Wicked Righteous Contrasted
Text: Psalm 1:3-6 Time: 15/07/07 Place: Childs Hill BaptistLast week we began to look at Psalm 1. We just concentrated on the first two verses then and what it says about the happy man. He is a man, we said, who negatively - does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers and positively (2) - His delight is in the law of the LORD, the Bible and on his law he meditates day and night.Now in 3-6 the writer has something more to say about the blessed man. He also contrasts him with the wicked who he has mentioned back in verse 1. In 3, 4 he uses two pictures to contrast them then in 5, 6 he considers their end and how the coming judgement will make the great difference even greater forever. It will be helpful for us to look at this contrast to see, firstly, just how truly great Jesus Christ is but then also how we should be living today.
1. Recognise the difference between the righteous and the wicked in terms of these pictures
1. The righteous man is like a sturdy treeSo of the blessed man we read (3) He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. In plain language Whatever he does prospers. So that's a wonderful picture – a great spreading tree, an evergreen with abundant fruit. What does it speak to us of? A number of things come to mind.
Deep roots
The tree is by the streams of water and so has a constant supply of the life giving nutrients it needs. The root system of a tree is very important. We know from 2 that the secret source of strength for the righteous man is the Word of God. He is often in private drawing on the Law of God which is his delight and what he meditates on day and night.
1. Recognise the difference between the righteous and the wicked in terms of these pictures
1. The righteous man is like a sturdy treeSo of the blessed man we read (3) He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. In plain language Whatever he does prospers. So that's a wonderful picture – a great spreading tree, an evergreen with abundant fruit. What does it speak to us of? A number of things come to mind.
Deep roots
The tree is by the streams of water and so has a constant supply of the life giving nutrients it needs. The root system of a tree is very important. We know from 2 that the secret source of strength for the righteous man is the Word of God. He is often in private drawing on the Law of God which is his delight and what he meditates on day and night.
To be godly we must get our roots deep into God's Word. We must find regular refreshment in it. Are we doing that?
Solid, stable
A tree planted by streams of water speaks of solidity and stability. The righteous man is upright and he is not swayed by fads and fashions. The godly person, the righteous man is not blown here and there by every change that comes – now all up for this fad and the next chasing some other craze. Rather there is something stable and dependable about him.
Solid, stable
A tree planted by streams of water speaks of solidity and stability. The righteous man is upright and he is not swayed by fads and fashions. The godly person, the righteous man is not blown here and there by every change that comes – now all up for this fad and the next chasing some other craze. Rather there is something stable and dependable about him.
Again is there something of that quality about us in Christ? This was Christ's nature, is it what we aspire to?
Not adversely affected by change
This tree is an evergreen. Its leaf does not wither. No matter what troubles come he remains true to the Lord and the Lord remains true to him. He doesn't blow hot and cold but is constant in his devotion to Christ. When times are good he rejoices, when times are bad he considers but in it all he remains devoted to the Lord. In season and out of season he declares God's unchanging Word.
Not adversely affected by change
This tree is an evergreen. Its leaf does not wither. No matter what troubles come he remains true to the Lord and the Lord remains true to him. He doesn't blow hot and cold but is constant in his devotion to Christ. When times are good he rejoices, when times are bad he considers but in it all he remains devoted to the Lord. In season and out of season he declares God's unchanging Word.
We must be the same.
Productive
There is also mention of the tree yielding its fruit in season. Fruit trees are not evergreens usually but this one is. Fruit speaks of good deeds and there is plenty of that in the life of the righteous man. It doesn't come all at once – only in it season – but it is there nevertheless.
Productive
There is also mention of the tree yielding its fruit in season. Fruit trees are not evergreens usually but this one is. Fruit speaks of good deeds and there is plenty of that in the life of the righteous man. It doesn't come all at once – only in it season – but it is there nevertheless.
Is there fruit in our lives? Are we doing any good? Jesus went about doing good, do we?
Attractive
I don't think we are wrong to say that this is an attractive picture. A painting of a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season and with an unfading leaf would be an attractive one. Christians who are truly godly will be attractive to some extent. Think of Joseph or Daniel or Paul.
Attractive
I don't think we are wrong to say that this is an attractive picture. A painting of a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season and with an unfading leaf would be an attractive one. Christians who are truly godly will be attractive to some extent. Think of Joseph or Daniel or Paul.
Again we must test ourselves against this Scripture.
Long lasting
I suppose the other thing implied here is longevity. Such a tree is long lived. It grows year after year. I don't know what tree the psalmist had in his mind's eye – perhaps a cedar or something similar. If you live in Britain you're mind immediately goes to something like an oak. Britain's oldest tree is the Fortingall yew, in Tayside, Scotland, which is over 2000 years old. In other words, it was growing when Jesus was on earth! There are trees in the world, especially in America, that are much older still.
2. The wicked man is like chaff blowing in the wind
Then in 4 comes the contrast Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. When Israelite farmers wanted to prepare their wheat harvest for use they would remove the husks (the bran, the chaff) by spreading the grain on a flat rock or a prepared earth threshing-floor. Animals would walk over the floor, often dragging threshing sledges, so separating grain and stalk – sometimes it was done with sticks. The chaff and grain were also detached at this time, but are more difficult to separate by hand and so the grain would be tossed into the air with a fan or fork in what is called the winnowing process. The chaff would be blown away in the wind.
The illustration used for the wicked then is the very opposite of the one used for the righteous. Think about it.
No rootedness
Unlike the tree, the chaff has no source to sustain it – it soon dies away. It is a mere husk. So the wicked are rootless and without real strength.
Long lasting
I suppose the other thing implied here is longevity. Such a tree is long lived. It grows year after year. I don't know what tree the psalmist had in his mind's eye – perhaps a cedar or something similar. If you live in Britain you're mind immediately goes to something like an oak. Britain's oldest tree is the Fortingall yew, in Tayside, Scotland, which is over 2000 years old. In other words, it was growing when Jesus was on earth! There are trees in the world, especially in America, that are much older still.
2. The wicked man is like chaff blowing in the wind
Then in 4 comes the contrast Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. When Israelite farmers wanted to prepare their wheat harvest for use they would remove the husks (the bran, the chaff) by spreading the grain on a flat rock or a prepared earth threshing-floor. Animals would walk over the floor, often dragging threshing sledges, so separating grain and stalk – sometimes it was done with sticks. The chaff and grain were also detached at this time, but are more difficult to separate by hand and so the grain would be tossed into the air with a fan or fork in what is called the winnowing process. The chaff would be blown away in the wind.
The illustration used for the wicked then is the very opposite of the one used for the righteous. Think about it.
No rootedness
Unlike the tree, the chaff has no source to sustain it – it soon dies away. It is a mere husk. So the wicked are rootless and without real strength.
Again, to be godly we must get our roots deep into God's Word. We must find regular refreshment in it. Otherwise we will simply drift.
Light and superficial
The wicked can be swayed by every fad and fashion that comes along. The wicked are blown here and there by every change that comes – first it's this craze then the next. There is nothing stable or dependable about them. Remember Mr Toad in The Wind in the Willows. Many are like that – they flit from one thing to another. First it was punting, then house boating, then horse-drawn caravans, I think, then, famously, motor cars. So many in the world are like that. If they stick to one general subject there is often a series of leaps within the chosen area. Sometimes even talking to such people is difficult as they will not stick to one subject at a time.
Light and superficial
The wicked can be swayed by every fad and fashion that comes along. The wicked are blown here and there by every change that comes – first it's this craze then the next. There is nothing stable or dependable about them. Remember Mr Toad in The Wind in the Willows. Many are like that – they flit from one thing to another. First it was punting, then house boating, then horse-drawn caravans, I think, then, famously, motor cars. So many in the world are like that. If they stick to one general subject there is often a series of leaps within the chosen area. Sometimes even talking to such people is difficult as they will not stick to one subject at a time.
Again, what are we like? The righteous or the wicked? Jesus set his face as a flint to go to Jerusalem. He was unflinching in his willingness to go to the cross.
At the mercy of change
Troubles greatly affect the wicked and they can make great changes sometimes for fairly flimsy reasons. They blow hot and cold as far as Christian things are concerned. You often don't know quite where you are with them. Like flotsam and jetsam they are tossed about by every passing wave.
At the mercy of change
Troubles greatly affect the wicked and they can make great changes sometimes for fairly flimsy reasons. They blow hot and cold as far as Christian things are concerned. You often don't know quite where you are with them. Like flotsam and jetsam they are tossed about by every passing wave.
We must not be like this
Useless
Far from being productive, the world is as a productive as a husk from a grain of wheat – useless! They are fit only to be cast away. People complain today about so much packaging on things. It's amazing what we throw away. The chaff is like the packaging - so much waste, of no real and lasting use.
Unattractive
There is nothing truly attractive about such people either. Oh yes, there might be something superficially attractive as they dance in the wind but there is nothing of weight or of real interest there. They lack nobility. There is nothing truly heroic in them. Everything centres on self or on this-worldly desires. There is no honouring of God, no looking to the world to come.
Ephemeral and passing
The other obvious thing is that the wicked do not last. They are here today but will be gone tomorrow. They soon blow away.
Useless
Far from being productive, the world is as a productive as a husk from a grain of wheat – useless! They are fit only to be cast away. People complain today about so much packaging on things. It's amazing what we throw away. The chaff is like the packaging - so much waste, of no real and lasting use.
Unattractive
There is nothing truly attractive about such people either. Oh yes, there might be something superficially attractive as they dance in the wind but there is nothing of weight or of real interest there. They lack nobility. There is nothing truly heroic in them. Everything centres on self or on this-worldly desires. There is no honouring of God, no looking to the world to come.
Ephemeral and passing
The other obvious thing is that the wicked do not last. They are here today but will be gone tomorrow. They soon blow away.
That should encourage us. It is also a warning to the wicked, those who will not trust in Christ, the eternal God.
2. Recognise the difference between the righteous and the wicked in terms of the coming judgementIn 5 we have a therefore or a 'moreover'. What follows is an observation of what will happen to the wicked in the judgement and, by implication, the state of the righteous and an explanation of why this should be so. So we say
1. Understand the difference between the righteous and the wicked at the judgement
The righteous
Verse 5 talks about the assembly of the righteous. One day the righteous are all going to be gathered together into one place. There is going to be a great gathering together of all who are righteous in Christ. What a glorious gathering that will be. It is anticipated now in gatherings like this one.
2. Recognise the difference between the righteous and the wicked in terms of the coming judgementIn 5 we have a therefore or a 'moreover'. What follows is an observation of what will happen to the wicked in the judgement and, by implication, the state of the righteous and an explanation of why this should be so. So we say
1. Understand the difference between the righteous and the wicked at the judgement
The righteous
Verse 5 talks about the assembly of the righteous. One day the righteous are all going to be gathered together into one place. There is going to be a great gathering together of all who are righteous in Christ. What a glorious gathering that will be. It is anticipated now in gatherings like this one.
Will you be among them? Can you say as the old hymn put it
'When the roll is called up yonder I'll be there'?
When the saints go marching in - are you going to be in that number?
You will be if you are the sort of Bible-feeding, solid, attractive and lasting person we have already spoken about - if you are full of good deeds, real fruit, you will.
The wicked
As for the wicked, they will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. There will be no place for them. These distinctions are not seen so clearly today but a day is coming when God will separate the sheep from the goats, the righteous from the wicked. Now the wheat and the weeds grow together but when all is safely gathered into the barn, the wheat will be kept and the weeds and the chaff will all be burnt up. The people of God will gather in the New Jerusalem and outside will be the dirty scavenger dogs, shut out. Again it is anticipated in the way churches are regulated. Some do not join, some are excluded for their sins, which manifest a lack of faith.
The wicked
As for the wicked, they will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. There will be no place for them. These distinctions are not seen so clearly today but a day is coming when God will separate the sheep from the goats, the righteous from the wicked. Now the wheat and the weeds grow together but when all is safely gathered into the barn, the wheat will be kept and the weeds and the chaff will all be burnt up. The people of God will gather in the New Jerusalem and outside will be the dirty scavenger dogs, shut out. Again it is anticipated in the way churches are regulated. Some do not join, some are excluded for their sins, which manifest a lack of faith.
Again what a warning for the wicked – for all who reject Christ and who go their own way. It gives hope to the righteous too. One day all will be well in heaven.
2. Understand why there is going to be this difference between the righteous and the wicked
it isn't anything to do with the righteous themselves
2. Understand why there is going to be this difference between the righteous and the wicked
it isn't anything to do with the righteous themselves
Rather it is to do with the LORD, the sovereign God.
The LORD watches over the way of the righteousLiterally, 'the LORD knows the way that the righteous take'; he sees it and takes note. He acknowledges it and is careful over it. His interest is bound up with it. Wherever we go, if we are believers we can be sure that God is watching over us and keeping us. When children are a little older you begin to let them do things on their own. You still watch them though to see that they are okay. So God watches over us all the way home. That is how we can be sure of a safe arrival in heaven. He will see us safely home.
The LORD watches over the way of the righteousLiterally, 'the LORD knows the way that the righteous take'; he sees it and takes note. He acknowledges it and is careful over it. His interest is bound up with it. Wherever we go, if we are believers we can be sure that God is watching over us and keeping us. When children are a little older you begin to let them do things on their own. You still watch them though to see that they are okay. So God watches over us all the way home. That is how we can be sure of a safe arrival in heaven. He will see us safely home.
This verse is here to assure us of God's watchful eye.
But the way of the wicked will perishFor the wicked it is quite otherwise, their way will perish. They have their route, their road but it is a road that leads to death. They are on the broad road that leads to destruction. What a fearful thing to be on that road.
But the way of the wicked will perishFor the wicked it is quite otherwise, their way will perish. They have their route, their road but it is a road that leads to death. They are on the broad road that leads to destruction. What a fearful thing to be on that road.
If you are on it, turn from it. I plead with you to get on to the Lord's highway now. look to Jesus Christ the Righteous One and be saved.
