Sermon Tone Analysis

The Road Less Traveled

/Psalm 1/

*Introduction  (5:00)*

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the castle church at Wittenberg, listing 95 inconsistencies with what the Roman Catholic Church practiced and what the Bible taught.

Thus igniting the spark that began the Protestant Reformation.

·        While teaching the Bible at the University of Wittenberg, this Augustinian monk came to a true understanding of the gospel of God's grace in Romans 1:17 which reads, “The just shall live by faith."

·        Luther believed upon the perfect merit of Christ's righteousness – a righteousness that he termed a /foreign/ righteousness that which was /outside/ himself, or an /alien/ righteousness – and was justified by faith /alone/ in the Lord Jesus Christ /alone./

·        This newly converted monk would describe the doctrine of justification by faith the article of faith by which the church stands or falls.

Thus, the book of Romans is forever identified with Luther and the Reformation.

But what is often overlooked is the fact that Luther was /first/ dramatically impacted by another book of Scripture, a book that gave him the courage to stand /alone /against the world if need be.

That book was Psalms.

·        On August 16, 1513, Luther began lecturing on the book of Psalms and it would profoundly impact his life.

·        While Romans would later formulate Luther’s doctrinal convictions regarding salvation, Psalms gave him the courage to fearlessly stand against the world, if need be, for the authority of God's Word.

·        The Psalms instilled within Luther such a high view of God that he was infused with a devil-defying boldness to preach the glorious truth of the gospel.

It was these two books of Scripture – Romans /and/ Psalms – which so radically affected him and altered the direction of his life.

·        In the midst of Luther's greatest and most intense turmoil, this Reformer found his greatest strength in the Psalms.

·        It is my hope that our study this morning of the Psalms and the subsequent weeks will fills us with such a passion for God and an unwavering confidence in His word that, even if we face the greatest threat, we could say with Luther “Here I stand…”

 

I can think of no better place to being our series in Psalms than to begin where the book of Psalms begins – Psalm 1

 

1.

Purpose of Psalm

a.      Adaptability to life: whether you are up or down, soaring or struggling, there is a psalm that speaks directly to the spiritual state of your heart.

b.      God centered: its focus is God-centered and it /directs our hearts to find our satisfaction in Him/.

2.      Psalm 1: The Gateway

a.      Psalm 1-14 were probably gathered together /during/ the early days of the Jewish monarchy by either David or Solomon.

b.      Psalm 1 is an anonymous psalm that serves as the logical introduction to the entire book of Psalms

 

3.

Teaching Psalm

a.      Different types of Psalms which we will explore in the subsequent weeks,

b.      Provides practical guidelines for godly living and give pointed direction for righteous living in pursuit of God’s will

c.

This teaching Psalms point:  there are only two roads taken – the path of the righteous and the path of the wicked.

The challenge this morning to you is to assess which path you are on.

STAND & READ \\ \\

*The Point:*

 

This morning we will examine two eternal roads (only 2) so that we can assess which path we are traveling.

I.

The Way of the Righteous  (1:1-3)

 

*A.

**He is satisfied in the Lord  (v.1a)

(5:00)*

 

/“How blessed is the man”/

 

This Psalm begins with the emphatic declaration that God’s abundant favor will rest upon the person who lives a truly God-centered life.

The word blessed (/esher/) means an overflowing joy and full contentment in God.

It is a satisfaction and happiness in the Lord.

·        the noun occurs 44 times in the OT, over half of them are found in Psalms

·        The word /happy/ is a good synonym, although it must be understood that the word conveys far more then feelings.

·        /This noun describes one who is favored *by* God and fulfilled/ */in/*/ God./

In the original language, the word *blessed* is repeated.

This is the Hebrew method of indicating the plural, intensifying its meaning.

·        Thus, the phrase should read:  “O how very happy”.

·        C.H. Spurgeon “the multiplicity of blessing which shall rest upon the man of God”

 

The person who is satisfied in the Lord, has found

·        Psalm 16:11  “*in your presence* is fullness of joy*; in your right hand* there are pleasures forevermore.”

·        Psalm 21:6 (speaking of David) “For you make him most blessed forever; you make him joyful with gladness */in your presence/*”

·        Psalm 34:8  *“O taste and see that the Lord is good*; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him”

 

To get a better understanding of the soul satisfying happiness this is, turn to Matthew 5:3-12.

·        The NT equivalent to this Hebrew word /blessed /in Psalm 1 is the Greek word /makarios/ which is essential to the Beatitudes.

The promise of blessing or true happiness is precisely what Jesus announced in the Beatitudes (Matt.

5:3-12)

·        The blessedness is not deserved; it is a gift of God.

It is not dependent upon our circumstances, but upon the vitality of our relationship with God.

The person on the path of righteousness finds his satisfaction, approval, pleasure, happiness, fulfillment, contentment – not in the praise or accolades or visible men or materials, but in the invisible Living God.

 

 

*B.

**He is separated from the world  (v.

1)  (7:30)*

 

/…who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,/

/Nor stand in the path of sinners/

/Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!/

The God blessed life is here described negatively, or what he godly person does not practice.

The godly man separates himself from the world, by:

 

1.

refusing secular beliefs

 

/who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,/

 

The righteous man refuses the secular philosophy and humanistic values of the godless.

He refuses the worldview the places man at the center of the universe and entices him to live by his own standards of morality.

·        Secular Humanism: a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason.

·        Postmodernism: truth cannot be known, therefore there is not absolute truth – so it is relative to your beliefs and circumstances.

“If that works for you”.

Truth becomes subjugated to the whims and desires of men.

·        Psychology: the truth is within you.

The ability to change is within your power.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed, by the renewing of your mind – so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”

 

How might you be in danger of walking in the counsel of the wicked?

2.

refusing sinful behavior

 

/Nor stand in the path of sinners/

 

His personal behavior resists the lure of the crowds to participate in activities that would contradict the commands of Scriptures.

 

1 John 2:12-13 “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but from the world.”

3.

refusing scoffing relationships

 

/Nor sit in the seat of scoffers/

 

He avoids close relationships with people who oppose God, who mock God, who scoff at the truth of God.

This is not an injunction for isolationism:

“I wrote you in my letter not to /associate/ with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.

Not to go out of the world” (1 Cor.

5:9-10)

 

What the Psalmist prohibits is to sit or align yourself in a close relationship with those who mock God.

In what way may you be standing in the path of sinners?

Walking, standing to sitting:

·        it’s a downward spiral

·        *walk*: refers to the series of steps that the ungodly person takes in life, the decisions he makes, the direction he pursues

·        *stand*: pictures the commitments a person makes to various causes.

·        *Sit*: represents settled attitudes of the heart, the fixed disposition of the heat

 

This downhill slide begins with the “counsel of the wicked” or ungodly thinking, digresses to “the way of sinners” practicing ungodly beliefs, and arrives at “the seat of mockers” – aligning oneself with the company of those who mock God.

It’s a slippery slope – begins subtlety…

 

*C.

**He is Saturated with the Word (v.