Pt 1
A teaching from Psalms 1 by Blaine Butcher
Since the dawn of creation, there have always been two choices, two paths, or two destinies. The question is which path will man choose. The choice reveals the man! According to the word, there are only 2 types of men- the godly man or the ungodly man.
The ungodly man is the man who does not fear God, who exhibits characteristics opposite of the character of God, who does not seek God, nor does he live by God’s counselor direction. The very definition of this word is literally one who is wrong or whom God has declared guilty. It is the word (רָשָׁע) rāšāʿin Hebrew (Strong’s #7561[i]). The ungodly or wicked man is the man who has not submitted himself to the authority of God, has not sought God’s direction or counsel, but walks according to his own understanding, rooted in his own desires. He does as he sees fit, doing whatever seems right in his own eyes.
Proverbs 14:12 tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way of death.” This passage of Scripture shows us that the godly man does not walk according to his own understanding because he understands that just because it seems right to him, does not make it so. We can be sincere and yet be sincerely wrong!
The godly man heeds the counsel of Proverbs 3: 5-7 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil.” As you can see from this passage of Scripture, the godly man’s path is meant to be directed by God and not by man according to his own understanding.
This is really the root of the fall of mankind. Eve was deceived by the Serpent in the garden and Adam fell into sin with her by ignoring God’s counsel and choosing to understand for himself by partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 3:6 shows that they saw the tree “was desirable for obtaining wisdom.”
No longer did they depend on God to lead, guide, and direct them, but they wanted to have the ability to, themselves, decide what was good and evil. They desired to live according to their own understanding, apart from the counsel of God.
God had previously warned them of the day that they ate of the fruit “they would surely die.” The result of that decision was impossible to avoid, because only God’s way is the way of life. Any other decision made apart from God’s counsel only ends in death, because it is separated from the very source of Life – God Himself.
This decision to live by God’s counsel and God’s way is the mark of the godly man. He does not live according to the fashion of the rest of the world. We see this thought developed even further in Psalm 1. This Psalm contrasts the way of the godly verses the way of the ungodly. The Godly man is distinguished by what he does not do in relation to the ungodly, and then by what his practice is. Because of his practice, the godly man has a power that comes from being rooted in an expectation of permanency.
By contrast, the wicked or ungodly man’s expectation is only death, as they are blown away like chaff being separated from the grain at harvest. The ungodly have no permanency or confidence, but only fear of a coming judgment when God will reward everyone, either for righteousness or unrighteousness. Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish.
Walking uprightly before God is seldom an easy journey, but it comes with a confidence that the righteous man can hoe in the day of judgment and not fear as the ungodly man does. Let’s look at Psalm 1 to examine the promises for a godly man.
Psalms 1–6
The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly
1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
In verse 1, we see what the godly man does not do. This is what sets him apart. He doesn’t live like the rest of the world around him; he is on the path of life. Verse 1 ensures us that the godly man is blessed because he refrains from what the ungodly man practices. This word blessed is the Hebrew word esher (Strong’s #835[ii]). It connotates a person who is truly joyful, living in a blissful state. He is not a person experiencing happiness in a temporary circumstance, but rather a person who walks in a sustained joy, a state of bliss.
Because the godly man treads the path of life, he is truly joyful. Every moment may not be as he would desire it, but he has confidence in a just God who rewards those who walk according to His ways. The godly man understands that his walk with God is a marathon, and his hope is set on the reward laid up for the righteous man.
Verse 1 of Psalms 1 tells us that the godly man does not walk according to the counsel or the advice of the ungodly man, who walks according to his on understanding. The godly man will not be found standing in the path of sinners.
This word for path or pathway is the Hebrew word derek (Strong’s #1870[iii]) and refers to a road or a course of life, or behavior, or custom It is literally their mode of action or how they live their life. The godly man doesn’t take their advice and he doesn’t live the way they live. He heeds the counsel of
Proverbs 4: 11 – 15
I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.
The downward slide begins with heeding the counsel of the ungodly; then you will find yourself walking in their pathways- living like they live. The last progression is that you finally find yourself seated among them. This word for mockers means “To make mouths at” or to be critical, or to ridicule, not only do they not walk in the ways of the Lord, but they ridicule and criticize those who do. They do not value or understand that the godly man does. The godly man will have opposition, my brothers, we are swimming upstream!
That’s why it is so important that we be fully convinced of the value of being aligned to God’s word and be delivered from the fear of man. We must seek the praises of God alone and genuinely not be affect by man’s opinion or criticism. We do this by delighting in the Word of God. It alone is what brings us joy, gives us purpose, and confirms our identity. Verse 2 of Psalms 1 tells us the practice of the godly man He delights in God’s instruction, and he continually meditates in it. The word delight is the Hebrew word chephets (Strong’s #2656[iv]) which means to take pleasure in, to desire, or to inclined toward. This means the godly man favors God’s ways, he takes pleasure in doing things God’s way. He has inclined his heart toward the Lord and truly desires to know God’s instructions. He loves it so much that he constantly reflects on God’s instructions.
The word meditates is the Hebrew word hagah (Strong’s #1897[v]) and means to murmur, to ponder, to growl or mutter, to moan, to mourn, to plan, proclaim, tell, think, or utter.
His mind is fixed on the Lord’s instruction, and it is constantly found in his mouth. It is his constant meditation; he saturates Himself in God’s ways because they are life to him. God’s way is precious to him, and he seeks no other’s counsel. Only God has the words of life to him, and he know that man’s counsel is useless. Now, we have seen how the godly man is set apart by what he does not do, and also what his practice is – he delights in God’s Word.
Now let’s examine the promise to him and the permanence of his place as opposed to the insecurity of the ungodly. Verse 3 of Psalm 1 says the godly man “shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth it’s fruit in it’s season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall proper.” If you’ve ever seen a dry arid region like a desert, you will have noticed that water is life. For the most part, deserts are devoid of life, but where a water source is found, life if teeming. Psalm 1 promises that a godly man will be rooted near the water that is so vital for life.
This tree will never lack the essential nourishment that keeps its leaves green and enables it to produce fruit in it’s season. No matter what the weather around it is like, this tree will continue to flourish and thrive. This is the promise for the godly man. And the godly man delights in doing things God’s way because he understands what brings him life. Verse 4 or Psalms 1 shows us the juxtaposition[vi] of the ungodly. They are not like the godly, but they are like the chaff that is blown away during the harvesting of the grain.
The chaff is dry and regarded as worthless to the harvester. As the harvested grain is tossed into the air, the wind blows away the undesired and inedible part of the grain. The same is true of the ungodly-they are dry, not rooted, and will be cast in the fire like the chaff separated from the grain. In Matthew 3:12 John the Baptist says of Jesus, “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” As we see the ungodly man has only the expectation of destruction. His way, that seems right to him, will, in the end, be death.
This is the message of the final two verses in Psalms 1. “The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment” refers to the ungodly having no confidence on the day of judgment for they know the recompense for choosing their own way. Sinners will not be counted in the congregation of the righteous for God have separated the sheep from the goats as in Matthew chapter 25.
The last verse of this Psalm states, “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The choice of the “knows” means that God is intimately acquainted with the godly and they have an approved relationship with Him. Again, the juxtaposition is that God does not “know” the ungodly in an intimate way, but they are reserved for destruction.
This seems sad; but a loving God gives man whatever he chooses. The ungodly man who chooses to live apart from God will, in the end, get exactly what he has chosen- an eternal life part from God-Hell. Then the king will say to the godly man, “Come you blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” Matthew 25:34.
So, we see, the two very different destinies of the two men according to the path that they chose- one path leading to life, and on path leading to death. What path have you chosen? Whose counsel do you heed? What do you delight in? There is no middle ground, only two paths. The narrow path and the wide path that leads to destruction. “Choose this day whom you will serve” Joshua 24:15.
Will we partake of the tree of life, or will we look to the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
I implore you to choose life.
[i] râshâʻ, raw-shaw’; from H7561; morally wrong; concretely, an (actively) bad person:— condemned, guilty, ungodly, wicked (man), that did wrong.
[ii] ʼesher, eh’-sher; from H833; happiness; only in masculine plural construction as interjection, how happy!:—blessed, happy.
[iii] derek, deh’-rek; from H1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb:—along, away, because of, by, conversation, custom, (east-) ward, journey, manner, passenger, through, toward, (high-) (path-) way(-side), whither(-soever).
[iv] chêphets, khay’-fets; from H2654; pleasure; hence (abstractly) desire; concretely, a valuable thing; hence (by extension) a matter (as something in mind):—acceptable, delight(-some), desire, things desired, matter, pleasant(-ure), purpose, willingly.
[v] hâgâh, haw-gaw’; a primitive root (compare H1901); to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication, to ponder:—imagine, meditate, mourn, mutter, roar, × sore, speak, study, talk, utter.
[vi] the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.
“the juxtaposition of these two images”