but it touches on two subjects that continually occur throughout the Psalms. It declares the blessedness of the righteous and the misery and future of the wicked. Psalm 1 distinguishes the righteous from the wicked and declares the blessing of righteous and the curse of the wicked.
• It presents two ways of life: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. Psalm 1 key subject is the centrality of God’s Word to the life and fruitfulness of the righteous who truly love His Word. Two great thrusts flow out of this: (a) the importance and absolute necessity of the Scripture, and (b) the changed character, stability, and fruitfulness it promises to those who make Scripture the core of their lives.

I- THE BLESSED MAN CHARACTERISTICS
     A. THE BLESSED MAN FELLOWSHIP (v. 1)
Psalm 1:1 “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.:”
• These are three description of expressions for the person who is blessed or right with God.
• These descriptions start that blessed man was influenced by the wicked to cooperate with them in their wickedness.
• Here describes the totality of evil rather than three kinds of developing climactic activities. We can compare the Psalm 1:1 with Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
• The word “Happy” is a better translation than “blessed” because there is a separate Hebrew language for the word “blessed”. We can read the Queen of Sheba exclamation of being “Happy” when she saw the greatness of Solomon in 1 Kings 10:8.
• The word “happy” appears 26 times in the Psalter.
• This blessedness is not deserved because it is a gift from God. In a moment when the righteous do not feel happy they are still blessed from God’s perspective because God protects them from judgment resulting from the fall in Genesis 3:15-19.
          1. They don’t Walk with the ungodly (v. 1a)
Psalm 1:1a “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” KJV
Psalm 1:1a “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,” NASB
The word “Blessed” in verse 1 also occurred in Psalm 2:12 “…Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
→ Instead of walking in the counsel of ungodly we should put our trust in God.
Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
Ephesians 4:17 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,”
Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
• The reason why the Bible tells us not to walk in counsel of the ungodly because the ungodly people refers to wicked people who willfully persist in evil.
          2. They don’t Stand with sinners (v. 1b)
Psalm 1:1b “nor standeth in the way of sinners,”
• The reference of the word “way” in verse 1 likewise occurs again in Psalm 2:11-12 “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
• The Bible tells us not to stand in the way of sinners because sinners miss the mark of God’s standards and do not care.
• Standing on the way of sinners means identifying ourselves with them and supporting them.
          3. They don’t Sit with the scornful (v. 1c)
Psalm 1:1c “nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” KJV
Psalm 1:1c “Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” NASB
• Scoffers make light of God’s laws and ridicule what is sacred.
     B. THE BLESSED MAN FOCUS (v.2)
Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
          1. They Delight in God’s Word (v. 2a)
Psalm 1:2a “But his delight is in the law of the Lord;”
• It says “his delight is in the law of the Lord”
→ The godly person allows the Word of God or the instruction from the Hebrew “torah” to shape his conduct
rather than the wicked in verse 1.
→ The Blessed people delighted in the law of the Lord which refers to the 5 book of Pentateuch during that time.
→ The godly person delights in Word of God which fully centered on the Lord Jesus Christ.
→ Jesus Christ is the ultimate godly person to focus upon here and the blessed man’s meditation on God’s Word involves sufficient time thinking about it during studying and review deeper of it throughout the day.”
          2. They Meditate on God’s Word (v.2b)
Psalm 1:2b “and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
• This is more than meditation. It is not setting a apart of a special time whether morning or evening for personal devotions, but it is the Word of God that reflects in the daily activities.- Joshua 1:8
• The godly man respond to life according with the Word of God, regardless of the time of day or the context.
• If we have digestion to the body of man, there is also need of meditation to the soul of man.
• Because of blessed man delight to the Word of God he is motivated to meditate day and night. The godly man has a strong desire to listen and understand what God revealed in His Word.- Philippians 2:13
     C. THE BLESSED MAN FRUIT (v.3)
Psalm 1:3 “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.”
          1. They are Planted – v.3a
Psalm 1:3a “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water”
• Christian who delights and meditate the Word of God day and night is like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
• Not like a wild tree but like a Chosen cultivated planted tree that is healthy.
• The hidden root system is the most important part of a tree because the root system draws up water and nourishment for the feeding of the tree. If the root system is not healthy it will cause the death of the tree, and likewise without a root system that is healthy a believer will wilt.
          2. They Produced fruit – v.3b
Psalm 1:3b “that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;”
• Since they delight and meditate the Word of God, thus it will produce fruit.
John 15:5-7 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
Matthew 7:17-20 “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
• Bearing of the fruit will appear at the proper time, not necessarily immediately, and their spiritual good health condition being represented by the leaves.
• Usually, it was the fruit of physical prosperity produced in the lives of most Old Testament believers as God said.- Deuteronomy 28:1-14
• The Apostle Paul identified the fruit of a Christian mainly a transformed character and godly conduct.
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
• In Biblical imagery, the fruit is what visible to other and not just what is hidden within a person. Fruit also benefits other people, and they take from us what nourishes. – John 15:1-11. On the other hand, contrary the leaves are only what others see and admire.
          3. They are Preserved –v. 3c
Psalm 1:3c “leaf also shall not wither;”
• They don’t dry up
          4. They Prospered –v.3d
Psalm 1:3d “and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
• All Believers who delight in and meditate on the God’s law will prosper like a flourishing fruit – Psalm 92:12-14.
Psalm 92:12-14 “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;”
• The prosperity of this godly man is from God’s viewpoint and not necessarily from the world’s viewpoint.

II- WICKED MAN CHARACTERISTICS
     A. They are Blown by the wind (v. 4)
Psalm 1:4 “The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” KJV
Psalm 1:4 “The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.” NASB
• It is the dead leaves that has been blown not the green leaves
• The Hebrew word used here in “rasa” means wicked which usually describes people who do not have a covenant relationship with God. They only selfishly live for their own passions but have little regard for God. Possibly they are not necessarily as evil as they could be, but no interest for spiritual things in life that is why they are superficial.
• The Psalmist used the word “chaff” which refers to worthless husk around a head of grain that is light in weight and blown away by the wind. Therefore others would not admire it and could not have benefits from it.
     B. They will be Judged by God (v. 5)
Psalm 1:5a “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment”
• There will be a winnowing judgment of people in the future in which the righteous will be separated by God from the wicked. – Matthew 13:30.
Matthew 13:30 “ Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
→ Then after the wicked were separate from the righteous then God will blow away the wicked.- Isaiah 2:10-21
     C. They won’t Stand with the righteous (v. 5)
Psalm 1:5b “nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.”
• This mean the wicked will not participate in heaven with the righteous.
• Psalm 73:18, this is a Psalm of Asaph that composed about the end of the wicked contrasted with that of the Righteous.

• Now in the last verse of our passage shows us the ending destruction of the wicked,
Psalm 1:6 “For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
→ The judgment that will determine the ultimate fate of the righteous and the wicked people is by God’s knowledge. (Matthew 7:23) God knows what they have done.
• The term “way” here refers to the whole course of life which includes: what is the motivation in life, what you produces in life, and where your life ends.
• This psalm gives a solemn warning that one should live his or her life in view of ultimate judgment by God. Now we can see the godly way proves the adequate but also provides us the true beneficial existence now.
• In essence, God says there are two ways of life open to us: one means blessedness, happiness, and fruitfulness, but the other means cursedness, unhappiness, and judgment. The choice is ours. Blessedness is a choice, but to be blessed, one must by faith obey the conditions; he must pursue the way of blessedness as described in this Psalm.