Sermon Tone Analysis
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Many of you know I like to hike.
My family and I are looking forward to the spring so we can enjoy some of the fresh air and beautiful mountains that are around us.
ILLUSTRATION:
As you hike, often you will come across paths that go into different directions.
A fork in the road you might call it.
And you have to decide which way to go.
The way is not always obvious.
I have done a lot of hiking here, but this was especially true in Hawaii.
There are some gorgeous hikes, but much of it is in deep jungle.
You cannot always see the end of every path because the jungle is just to thick.
One path may send you to a beautiful waterfall, or a gorgeous sea cliff.
The beauty of some of these places is just breath taking.
To be able to look down about 3,000 ft over the lush jungle, out to a line of sand that is bordered by a deep blue ocean, which continues to the horizon as far as you can see.
It is a gorgeous site.
The second path often does not take you to a beautiful waterfall or a seaclift.
Instead, it takes aimlessly through the jungle, often muddy, mosquito covered, whose end turns out to be literally in the middle of the jungle with nothing worth seeing.
The only way to avoid going down the wrong path is to have a map.
There are various hiking books and websites that publish directions and maps for going to certain exotic locations.
These maps help you avoid aimlessly wondering through the jungle.
Every now and then you will here of some hiker who gets lost in the jungle and search and rescue crews have to help them find a way out.
Why did they get lost?
It is because they either didn’t have map or they didn’t follow the map.
Life is much this way.
Many times we look at the young as being people who have two paths to choose from.
One prosperous and one not.
One God-dependent and one defiled and self-serving.
However, I submit that the young are not the only one’s on a path.
And we are not the only one’s with a fork in the road.
Everyday we are faced with a new path to choose.
How do I know that?
We will see in this Psalm that this is the case.
Everyday I wake up, I make a choice of what path I am going to follow.
Let’s read about these paths of life.
This text gives us the general idea that there are two paths in life.
- One of the wicked
- One of the righteous.
This text gives us the general idea that there are two paths in life.
- One of the wicked
- One of the righteous.
We will begin focusing on the Path of the righteous.
The Fortune of the Righteous.
Blessed Man
This psalm begins with the declaration that the righteous is a “blessed man”.
The word blessed has two kind of connotations, that of favor and that of fortune.
Does blessed mean favor or fortune?
Given the basic context, which would be your first thought?
My initial thought was this was the idea of being blessed of God.
To receive the favor of God.
After all, there is an emphases in the text about the righteous man studying God’s Word.
(v. 2).
There is also an emphasis of divine judgement in v. 5-6.
So my initial thought was that this was divine blessing.
God blesses those who obey him.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Is there another way that God’s word blesses us?
What two ways may God’s word bless us?
There are at least two very broad ways that God’s word blesses us.
The first, is the direct blessing of God.
- In that we are obedient, so as we conform to God, God is able to bless us.
- Because we are what we are supposed to be, God sovereign work extends blessing rather than chastisement.
The second, indirect blessing because it is wise.
This is the idea that God’s word contains deep wisdom for right path living.
What it commands is not simply morally right, but wise.
The natural effect of applying wisdom is to blessed, to receive fortune.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>The question at hand is, which is meant here?
How is a man blessed by following the path of righteousness?
There are two words in Hebrew for blessing.
One is a word that describes man blessing something.
The second describes God blessing something.
The second describing blessing is baraq.
You might notice the similarity to our former presidents name, Baraq.
His name Arabic as well as in Hebrew, means God’s blessing.
Surprisingly, Baraq, but the other one.
This man is blessed (fortunate), because he applies Scripture.
The Psalmist is describing the blessing, which is not the direct blessing of God, but the indirect blessing of God.
Understand this,
We are generally blessed when we follow God’s word because the path of those who follow Scripture is a wise path.
By applying the wisdom of God, we generally, not always, but generally are blessed by wise living.
We are blessed in the sense that we are fortunate.
CAVEAT: This is not to say that we are automatically free from suffering if we obey God.
In God’s wise rule he does allow those who follow his Word to suffer for our own good and His Glory.
But, Proverbially, in General, the obedient path is a path which we are blessed.
Lets Look back at v. 1, at the description of this path.
What is the description of this path?
(Ps 1:1)
To say it another way, what are the turns of this path?
What are the turns or route in the path of righteousness? (Ps 1:1)
ILLUSTRATION:
A map tells you really two things.
The right way to go.
And the way to not go.
V. 1 expands the path that leads to human blessings.
We are given three mile markers that designate what this path is not.
What are the three mile makers that the blessed path is not?
(Ps 1:1)
It is not in the counsel of the wicked.
What does it meant, “the counsel of the wicked”?
What does it mean “the counsel of the wicked”?
(Ps 1:1)
There is not a lot of guess work here in the language.
It is a straitforward, broad meaning statement.
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