Whose side are you on?
That is the question Psalm one
asks as it paints two portraits: one is the picture
of the wicked person, and the other is the portrait
or the wise man.
“Who is the blessed man of whom
the psalmist speaks?” asked Joseph Flacks. “This man
never walked in the counsel of the wicked or stood
in the way of sinners or sat in the seat of mockers.
He was an absolutely sinless man.”
One Jewish man concluded, “The
man of the first Psalm was Jesus of Nazareth.” He
was the only sinless perfect person who has ever
walked this earth. He knew no sin is the testimony
of those who knew Him best.
Jesus Christ is the perfect man
portrayed in the opening verses of Psalm one. He is
the only person who has ever lived a perfect life as
portrayed in this psalm. He is the “man” in Psalm
one (1 Peter 2:21-25). Jesus Christ is the Righteous
One who never experienced sin in his personal life.
He is the only perfect man who ever lived, and there
is none other like Him.
“How blessed is the man who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor
stand in the path of sinners” (Psalm 1:1). Only such
a person can be supremely happy and fulfilled in
this life. He has received a multiplicity of
blessings. Not only has he received an abundance of
blessings, but the fullness of the blessing that God
gives.
No one has ever received the
blessedness of these words of the Father except
Jesus. “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased” (Matthew 3:17). It was the declaration by
the heavenly Father of the perfection of Jesus. It
was divine approval of God’s perfect man. It is also
an identification of the personality of Jesus Christ
as the Son of God.
“But his delight is in the law
of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and
night” (Psalm 1:2).
Do you want the blessings of
the Lord upon your life? This is the way the
Christian finds happiness and a sense of
significance in life. We are confronted with two
choices: one choice is the way of the wicked, and
the other is God’s way.
The wicked are like chaff
thrown up in the wind and blows away leaving the
seed to fall to the ground (v. 4). Literally, the
psalmist says, “Not so the wicked!” He does not
delight in the law of the LORD God. He does not
meditate day and night on the Word of God. In the
end when judgment day comes, “the wicked will not
stand” (v. 5). “The way of the wicked will perish”
(v. 6).
The person who has God’s
blessing chooses between two roads, and he takes
“the one less traveled.” There is eternal ruin for
the person who takes the wrong road.
Jesus said to choose the right
road. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is
the gate and broad is the road that leads to
destruction, and many enter through it. But small is
the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and
only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14, NIV).
The wise man chooses the right
path. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the
life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me”
(John 14:6).
There are not many roads
leading to heaven. All religious paths do not take
you to the same place. All except Jesus Christ will
take you to an eternal hell. “And there is salvation
in no one else; for there is no other name under
heaven that has been given among men, by which we
must be saved” (Act 4:12).
What will you do with Jesus
Christ? Which road will you travel? Choose Jesus
Christ and the way of His righteousness. “For by
grace you have been saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a
result of works, that no one should boast”
(Ephesians 2:8-9). Only Jesus Christ alone will save
you. You are powerless, dead in trespasses and sins.
Jesus Christ is the only person who ever lived the
kind of life described in Psalm one, and He gave His
life as a substitute for you so that you could live
His kind of life. Believe on Him and you will choose
the right path that leads to “the way of the
righteous.”
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author's written consent.
Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
Bible word studies for sermon preparation, messages, devotions and personal Bible studies with abiding principles and practical applications.
Reports on what God is doing through Bible believing evangelical Christians in Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, India and Ecuador. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7).
Study the master theme of the Bible with these prophecies and types in the Old Testament of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Free Sermons and Bible studies indexed by Scripture reference and doctrinal studies .
