PSALM 1 - THE GRIND OF COMPROMISE
By Richard W. Terry (Used by permission)
Intro.
A. All of us, at one time or another, experience a burn out. We do
the same things day in and day out, week in and week out. Our
life becomes a grind.
1. We look at our peers and see how exciting and enjoyable
their life is and think, "Why can't I enjoy a life like
that."
B. It is precisely at these moments of weakness that Satan enters
and tries to tempt us to follow him. The Evil One promises
things he cannot deliver, hoping to tempt us to leave the Lord.
C. Compromising slowly, almost unnoticed, leads us down a road to
destruction.
1. Like an enormous tree that has stood for hundreds of years,
decaying unnoticed for years, suddenly falls.
2. One rationalization leads to another which, in turn,
triggers a series of events more damaging than the first.
D. Psalm 1 deals with this very problem.
1. It divided into two distinct parts.
a. The Value of the Godly Life (vs. 1-3)
b. The Results of the Ungodly life (vs. 4-6)
I. THE VALUE OF THE GODLY LIFE.
A. Blessed - our English language does such an injustice to this
word.
1. The Hebrew Term is far more descriptive. "OH, the
happiness, many times over."
B. What is the cause of this abundance of happiness?
1. It is the uncompromising purity of a righteous walk with
God
C. We can see this by analyzing the three categories of remaining
terms in this verse.
1. Walks - counsel - ungodly
2. Stands - path - sinners
3. Sits - seat - scornful
D. What the Psalmist had in mind was spiritual erosion of the
mind.
1. These word pictures give us an idea of just how easy it is
for us to move from righteousness to slow to a standstill or
a complete stop as we are worn away by the company we
choose to keep.
E. "Walk" is a term that suggests "passing by" or "a casual
movement along the way."
1. With its entire phrase it implies the ideas of one who does
not imitate or "go through the casual motions" of
wickedness.
a. Consider the following paraphrase of Verse 1, "Oh, the
happiness, many times over, of the one who does not
casually go through the motions, or imitates the plan of
life of those who live in ungodliness."
F. "Stand" has the idea of coming and taking one's stand. It comes
from the word meaning, "A marked-out path, a certain and
precise way of life."
1. Can you see the progressive deterioration toward more
involvement in sinful living?
a. The casual passerby slows down and before he knows it,
he takes his stand.
b. On the other hand, taking a firm stand for righteousness,
will be "like a tree firmly planted by the streams of
water."
G. "Sit" suggest a permanent settling down, and abiding, even a
permanent dwelling.
1. It is made even clearer by the use of "seat, meaning
"habitation: or "permanent residence."
2. The way of life is in the sphere of the scornful, the one
who continually makes light of that which is sacred - the
blasphemous crowd.
a. Can we see the picture in the writer's mind? We will be
happy many times over if we maintain a pure walk, free
from the slightest flirtation with "EVIL."
b. If we begin to walk in the counsel of the wicked it is
easy to slip slowly into the habitation of the scornful.
H. With Psalm 1:1 in mind, read Genesis 13:11-13.
1. He walked in the way of the ungodly.
2. He "came and took his stand among sinners." Genesis 19:1
3. He now lived among them with his dwelling in the "seat of
the scornful." Gen. 19:2-5
I. "But his delight is in..." (Verse 2)
1. This verse begins with "but," - a word of contrast. While
the first verse was negative, this is positive.
a. In contrast to compromise and erosion, the godly
believer occupies himself with God's Word. Psalm
119:9
2. In order to stay in the path of godly living, we need an
absolute standard, clear in direction.
a. The psalmist claims that the godly person "delights" in
the Lord's Word.
(1) He doesn't look upon the Word as irksome or a
burden. Rather, day and night he meditates on it.
(2) He placed his mind upon, mused, pondered,
thought upon, the Scriptures continuously. This
was his delight. Psalm 119:18, 97, 104-105, 130
J. "Like a tree planted by the water..." (Verse 3)
1. Verse One of Psalm 1 gives us the promise of happiness,
verse 2 provides the means for experiencing it, and now
Verse 3 declares the end result.
a. Notice that the text says we shall be something rather
than do something as a result of delighting in and
meditating on God's Word.
2. Without any fanfare, yet surely as the rising of the morning
sun, we shall become tree-like.
a. Notice the four tree-like characteristics of a godly
life.
(1) Planted - fortified, stable, rooted, solid, and
strong.
(2) Fruitful - productive, naturally follows being
planted and growing.
(3) Unwithered - even during days of difficulty, the
tree-like soul is untouched, undaunted.
(4) Prosperous - God blesses him in every good way.
3. Notice Jeremiah 17:5-8
Let me encourage you today to maintain a pure, uncompromising walk
with God. Delight yourself in His Word, and you'll grow into a
stable, reliable "spiritual tree." There is no shortcut to spiritual
growth. Like a tree, our growth occurs slowly and deliberately,
depending upon the food and proper surroundings.
II. THE RESULTS OF THE UNGODLY LIFE.
A. The first thing we observe about these three verses is
contrast. There is a diametric difference from the previous
verses, highlighted by the phrase "The Wicked Are Not So."
B. The verse in the Hebrew actually begins with the word: "Not
So!"
1. Literally it says "Not so, the wicked!!"
2. It refers back to the three preceding verses describing the
righteous, godly believer who:
a. Is happy many times over (but "not so, the wicked!")
b. Delights and meditates in the Word (but "not so, the
wicked!")
c. Is like a tree (but "not so, the wicked!")
d. Is fruitful and prosperous (but "not so, the wicked!")
3. In other words, none of the previously mentioned
characteristics describes the lifestyle of the ungodly.
C. Instead the Psalmist uses a single term that portrays the life
of the ungodly - "Chaff."
1. But What is Chaff?
a. It is the outer part of grain seeds which separates at
the time of threshing - the husks and refuse which fall
and blow away.
b. The Hebrew word for "drives away" is the word which
means "to drive asunder, disseminate, diffuse, strike, or
beat." Hosea 13:3
c. Consider John's words regarding Jesus. Matt. 3:12
D. "The wicked shall not stand in the judgment." (Verse 5)
1. The first word connects this verse with the previous verse -
"Therefore."
2. "On account of their inner worthlessness and instability,"
the wicked will not stand in the judgment.
a. The Hebrew verb translated "stand" is not the same as
the previous word rendered "stand" in verse 1.
b. This particular terms means "to stand erect, to arise."
(1) The idea in the mind of the songwriter is an
inability to stand erect before God in the judgment.
3. A parallel statement then follows "Nor sinners in the
assembly of the righteous."
a. The sinner has never come to a position of righteousness
in God's eyes.
b. Observe from verse 6 that it is the Lord who does the
judging; He alone - not man - is capable of judging
man's status before Him. 2 Tim. 2:19
E. The Psalm concludes with the severe reminder that the way of
the unrighteous will perish.
1. What a climax to a Psalm. Another vivid contrast. Instead of
prospering, the ungodly will ultimately perish.
2. The central lesson in Psalm 1 is this: There is not the
slightest similarity between the spiritually accelerating
life of the righteous and the slowly eroding life of the
wicked.
Concl. Psalm 1 paraphrased:
Oh, the happiness, many times over, of the man who does not
temporarily or even casually imitate the plan of life of those living
in sinful confusion, nor comes and takes his stand in the midst of
those who miss the mark spiritually, nor settles down and dwells in
the habitation of the scornful crowd.
But (in contrast to that kind of lifestyle) in God's Word he takes
great pleasure, thinking upon it and pondering it every waking
moment, day or night.
The result: He will become tree-like - firm, fruitful, unwithered,
and fulfilling the goals in life that God has designed for him, and
God richly blesses him and makes him prosperous.
Not so, the ungodly! They are like worthless husks beaten about and
battered by the winds of life (drifting and roaming without purpose).
Therefore--on account of their inner worthlessness without the
Lord--the ungodly will not be able to stand erect on the day of
judgment, nor do they possess any right to be numbered among the
assembly of those declared righteous by God.
Because the Lord is inclined toward, and bound to, His righteous ones
by special love and care; but the way of the one without the Lord
will lead only to eternal ruin."
Chart #1
Walks - counsel - ungodly
Stands - path - sinners
Sits - seat - scornful
Chart #2
Planted - fortified, stable, rooted, solid, and strong.
Fruitful - productive, naturally follows being planted and growing.
Unwithered - even during days of difficulty, the tree-like soul is
untouched, undaunted.
Prosperous - God richly blesses him in every good way.
Chart #3
Oh, the happiness, many times over, of the man who does not
temporarily or even casually imitate the plan of life of those living
in sinful confusion, nor comes and takes his stand in the midst of
those who miss the mark spiritually, nor settles down and dwells in
the habitation of the scornful crowd.
But (in contrast to that kind of lifestyle) in God's Word he takes
great pleasure, thinking upon it and pondering it every waking
moment, day or night.
The result: He will become tree-like - firm, fruitful, unwithered,
and fulfilling the goals in life that God has designed for him, and
God richly blesses him.
Not so, the ungodly! They are like worthless husks beaten about and
battered by the winds of life (drifting and roaming without purpose).
Therefore--on account of their inner worthlessness without the
Lord--the ungodly will not be able to stand erect on the day of
judgment, nor do they possess any right to be numbered among the
assembly of those declared righteous by God.
Because the Lord is inclined toward, and bound to, His righteous ones
by special love and care; but the way of the one without the Lord
will lead only to eternal ruin.