Welcome back!

Yesterday we began our journey through the Book of Psalms with Psalm 1 looking at what it means to choose God’s way and the blessings that God promises to those who choose His way. If you missed it, you can click here to check it out.

Before we pick up where we left off with verses 4-6, take a moment to reread Psalm 1 in its entirety.

1 How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

In the Christian Standard Bible, verses 4-6 address “the wicked”, but for our discussion I’m going to use the wording of the King James Version because to me it’s more clear.

In the King James Version, those who choose a way other than God’s way are called “the ungodly”. To me, this is clearer because “wicked” is open to interpretation in today’s society. Much of what we once considered wicked is now accepted, advertised, or even encouraged. It can be difficult to determine how a person is deemed wicked when the definition of wicked keeps changing. However, ungodly is unchanging in its definition. In English, the prefix “un” means “not”, so ungodly in the context of Psalm 1 means “not choosing God” or “not choosing God’s way”. Regardless of how society defines good or evil, those who do not choose God, even if they are “good people” by societal standards, are “ungodly” in God’s eyes because they did not choose Him.

So, let’s see what verses 4-6 tell us about the ungodly person, the person who does not choose God.

Verse 4 tells us that they are:

“Chaff that the wind blows away.” v.4

What is chaff?

Useless leftovers from threshing wheat or similar produce. For the non-farmers among us (including me!), we could liken chaff to the dust we clean off our ceiling fans or the dirt we sweep off our floors – useless, unwanted.

Now, it’s really important to pause here and note that God is clear in His word that ALL people are loved by Him, valued, wanted in His Kingdom and filled with His good purpose, including people who choose not to believe on Him or follow His way (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Matthew 10:29-31; Psalm 57:2; Jeremiah 29:11; Ephesians 2:10).

What is like chaff is the fruit of the ungodly. They do not bear the fruit of the Spirit discussed in Galatians 5:22-23 because without choosing God, they do not have access to the Living Water or the Holy Spirit. What they build in their lives, however grand will not last beyond the ending of this physical world. Like chaff, the wind will blow it away.

Verse 5 tells us that the ungodly will fall in the judgement, that they will not be present in the assembly of the righteous. Again, God’s word is crystal clear. Those who do not choose God’s way will not live eternally in Heaven with Him (assembly of the righteous).

Verse 6 tells us that God watches over the way of those who choose Him but that the way of those who do not choose Him leads to ruin.

Friend, the choice we make doesn’t just have life-altering implications – it has eternity-altering implications.

Those who choose God are like trees standing by the flowing stream. Spiritually prosperous and fruitful in this life and promised an eternity in Heaven (assembly of the righteous).

Those who do not choose God are like chaff blown away by the wind. They may prosper in man’s eyes here on earth, but they have no eternal fruit and they will fall on the day of judgement and spend eternity in hell (Matthew 10:33; Revelation 20:11-15).

Given the life and eternity changing power of choosing to live God’s way, it’s important to be able to answer the question, “What is God’s way?“.

• Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” (John 14:6)

• To the church at Corinth, Paul wrote, “He made the one who did not know sin [Jesus] to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21

• Paul taught the church at Rome, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

• Paul reminded the church at Ephesus, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As these verses explain, the first step in choosing God’s way is accepting God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, believing in Jesus as the Son of God, who lived sin-free yet bore our sin-debt on the cross, died, and then rose again that we might be saved by faith and not our own works, a task we could never hope to do.

This first step seals believers with God’s promise of eternal salvation and gives them a place at the assembly of the righteous, Heaven (John 10:27-29). Then, because Jesus is THE WAY, He continues to guide us during our time on earth to help us live a life that honors God’s instructions; through Holy Spirit, He is with us daily to save us in this life from temptation, from the lies of the enemy, from our own selfishness, self-destructive, or self-sabotaging tendencies.

Sweet friend, if you want to choose God’s way, there is no other way but through the Son, Jesus Christ. This is not my opinion; it is what God shares with us in His holy word. There is no way to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6).

Believer, this brings us back to the reflection portion of yesterday’s post and the key understanding that we must be like Jesus and befriend those whom Psalm 1 calls “the ungodly”; we must befriend people who have not chosen God’s way because we know the way to THE WAY.

We know Jesus personally, and who better to introduce someone to Jesus than one of Jesus’ friends?

We must also remember that our lives are the visible demonstration of God’s way to others. Those who have not yet chosen God’s way are curious about what His way is like. If we’re sour-faced, cranky, and judgmental, then we’re not going to draw anyone to God’s way. If we’re living large and doing whatever we want, ignoring God’s commands, causing trouble for ourselves or others, then we’re not going to draw anyone to God’s way. Only walking in God’s way will draw others to God’s way.

Reflection:

As we close out our time with Psalm 1, I’m reflecting on the following questions. I encourage you to do the same. I’d love to get a conversation going in the comments so we can support one another in applying the truths in Psalm 1.

• Am I experiencing the spiritual blessings outlined in verses 1-3 of Psalm 1? What about the fruit of Galatians 5:22-23
  • If I’m not, is there something in my walk that isn’t following God’s way?
  • Am I delighting in the Lord’s instruction as described in yesterday’s post? What could I do to delight in it more, or delight in it more often?
• Do I have friends, or even people with whom I regularly put myself into contact, who have not chosen God’s way? How could I walk out Psalm 1 in a way that shows them the benefits of choosing God’s way? How might I introduce them to my friend Jesus?
  • If I don’t have many/any friends or frequent associations who don’t know Jesus and haven’t chosen God’s way, why not?
  • Do I need to make myself more open to being like Jesus, a friend of sinners?
  • Do I need to ask God to help me grow strong enough in faith to reach out more often?
  • Do I need to ask God to tear down any judgmental beliefs I may have about people who have not chosen God’s way, especially those who have been shown God’s way and refused it in the past? (Ouch, that last part gets my toes.)

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for giving us Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. We thank You for the gift of eternal life through Jesus and the guidance that Jesus gives us to walk in Your way in our earthly lives. Father, give us a heart for those people all around us who have not chosen Your way, who do not know Your Son, Jesus. Teach us to live as walking, talking demonstrations of Your way, putting on full display the transformative power of Your love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Help us to think, feel, speak, and act more like Jesus each day. May all honor, glory, and praise be Yours, God, forevermore. Amen.

I’m going to give us time to meditate on Psalm 1 and the others verses shared in today’s and yesterday’s posts. On Thursday, we’ll jump into Psalm 2 together. To make sure you’re notified when the new post hits the site, please subscribe via email below.