SERIES: Psalms: Cries of the Heart
The Cry of Delight
SPEAKER: Paul T. Stolwyk
Introduction: Rob had just returned from his first business trip working with a large brewery in our city. He had a co-worker in the engineering department look over his expense report before he turned it in to his supervisor. Since it was his first report, he wanted to make sure he had done everything correctly. His co-worker noticed that he was planning to return the extra cash he had been advanced, but had not spent, and told him that he couldn’t do that. Apparently, it had become an acceptable practice in this division to pocket the excess spending cash and develop some false numbers to cover it. Everyone in the department did this and Rob’s co-workers didn’t want Rob changing the rules. Rob went back to his desk, took out a yellow legal pad, drew a line down the middle, and wrote “pro” on the left side, “con” on the right side.
Let’s turn together to Psalm 1. This summer we are going to take an 8-week sabbatical from our teaching series on The Life of Jesus and spend our time in the book of Psalms. We have entitled the series The Cries of the Heart because the book of Psalms records the cries of God’s people as they interact and talk with their God.
The Psalms are part of the wisdom writings of the Old Testament that also include Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Psalms is unique among all the books of Scripture. In almost every other book in the Old and New Testaments, God speaks to us through the author as the author speaks to a human audience. But in Psalms, the audience is God Himself. So, in the Psalms we have God speaking to us through the author as the author speaks to God.
As the psalmists speak, they open a window to the soul of the believer. We see believers honestly dealing with the tensions of life while walking by faith. This honesty makes the psalms unpredictable and a bit wild at times because they are so full of emotion. We will see frustration, anger, joy, impatience, regret, and celebration. This honesty will allow us to observe and learn from the faith experiences of God’s people as they experience the tension of living in two worlds.[i]
The Psalms are helpful to us as followers of Jesus because we continue to experience the tension between the same two worlds and the range of emotions within that tension. The Psalms will encourage us to use their language in our own prayers. The Psalms will paint new reasons to celebrate and worship. Most importantly, they will give us an accurate picture of the living God. He is a God who is sovereign, dependable, deserving of a response, not controlled by formulas, and not in any way willing to be managed by us.
Psalm 1 is a wisdom psalm. It presents the two possible choices of how to live life. The wise choice is to choose the way of the Lord. People who choose the way of wisdom find blessing, both temporally and eternally. Follow along as I read Psalm 1,
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.”
This Psalm originates where you and I live. It originates at the brewery where Rob is filling out his expense report. It originates in the real world of difficult choices. This Psalm will take us on a journey with a person who is wise. Our first observation is that …
The wise person makes different choices than the wicked. (1-2)
The wise choose not to walk in the way of the wicked. When we think of wickedness, our mind immediately begins to make an association to the Wicked Witch of the West—a bent nose, an evil laugh, a broom, and “I’m melting.” But wickedness to the psalmist has a broader meaning. It is not simply a word to describe those who do wicked or evil things.
One of the distinguishing features of Hebrew poetry is an echoing effect in two or more lines. Dr. Tremper Longman writes concerning this feature, “Words are rarely exactly the same, but they often are related in meaning.”[ii] This effect, known as parallelism, helps develop the ideas that are echoed. So, the words “wicked,” “sinners” and “mockers” together describe the people whose way the blessed man rejects.
The wicked are described first as “sinners.” To be wicked to the psalmist means to passively or actively rebel against God’s way. Some people passively live their lives in ignorance of God’s way, while others actively and knowingly live in rebellion against God. Both are considered wicked by the psalmist.
“Mockers” is another way the psalmist describes the wicked. A mocker is an open cynic about God and spiritual truth. Some are cynical because their upbringing has left them jaded and burned out. Others are frustrated by the “walk” not living up to the “talk” on the part of some prominent television Christians. Whatever the reason, the cynic openly scoffs at God.
So, to the psalmist, the wicked represent a broad spectrum of people. On one side the wicked could be good moral agnostics who don’t care about God, like the engineers down at our brewery. On the other side, you would have those who openly mock God, like Ted Turner or Sam Kinnison. What they all have in common is that their whole manner of living life is devoid of any regard for God’s way. Their world view is different. Their temporal and eternal priorities are different—all because they are actively or passively rebelling against God.
The wise person is blessed because he or she does not take his counsel from people who do not walk with God. The wise do not model their life, live their life, or set their priorities by following the example or counsel of those who are not humbled before God. The wise person lives ouit Paul’s admonition in Romans chapter 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Our journey with the wise man continues because he makes another choice. He does not merely choose not to walk in the way of the wicked. The wise person makes an equally important decision to walk in the way of the Lord.
The wise choose to walk in the way of the Lord. Instead of delighting in the counsel of wicked people, this wise man delights in the law of the Lord. To the psalmist, the law of the Lord is more than a list of Old Testament do’s and don’ts about eating ham sandwiches and pork steaks at a July 4th BBQ. In Psalm 19, beginning in verse 7, we see what the psalmist understood the law of the Lord to be:
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” (Ps 19:7-11)
The “law of the Lord” is shorthand for the whole counsel and revelation of God. The law of the Lord instructs, revives, brings joy, enlightens, and is right. A good synonym would be to say that the wise person delights in the will of God as it has been revealed in the Word of God. The wise person is emotionally excited by the thought of hearing God’s Word, reading God’s Word, understanding God’s Word, and living out God’s Word.
But choosing to walk in the way of the Lord involves more than warm fuzzies for the Bible. It also involves action. The psalmist says that the wise person meditates on the law of the Lord. At the time of the Old Testament, the Bible was not available in whole or in part for most of God’s people, so they would memorize the Scripture and ponder it throughout the day. They did not have some specific time of meditation when they sat in the lotus position; rather they murmured the Word as they went about their day. Meditate means to mutter. It signifies the act of continually reflecting on God’s law and integrating its truth into life. The wise person is muttering the word of God under his breath as he makes his way through the day. It is not just musing about arcane theological ideas but rather bringing God’s precepts into every context of his life.
We are a community of people who would probably get fairly high marks for delighting in the law of the Lord. But it is important to be asking myself consistently, not whether I have gotten to my personal devotions, but have my personal devotions gotten to me? The wise person in this psalm does not seek the counsel of the wicked because he is running the truths of God’s Word though every aspect of his life.
I had a call this week from a couple who were looking for some counsel on how to apply the will of God about truth-telling in the context of looking for a new job. It was very encouraging to hear how a relatively new Christian was sifting God’s word through his life. The sifting caused him to ask questions about how God would want him to handle this situation. A few months ago he may have just lied and not batted an eye, because the counsel of the wicked would say that this posed no problem.
Next the psalmist tells us what happens to the man or woman who makes this kind of choice, who chooses not to walk in the way of the wicked but instead walk in the way of the Lord.
The wise person has a different life experience than the wicked. (3-5)
The psalmist compares what happens to this person with those who have ignored his counsel.
The wise prosper in the present. The wise person who chooses the way of the Lord is like a tree by a stream. This metaphor of the tree and stream shows that the law of the Lord will have the same effect in the life of the wise as the stream has in the life of the tree. Two things mark this tree. First, it yields its fruit in its season. The tree may be planted in poor soil. It may be in a harsh climate. But neither matter, because the tree has a constant source of the stuff that keeps it vibrant. So, it will bear its fruit in its proper season.
The tree also does not wither. Trees that are lacking water during the dog days of August will not look like trees during the spring rains of May. Leaves will brown prematurely or begin to curl to protect themselves from the intense heat of summer. Trees under heat stress are more susceptible to diseases and insect damage. Not so the tree by the stream. Since its roots are near the source of life, its leaves remain green and pliable.
The psalmist summarizes the blessings that come to the person who delights in the way of the Lord at the end of verse 3 when he says, “Whatever he does prospers.” We are not to define prosperity in this psalm as simply financial rewards. We are not to define prosperity in terms of external circumstances working out. Prosperity for the tree is not defined by the weather being good. Prosperity for the tree is defined by the strength of the tree no matter what the weather is doing. The blessed person is not without trial and adversity—days or seasons when the weather is really bad. Prosperity for the wise means that they continue to bear fruit and do not wither under the strain and stress of the adverse conditions that surround them.
One of the things that has begun to bother me is the response I hear from people when they begin to experience adversity in their life. People often begin to question God about why He is doing this to them, as if God has promised to shield us from all adversity. Sometimes, I simply want to scream and say, “Wake up and look around.” Adversity is everywhere. Just look at our congregation. A 23-year-old gets cancer that puts his leg at risk. A 33-year-old mother of three has emergency heart surgery. Another mother of two has an allergic reaction to balloons that could kill her. A godly father loses his wife and two of his children in a car accident. Several children are born with severe disabilities. We have godly men in this community who live with Parkinson’s disease every day. And gifted men who live lives of integrity are unemployed for months. We have godly women in this community who want to bear children but find themselves like Sarah. Other women have had their breasts removed because of cancer.
Are you getting the picture? Let me continue because I want to be sure we get the point of this psalm. One elder has his house hit by lightning. Another almost goes home to the Lord in a battle with Hodgkin’s disease. Another comes to church by himself most Sunday mornings because the carpet in this building contains a glue that is toxic to his wife. We have one pastor whose muscle strength is slowly degenerating. Another pastor has a near miss with a horse. We have missionaries in Kazan teaching the gospel to those who have never heard, and their apartment is ransacked. I could go on and on and on and on.
The Faith Movement within Christianity wants to tell me that the reason these things are happening in our community is because we do not have enough faith. My response to them is “Show me the verse. Show me the verse where God promises to change the weather in our life.” When we look at the whole counsel of Scripture, what we see is that sometimes God changes the weather in peoples’ lives, but that is His call and His call alone. Most of the time, the weather stays the same. This is the tension of living in two worlds.
The psalmist says that prosperity will be measured not by the weather changing, not by the circumstances changing. Prosperity will be measured by the strength of the tree regardless of the weather. When life feels like a hot August night, the leaves on the tree of the wise do not wither because the tree has sunk its roots near the source of life.
The weather in my life over the past few years has been pretty steady. No tornadoes. No Santa Ana winds. No hurricanes. But the weather will change. I do not know when or how, but someday it will. I do not want to fear the change. But now is the time to sink my roots deeply in the law of the Lord. The time to start learning theology is not when the ER doctor at Barnes is standing over me with the paddles. The time is now to sink my roots deeply.
At the bottom of my sermon outline, I have listed information about how to acquire quarterly study guides that I have used to help me regularly and systematically delight in the law of the Lord. I encourage you to invest $20 to receive a booklet that will serve as a guide for your personal times of reading, listening, learning and reflection on God’s Word. The weather will change, but we can prosper when it does if we have set our roots deep.
The wicked do not set their roots deeply. The psalmist offers a sharp contrast between the life experience of the wise and that of the wicked. The end of verse 3 and the beginning of verse 4 need to be read together. “Whatever the wise person does prospers. Not so the wicked.” The psalmist says with raw confidence that …
The wicked do not prosper like the wise. Their life experience is different. They may prosper materially, socially, or financially. But when the weather changes dramatically, they wither. They have avoided God instead of sinking their roots deeply into the truths of God’s law. When their child is rolled into ICU, they lose leaves. The wise person becomes their minister.
The contrast is not simply in the temporal sphere of life, but it is experienced in the eternal sphere of life as well. The wicked have chosen not to delight, meditate and integrate the law of the Lord into their lives. This neglect on their part has a consequence because …
The wicked are judged in the future. The psalmist says, “they are like chaff, that the wind blows away.” Chaff is unusable husks of grain. After grain was harvested, farmers would have cattle walk on the grain to free it from its husk. Then the field worker would winnow the grain by taking a rake, lifting a pile of grain, and tossing it in the air. The grain would fall to the ground because it is heavy, while the lighter husk or chaff would blow away in the breeze.
This metaphor of the chaff describes the way the wicked are in God’s sight. They are temporary. He has no use for the wicked. He deals with them quite thoroughly. The context where God will deal with them is seen in verse 5, “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor the sinners in the assembly of the righteous.” Previously the wicked actively or passively chose to stand in the way of sinners and sit in the seat of mockers. On the day of judgment, the wicked will not be able to stand in the presence of God and they will not be seated with the righteous. God honors the choice they made on earth and carries their choice into eternity.
On the other hand, not only do the wise experience blessings in the present, but …
The wise are not judged like the wicked. On the day of judgment, the righteous, who are those who have delighted and meditated on the law of the Lord, will be assembled together. Again, God honors the choice made on earth and carries the choice into eternity.
In verse 6, we see the Lord personally addressed for the first time in this psalm.
The wise person has a different relationship with the Lord than the wicked. (6).
The choice of the wise to walk in the way of the Lord sometimes carries heavy consequences. We can be left feeling alone, vulnerable, isolated. No one seems to know the cost we are paying to walk in the way of wisdom. Even other believers may not appreciate our turmoil and our struggle.
The single person commits to date and marry only a follower of Jesus while her unbelieving family urges her not to be so picky. The young executive turns in his first travel expense report to the penny even though his peers criticize him for putting their gravy train in jeopardy. The junior high student stands up for the class nerd, which puts him at risk of guilt by association.
The Lord watches over the way of the righteous: they prosper. The word translated “watch” in verse 6 is the Hebrew word “yada” meaning “to know.” Yada is used to describe the intimate relationship that a husband and a wife share. God is intimately acquainted with the choices that the wise person makes. His knowledge is an expression of His love, care, and protection of His children as they walk in His ways.
Listen to Psalm 121:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.”
As the righteous make choices because of their delight in and understanding of God’s Word, the living God is not asleep. He intimately knows our vulnerability, our risk, our loneliness. Nothing escapes His attention. This is a great truth. I have made choices that have alienated me from my family, made me the contempt of peers, left me out there feeling alone. I know many of you have as well. Nothing has escaped the attention of our God. He knows.
The wicked, on the other hand, have a different relationship.
The Lord offers no protection for the wicked: they perish. According to verse 6, the wicked simply perish. There is no security. There is no relationship. The wicked person’s disregard for God leads to his ultimate demise. He will experience God’s disregard.
Conclusion: Rob had just returned from his first business trip with a large brewery in our city. He had a co-worker in the engineering department look over his expense report before he turned it in to his supervisor. Since it was his first report, he wanted to make sure he had done everything correctly.
His co-worker noticed that he was planning to return the extra cash he had been advanced but had not spent. His co-worker told him that he couldn’t do that. Apparently, it had become an acceptable practice in this division to pocket the excess spending cash and develop some false numbers to bury it within the expense report. Everyone in the department did this and Rob’s co-workers wanted the new kid in the department to get on board. Rob went back to his desk and thought about his choices.
It’s your choice, Rob.
DATE: July 6, 1997
Tags:
Wisdom
Prosperity
Judgment
[i] Willem A. VanGemeren, Psalms, 7.
[ii] Tremper Longman III, Discipleship Journal, Issue 99, 44.