Psalms 1 - Psalm 1 / The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
Well, let’s get started right away, shall we? If you have your Bible, and I hope that you do, open to Psalm chapter one. We’re going to look at a short, six-verse Psalm and use it as a good excuse to go all over. I’m going to break every preaching class rule that they would have ever taught you in grad school. If you are a speech or communications professor, you would have failed me out of your class because I’m going to take a wickedly long introduction to get to the point of dealing with an issue that I think may be one of the most important issues facing us in our day.
The Unseen Battle for Your Mind
It really starts if you take a look at how God created the world and how humanity was shaped. You recognize early on in the pages of Genesis, even before chapter three, that there’s a conflict coming. Have you ever watched a movie or gone through a season of life where everything seems good? It’s good, it’s good, it’s good—everything is great. And then you’re like, “There’s no way it’s staying this good for long. Something’s got to happen.”
You read Genesis chapter one and chapter two. God speaks everything into existence, creates Adam and Eve, and they are chilling in the garden, eating from whatever God told them to eat from. It’s a wonderful thing, and everything is fantastic. There is no sin in the world. Man, created in the image of God, is an accurate image-bearer of Almighty God. It is fantastic.
And then comes chapter three. All of a sudden, conflict enters. As the serpent enters, we don’t know much about him initially. If you take all sixty-six books and pull out a doctrine of Satan, you find he is a fascinating created being—an angel created by God. In Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14, you see descriptions of him prior to the creation of Adam and Eve. He was created as kind of the chief in charge, if you will, next to God. But pride was found in him. In the book of Isaiah, you find several “I will” statements where Satan says, “I will ascend to the Most High. I will be like God. I will take His throne.”
Isaiah 14:13-14 (NASB)
’But you said in your heart, ’I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
Pride was found in him, and he wanted to be like God. A portion of the angelic realm descended with him—commonly called demons in our context—ejected with him. That conflict now continues not just in the heavenly realm, but down here. In Genesis 3, God speaks of the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent who are going to be in constant enmity and strife. The godly and the ungodly, the righteous and the wicked, for all of history from that moment until the summation of all time when Jesus Christ returns, there will be this conflict.
It is an unconventional warfare. The image of God is under attack, but there are no normal rules of engagement. There’s no set time for this battle to occur. It’s ongoing—almost exhausting in its ongoing nature. It is a dirty war. It affects men, women, and children. This battle affects all nations and all races, disregarding socioeconomic, cultural, or contextual boundaries. This battle wages on all fronts, and the battleground is something so subtle that I don’t even think we see it coming.
I think we as Christians are often totally oblivious to the battle being fought. We wake up, have a piece of toast, go about our days, maybe pray a little bit, and just do life—all the while failing to recognize that there is an adversary called the devil who is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. He is furious, he never relents, and he is stalking you. He wants the destruction of you, your children, your family, and everyone you hold dear. Anything he can do to get to you, he’s going to do it. Jesus calls him the father of lies and says he comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.
The battleground being fought is the battle for your mind. He wants your mind.
Keep in mind, when Satan came to Eve in Genesis 3, what did he go after? Her thinking. He said, “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree of the garden?” That was the seed of the lie placed into Eve. In Genesis chapter two, verses sixteen and seventeen, God told Adam, “Of all the trees of the garden, you may eat freely. But of this one—just one—don’t eat from it.” Go have a kumquat, peel a banana, juice a carrot—I don’t care, just stay away from this one tree!
Genesis 2:16-17 (NASB)
The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’
Yet Satan asks, “From any tree?” Eve says, “Oh no, from the trees we can eat, but of that one we can’t eat it or touch it.” We’ve talked about this before—it’s the first institution of human religion! It’s like saying, “If premarital sex is bad, then premarital dancing is definitely bad too, right?” We make all these obscure rules trying to stay away from the thing that’s supposedly evil.
Satan went after her mind. He said, “No, God is holding out on you. God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God.” The lie was: God has an ego, God is holding out on you, God is a buzzkill, and God doesn’t want you to really enjoy life. If God really wanted you to enjoy yourself, He’d let you do whatever feels good.
Then comes that ominous verse in Genesis chapter three:
Genesis 3:6 (NASB)
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, she took it and ate. And she gave some to her passive, weak-sauce husband who was with her, and he ate. I’m a little biased there, can you tell?
Because of that, humanity was plunged into sin. Look at the progression: Satan went for her mind, she saw that it was good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. In that moment, she did something catastrophic. We look at that snapshot in Genesis 3 and think, “What were you thinking?” The problem is, we do the exact same thing in our lives today.
She shifted her thinking from obedience to what God said, over to what she thought was right. She shifted from obedience to the revealed Word of God to her own preference and rationale. Satan had her right on the primary battlefront: the battle of the mind.
From that moment forward, humanity plunged into sin. The image of God in us was defaced—not erased, but defaced. Now, indwelling sin drives our fallen affections. Nine times out of ten, when I listen to what feels good in my life as opposed to what God says, I end up in all kinds of problems. Have you found that true in your life? If you just do whatever feels good, you can get arrested real quick, because our fallen affections are not naturally in alignment with the Word of God.
We end up with the constant struggle of Romans 7: “The thing that I don’t want to do, I keep doing. It is no longer I who do it, but sin dwelling in me.” Have you ever felt like that? The things I know I should do—praying more, reading my Bible—I don’t do. And the things I need to quit doing, I keep doing. Have you ever prayed, “God, forgive me for my sin; I did it again”? “Again” is a small word, but it’s powerful, isn’t it?
That is the context of our battle. Our fallen nature has perverted our affections. Therefore, as Proverbs says, we must watch over our hearts with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. There has to be a filter. There must be something in the mind that filters what is right and what is wrong.
Romans 12:2 (NASB)
And 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.
Paul tells us not to be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Peter wrote, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; fix your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” There has to be a guard over our minds.
1 Peter 1:13-14 (NASB)
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober [in spirit], fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts [which were yours] in your ignorance,
The problem is, we live in a noisy world where thousands of messages bombard us every single day telling us what we supposedly need. The world says you are totally insufficient unless you use this shampoo, drink this beverage, take this pill, buy this car, eat this burger, use this soap, wear these shoes, or style your hair this way. Make no mistake: of the thousands of messages you receive, very few are godly. We are inundated with noise telling us how to live the “blessed life.” Buy this minivan with airbags everywhere, buy this home, and life will be happy.
The Slippery Slope of Compromise: Walk, Stand, Sit
Can I show you in Psalm 1 where the truly blessed, happy life is actually found? That is the theme of Psalm 1: the blessed life. In this Psalm, you see a simple contrast between two lifestyle orientations: the righteous and the wicked.
The righteous person has oriented their life around the things of God. The Word of God is their filter; their mind is tuned to it and listens to it. In contrast, the term “wicked” describes a life lived outside of a covenant relationship with God—someone living based on appetite, passion, and personal rationale, disregarding God’s Word.
Psalms 1:1 (NASB)
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
How blessed is the man who does not do three things: who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: this is a familiar Psalm. It’s only six verses, and you can read it quickly. But familiarity often robs a passage of its edge and its punch. You think, “Oh yeah, the tree planted by the water. I remember this from flannelgraph Sunday school. We sang a song with hand motions, or maybe VeggieTales did an episode on it.” Don’t miss the punch of this text! Come to it with fresh eyes.
The blessed person does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. That means they do not take advice from those who do not know God—those whose hearts are unregenerate, whose minds are darkened, and who have not been brought into the light of Christ. Proverbs 14:12 warns that there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. The righteous person asks: “What message am I receiving? Who is it coming from? On what authority is it being spoken?”
Second, they do not stand in the path of sinners. Notice the progression: walk, stand, sit. Standing moves from taking advice to adopting behaviors and associations.
If you’ve ever had a roommate, you know how this works. You get a roommate who has a quirky phrase, and at first you think it’s weird, but eventually you find yourself saying it. Or they have an odd fashion style, and you think, “That’s so dumb,” but after a while, you start dressing that way too! It’s contagious. If you’ve been married for any number of years, you pick up the traits of your spouse. We become like the people we surround ourselves with.
Paul cautioned us: “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” Proverbs says, “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)
Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’
When I played football at Fresno State, I learned to cuss with incredible creativity. It was just part of the culture; it’s what you did. When I came to Christ, I ended up moving in with a bunch of PKs—pastor’s kids. It was hilarious because I was so far from godly at the time. I just knew Jesus had saved me, and I thought that was awesome. But whenever I talked with them, every time I cussed, I could see them visibly cringe! I realized we spoke two completely different languages. I had to reshape how I lived because my heart and mind were still captive to the old man. I had to choose not to stand in the path of sinners, but to surround myself with godliness.
Finally, the progression moves from walking to standing to sitting: sitting in the seat of scoffers. In biblical times, cities were fortified with gates, such as Solomonic gates, with chambers between the walls where city officials sat. Boaz went to the city gate to redeem Ruth. Absalom went to the city gate to woo the crowds away from King David. The city gate was where life happened. The aristocrats, leaders, and politicians sat at the gate.
Think about Lot in Genesis 13. When Lot and Abraham separated their livestock, Lot looked out, chose the lush land for himself, and pitched his tent as far as Sodom. He didn’t move into Sodom right away—that would have seemed too wicked. He just moved near it. By Genesis 14, he was living inside the city. By Genesis 19, when the angels arrived, where was Lot sitting? At the city gates. He was in leadership, colluding with them.
The progression of sin is subtle. We walk in ungodly counsel, we stand in sinful ways, and eventually we sit among scoffers who mock God. Nobody sets out wanting the destructive end result; they just want to go “as far as” and enjoy the pleasure of the moment. They want one hit, one look, one experience, just dipping a toe in the water. But sin captures your mind and pulls you in.
If someone had stopped Eve in Genesis 3 and said, “Eve, just a heads-up: if you eat that, all of humanity will plunge into sin, your children will be born sinners, and one of your sons will murder the other,” do you think she might have reconsidered? But nobody thinks clearly in the moment of temptation because the mind has already surrendered. Paul described this in Ephesians 4: “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.”
Ephesians 4:19 (NASB)
and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
Sin never satisfies. Nobody does drugs and finally says, “You know what? I’m completely full and satisfied.” Nobody looks at pornography and says, “I’ve seen enough; I’m totally content.” It only pulls you deeper.
The Delight of the Righteous: People of the Book
Notice the contrast in verse two:
Psalms 1:2 (NASB)
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. His delight is not with the wicked or the scoffers; his delight is in Scripture. Delight means joy or pleasure. His joy is not found in sin, but in obedience. He has shaped his life to fit the Word of God.
For far too long, Christians have tried to make the Word of God fit their lifestyle. The Bible doesn’t need to be adjusted; we need to be adjusted! We must align our lives with God’s Word.
Joshua is one of my heroes because he had perhaps the hardest job in the Bible: following Moses. Think about following “Big Mo”! Moses led the people out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and spoke with God face-to-face so that his skin glowed. Then Moses tells Joshua, “Congratulations, you’re my successor.” Can you imagine? You’d be thinking, “Pick somebody else!”
That’s why the Lord repeats to Joshua over and over: “Be strong and courageous… be strong and very courageous.” And God gives him the key in Joshua 1:8:
Joshua 1:8 (NASB)
’This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
God tells him: “Joshua, do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night. Do you want to lead these people? Read your Bible. Study the Book. Spend time in the text. Charisma won’t last. Leadership technique won’t be enough. The people are fickle. Know the Book, and God will work through you.”
Psalm 19 tells us that the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalms 19:7-8 (NASB)
The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The mark of the righteous is that they are people of the Book. It has always fascinated me that when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He quoted three times from the book of Deuteronomy. Could we even make it out of this room today if we couldn’t leave until we quoted three verses from Deuteronomy? We might all die in here together!
It breaks my heart that our churches are filled with people who claim the name of Christ, yet never read their Bibles. Is it any wonder hypocrisy is rampant? Is it any wonder divorce rates inside the church mirror those outside? We become apathetic believers because we neglect the Scriptures. We don’t bring them, we don’t study them, and we don’t obey them. Then we wonder why we are spiritually impotent, or why we feel we lack the credibility to share the gospel with a neighbor.
Take the Word of God and let it renew your mind! You cannot grow as a Christian until you read your Bible. Let me just be honest with you: you will not grow spiritually apart from the Scriptures. If you don’t read it, you will spend the next ten, twenty, or thirty years in lukewarm, ineffective Christianity.
Can you imagine what would happen if we, as God’s people, truly became people of the Book? What if we read Scripture, surrendered to its authority, and put it into practice? What if men read about putting away anger and said, “You know what? I have been an angry man. By God’s grace, I need to repent and change”? It would spark an absolute revolution.
Think of Nehemiah chapter eight. When the wall was rebuilt, they brought out the Book of the Law. Ezra stood on a wooden platform and read the Word of God from morning until midday, and the people wept and worshipped. That is revival! Revival isn’t people barking or acting bizarre; revival happens when the people of God open the Word of God, weep over their sin, and align their lives with His truth.
Nehemiah 8:5-6 (NASB)
Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen!’ while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with [their] faces to the ground.
Revival happens when a husband looks at his wife and says, “I haven’t loved you well, but by the grace of God, I am going to love you as Christ loved the church. Kids, follow me as I follow Christ.” That is what the church needs.
Verse two says he meditates on God’s law day and night. Coming to church once a week gives you one godly message. How many secular messages do you receive out in the world each week? Thousands upon thousands. If Sunday morning is your only intake, you’ll forget what was preached by lunchtime. If the overwhelming majority of voices shaping you are ungodly, you will become like what you listen to.
Planted by Streams: True Fruitfulness and Legacy
Look at what happens to the person rooted in God’s Word:
Psalms 1:3 (NASB)
He will be like a tree [firmly] planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
In John 15:8, Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” That’s convicting. If we did a fruit inspection in our lives today, how would we measure up? The person meditating on the Word is like a deeply rooted tree—bearing fruit at the right time, enduring dry seasons, and providing shade and nourishment for others.
Your fruit isn’t meant for you to consume. It’s for the benefit of those around you. You have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you. You have breath in your lungs today for two reasons: to glorify God and to serve others.
Galatians 2:20 (NASB)
’I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Psalm 1 says, “In all that he does, he prospers.” We often chase prosperity like an addiction, but we define it completely wrong. The world says prosperity is money, status, and possessions. But he who dies with the most toys still dies! You might leave behind a nice 401(k), but you’re still going to be placed in a casket. If you sacrifice your marriage and your children on the altar of the corporate ladder, you forfeit what truly matters.
At the end of your life, your kids won’t care about having more money; they will wish they had more of you. Don’t store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, but store up treasures in heaven.
Matthew 6:19-20 (NASB)
’Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ’But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
Growing up, our family didn’t have what many other kids had, but my daddy loved Jesus, he loved my mama, and he cared for us. That is the kind of legacy worth having.
Two Paths, Two Destinies
Psalms 1:4-6 (NASB)
The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
The wicked are not so. They are like chaff that the wind drives away. In the short term, the wicked often appear to prosper, and we wonder why. But Scripture reminds us they are like weightless chaff, blown away in the wind.
The wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Let me leave you with two final thoughts.
First, to the believers here: please be people of the Book. Receive this admonition seasoned with grace. We need to read our Bibles. Bring your Bible to church, read it in your home, join a life group, and use a reading plan to get through the Scriptures. You cannot win the battle of your mind or bear spiritual fruit apart from God’s Word. Be people of the Book.
Second, to anyone here who has not yet placed their faith in Jesus Christ: Scripture makes it clear that a day of reckoning is coming. I don’t share this to scream fire and brimstone, but out of genuine love and urgency. On behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. The opportunity to place your faith in Jesus is an open window of grace given to you today, but that window will not remain open forever.
2 Corinthians 5:20 (NASB)
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
When judgment comes, Christ is the only shelter. Salvation is not about spiritual arrogance—the only thing we contributed to our salvation was the sin that made it necessary! We simply point to the Redeemer whose name is Jesus.
Let’s pray together.
Father, we thank You for Your Word. Make us a people of the Book whose lives are shaped, corrected, and guided by Scripture. We pray for those here today who have not yet placed their trust in You. May they hear Your gentle call of grace and turn to the Savior who came to seek and save the lost.
Thank You that You didn’t call the spiritual elite, but the broken, the weary, and the wounded. We thank You for the healing found in Christ alone. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.