THE HAPPY MAN

Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

In his devotional book entitled “Prayer, Praise & Promises,” Dr. Warren Wiersbe gave the two-point outline that I am using in this week’s CHALLENGING CONCEPTS. I have been a long time fan of Dr. Wiersbe. I first heard him speak at the very first Bible Conference I was blessed to attend at Tennessee Temple University. My heart was stirred more than at any other time in my life, except when I saved by God’s marvelous grace. I’m sure my friends can tell by the many quotes of his that I have used through the years. Dr. Wiersbe’s challenge prompted me to write this blog.

Notice that the Psalm starts in the same way as does the sermon of Jesus, referred to as “the sermon on the mount.” Both promise a blessing to those who heed certain admonitions. We sometimes give the definition of the word “blessed” as “happy.” That is true, but I’m afraid the word is more complex than that. In the The Treasury of David this word is described as “the multiplicity of the blessings which shall rest upon the man whom God hath justified, and the perfection and greatness of the blessedness he shall enjoy.”

After I got into the study of this Psalm and learned the true extent of this word, I came to the conclusion that a person with such a “simple” mind as I have, should have no business trying to deal with the “multiplicity” of what is promised. But since I have already started, I might as well make a feeble attempt to put some meat on Dr. Wiersbe’s two point skeleton. What about the “blessed” man?

I. HE WILL BE SEPARATED FROM THE WORLD – Notice verse 1 again “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

The word “blessed” in its simplest form means happy. The happy man separates himself from the world. The world is anything that causes a person to stray from God. This is vital to a man’s fellowship with God. You can’t walk with God and the world at the same time. Paul writes in II Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”

Separation is one of the things that is missing in this politically correct community of believers today. Instead of seeing how far from sin they can get, they want to walk close to the world. That’s why there is no victory in so many lives.

So, what does the Psalmist say about the ungodly man? What does this separation include?

A. This Involves With Whom We STEP – It’s amazing from whom some people get their advice. They walk with them and listen to the philosophy of those who are walking according to the standard and lifestyle of the world. The believer is to denounce the evil doer.

B. This Involves With Whom We STAND – A believer who is walking with the Lord does come in contact with evil doers. That’s just a part of life. We work with them, go to school with them and sometimes even go to church with them. But when we do, we should not let any grass grow under our feet. We need to keep walking.

C. This Involves With Whom We SIT – This has to do with becoming too comfortable with the lifestyle of the unbeliever. The believer who wants to please God does not become “at home” with the evil man and his ways.

When you look at these three (step, stand, sit) you see three different degrees of evil – an evolution of evil. In fact, a man who will step in the counsel of the ungodly, will eventually stand in the way of sinners. Then he will finally sit down with the scornful and feel at home.

This makes the case for parental control over their children’s friends. I’ve heard people try to argue that their children should be missionaries. It’s true that children should live a life so that others will see Christ living in them, but any missionary work done by children must be under control of the parents.

The Chaplain of Bourbon Street, Bob Harrington, who preached during the 60’s is an classic example of the danger of one playing in the den of Satan. God’s blessings are not the on one who gets familiar with the things of the world.

One of my favorite verses is Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” How is the mind renewed? That brings us to the second point:

II. HE WILL BE SATURATED WITH THE WORD – Notice verse 2 “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

In verse two you see the “will” of the happy man. He makes a choice to “delight” and “meditate” in the “law of the Lord.” Why is this? Because the Word of God is perfect, sure and can make wise - Psalm 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure making wise the simple.” The Bible is also right and pure – Psalm 19:8 “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” It is also God’s inspired Word – II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, . . .” I could go on and on about what the Word of God is.

The happy man delights in God’s Word because of what the Bible is and not for any other reason. Let me mention two things that are not a motivation for why he delights in God’s Word:

A. He Delights Not Because Of PUNISHMENT

It is true that there is the danger of God’s chastisement for the child of God. We read in Proverbs 3:12 “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth even as a father the son in whom he delighteth” (See also Hebrews 12:6)

Have you ever seen a person living in sin year in and year out but claim to be a believer. You watch their life and pray intently they come back to Christ, but you see no conviction nor chastisement. Does the Bible say anything about that? Hebrews 12:8 “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”

There is a cost to walking with the world, but that’s not the happy man’s motivation for delighting in the law of the Lord.

B. He Delights Not Because Of PROMISES – Notice verse 3 “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” This is a result of a person delighting in and meditating on the law of the Lord.

Some people are motivated by someone dangling a carrot out in front of them, but this is not what the Psalmist is talking about here. He’s talking about person just being so In love with God and His Word that He can’t get enough of it. We read in Jeremiah 15:16 “Thy words were found and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”

Is the Word of God that precious to us? Do we delight in the law of the Lord because of what it is and not what it can do? We read about the value of the Word to the Psalmist in Psalm 119:72 “The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.”

Only when the Word of God is that valuable to us will we DELIGHT in it and MEDITATE in it day and night. Let’s take a moment today to consider how important God’s Word is to us. Let’s also take some time to consider our relationship to the world.

That’s my view; how about you?