Summary: Preaching through the Psalms
Godly Jews sang psalms to worship the Lord and build up their faith. Psalm 1 is a song intentioned to draws a sharp contrast between the godly and the ungodly.
-Psalm 1 is considered the preface to the rest of the psalms – it simply states the message of the entire Book of Psalms and much of the rest of the Bible.
-It is considered a wisdom Psalm – it portrays the way a wise man chooses.
-It is an ancient song that teaches the way to true happiness and success in life.
-It is a song that shows the only two ways to live your life.
READ PSALM 1
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does 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.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
II.This Psalm tells us that we only have two decisions for our life:
The Bible tells us here that there are only two kinds of people:
-Righteous (those who are right before God)
-Wicked (Those who are wrong before God)
EVERY ONE OF US FALL INTO ONE OF THESE TWO CATEGORIES!
-There is no 3rd option
Sometimes life can become overwhelming when we have to make big decisions.
-Do I buy this car or that one?
-Do I get a job here or there?
-Do I Merry this person or not?
*Every day we must make decisions … However the greatest decision we must make is whether we will serve God or not!
III. The Bible confirms in other places that we only really have two choices for our life.
Read MT. 7:13-14
13 "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.”
Read Jeremiah 17:5-8
5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
God Loves us so much that He has given us the free will to make a decision to be a part of whichever of the 2 groups we chose!
LETS FOCUS TODAY ON WHAT THE PSALM 1 SAYS ABOUT THESE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE
III. The good choices of The godly man (v.s.1-3).
This passage starts off speaking of The godly man.
*Who is the godly man (or woman)?
-The person who serves God.
-To be truly Godly we must have a relationship with Jesus…On our own we sin a lot, but if we have a relationship with Jesus we will be forgiven… and our lives will be changed!
(V.S. 1) Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
*First we will discuss the qualities of the Godly person… then we will discuss what it means to be blessed.
A)He does not to walk in the counsel of the wicked
-This means to BE THE ENIMY OF GOD.
-To know what is right and do what is wrong.
-to choose evil rather than Good!
The righteous person does not walk in the advice of wicked people but walks in the advice of God!
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
-Wicked people (“friends”) will give you evil counsel.
-Rob, Cheat, steal, slander