THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE GODLY
PSALM 1:1-6
Introduction:
The Book of Psalms opens with a benediction, as did the famous Sermon on the Mount that the Lord preached in the Gospels. The Hebrew word is plural so there are MULTIPLE BLESSINGS to be bestowed upon the GODLY.
However, the UNGODLY are not so. They will stand before God in judgment without one word to defend himself for they have utterly disregarded God’s Word. The final words of this psalm are: “the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
I. THE GODLY
A. Blessed in the things they do not do, v. 1;
1. Blessed is he who does not walk in the advise of the wicked, Luke 11:28, “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
2. Blessed is he who does not stand in the way of sinners being converted, Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14- Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
3. Blessed is he, who does not sit in the seat of the mockers, Psalm 26:4-5, “I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 5- I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.”
B. Blessed in the things he does, v. 2; Psalms 112:1, “Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.”
1. He delights in the Word of God, Psalm 119:11, 35, 47-48, 72, 92, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 35- Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. 47- And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. 48- My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. 72- The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. 92- Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.”
2. He meditates in the Word of God day and night, Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
a. His meditation is pleasant, Psalm 104:34, “My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.”
b. His meditation in the Word of God has made him wise, Psalm 119:15, 97-99, “I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 97- O how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the day. 98- Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. 99- I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.”
1) The Word made him act wiser than his enemies, Proverbs 2:6, “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”
2) The Word gave him more understanding than all his teachers, Deuteronomy 4:6-8, “Keep therefore and do them ; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7- For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8- And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?”
II. THE UNGODLY
A. The good things said of the righteous are not so of the ungodly, Ephesians 2:12, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”
1. The ungodly are beginners in evil that are compared to chaff to be consumed in the fire, Isaiah 5:24, “Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”
2. The wicked will not seek God, Psalm 10:4, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”
B. In Judgment the wicked will not be acquitted, rather they shall be found guilty, Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
1. The ungodly shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous, Matthew 25:32, “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
2. The way of the ungodly shall perish, v. 6.
a. The Lord knows His own, John 10:14, 27, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep , and am known of mine. 27- My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”
b. The ungodly shall perish, Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
c. The Lord’s face is against the ungodly, 1 Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
CONCLUSION
The Godly have God’s blessing upon them by faith in Jesus Christ. The ungodly, those who have never received Christ as their Savior have only judgment to look forward to in their future. They have no hope without knowing the Lord Jesus as their Savior.