Good evening. I’d like us to read two passages tonight, first from the Gospel of Matthew and then returning to Psalm 1. Preaching the Word tonight will be again on Psalm 1. First, let’s read from Matthew chapter 7. I think you’ll find that on page 1031 of your Pew Bibles. In this passage, we’re coming to the close of the Sermon on the Mount. I’ll be reading beginning at verse 21.
Let’s give attention to the Word of God. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Now, if you turn to Psalm 1. I believe that’s on page 568 of your Pew Bibles. And I’ll read the entire psalm tonight, but we’ll be focusing on the sixth verse in the preaching of the word. Psalm 1.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 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.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore, 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.” That’s far in the reading of the word of God.
Amen. Would you pray with me? Father and our God, as we gather this evening, we thank you that you have opened the way to your throne room, that even tonight we can gaze upon your splendor by and through your word as it is opened. We pray, Lord God, that your spirit work powerfully within us that we would be, even tonight, made more like Christ. Guide our hearts that we would exalt him, praise the spirit, and glorify your most blessed name. We ask this all in Jesus’s name. Amen. Are you known by Jesus? It’s a fairly critical question. Are you known by Jesus Christ?
We read just a very short portion this evening from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7. And it’s interesting the way the Lord begins this segment of his Sermon, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of his father. But then he drops down into specifics as to those who will not enter. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesied. Did we not cast out demons? Did we not do many mighty works in your name? See, they proclaimed their own works, prophesying, casting out demons, mighty works. They didn’t know Jesus. But more accurately, He did not know them. I never knew you. If Jesus had known them, they would never have spoken in that way. For they would have known Jesus as Lord and Savior and the one who did all things for their salvation. In a sense, that brings us to this last verse in Psalm 1. Or maybe this last verse in Psalm 1 is the basis upon which the Lord Jesus Christ preached that portion of the Sermon on the Mount.
As you saw last week, this is the beginning of the Psalms, and some believe that the first two Psalms are kind of the gateway to all of the Psalms. wrote that it would appear that these two Psalms were prefixed to the book with the purpose of emphasizing certain fundamentals that are of importance. He may be right. Certainly this particular Psalm does bring to the fore much that helps us understand the entire book of Psalms. Indeed, it helps us understand the Christian life.
Last week, we discussed about what it was to be happy, that the world has its own definition of happiness. And that’s contrary to the definition that God provides for us in his word, the biblical teaching, God’s definition of blessedness. Tonight, as we look only really at verse 6, I want us to see that the Spirit leads the children of God to and on the path of life, but leaves the wicked to their own way. The Spirit leads the children of God to and on the path of life, but leaves the wicked to their own way.
We’ll see that in two points tonight. First, very simply, the Lord knows the way of the righteous. And secondly, the Lord does not know the way of the wicked. As we go through this passage, once again, I would ask you to be asking yourselves, am I known by the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, first, the Lord knows the way of the righteous.
A little bit of review from last week, we must be asking ourselves that question, how does the blessed man do it? who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. How does he do it? How can he do such a thing? To resist the call of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and saying no to joining in the revelry and the rebellion that is so enjoyed and promoted by the world.
I think we can all agree, and maybe we did last week, that this is actually a description of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only man, the God-man, who completely and perfectly separated himself, separated his heart from walking in the counsel of the wicked, standing in the way of sinners, and sitting in the seat of scoffers, completely. And then positively, he delighted in the law of the Lord and meditated upon it day and night. That’s a description of our Savior. That’s a description of our Lord. That’s a description of Jesus. And I think we can all agree upon that. But then the question becomes, well, what about others? What about us? What about you?
Consider the corruption of man since the fall from grace. The words that God uses to describe our hearts are, in a sense, Terrifying. The Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6. Or Psalm 14. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
They have all turned aside. Together they become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one. There’s no room here for a good man. The psalmist ensures that. All turned together corrupt. None who does good, not even one. And so there’s no possible way that we can, in our own strength, do that which is set forth here, which is a description of Jesus Christ.
The Westminster Confession confirms that, by this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God and so became dead in sin. This is a description of what happened as Adam and Eve sinned against God. They fell from grace. What happened to them that became dead in sin?
It’s a description of our hearts, our unregenerated hearts, dead in sin, wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body, and thus we’re utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, wholly inclined to all evil. They’re just taking scripture and putting it into short, concise, doctrinal sentences. It’s a description of our hearts.
And again, Paul, I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. You see, we have no strength. We have no capacity in Adam to do good, to love God. So it can’t be merely by trying hard. This passage is not set before us to say, well, you just need to try harder. None of us have the ability, the capacity to live a life free of walking in the counsel of the wicked, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitting in the seat of scoffers. None of us have the ability to live a life of constant meditation, or even delighting in the law of the Lord day and night.
Well, how? How is this? Is this merely a description of Jesus Christ? Or is it possible for us to say, well, that’s describing me in Christ? Look at verse six. I think it’s the key. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous. The Lord knows the way. I think it’s the key for us to understand how we can pursue this blessed man. The Lord knowing the way is not many things, and so it’s good for us to understand what it’s not before we understand what it is.
It’s not that God foresees what it is that the righteous man will do. The psalmist is not stating that the Lord is merely aware or is able to predict or foresee or looks down the halls of time as to what will be the way taken by this man who’s blessed. This verse should not be understood as saying that the Lord is, in a sense, watching a video clip of the man which takes place in the future And thus he knows the way of the righteous man. This verse is not merely stating that the Lord has knowledge, or that he knows those who are or will become righteous in his sight. No. Given our recognition of the inability of any man to become righteous, it must be saying much more than this. Psalm 50. And verse 11 reads this way, I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.
There’s a connection between the knowledge of God and his possession. For the Lord Jesus Christ to know, to know you, must mean that he possesses you. It must mean that he owns you because he’s purchased you for himself as a very child of God. It seems to be at least part of what it means for God to know, for what it means that Lord Jesus Christ knows. He possesses. He owns, he’s purchased you, which leads then to his watching over you. The New International Version is helpful here as it translates knows as watches over. It’s an active involvement of Christ in the heart of one and in the events of the life of this one who is blessed.
Consider Job. Chapter 23, but he knows the way I take. When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. It’s hard to imagine one who has been afflicted other than the Lord Jesus Christ more than Job. Greatly tried, greatly afflicted, greatly tested. And each one of those testings, each one of those trials, each one of those afflictions were part of the design of God, part of the design of the Lord Jesus Christ in knowing the way of Job, of watching over Job.
Psalm 37 reads this way at verse 18, the Lord knows the days of the blameless and their inheritance will be forever. The parallelism of Psalms comes forth at this point. The Lord knows the days, their inheritance. The Lord is guiding and directing his children to their inheritance.
Psalm 139, which we know is about the Lord knitting together one in the womb of his or her mother. and thus knowing this one whom he is creating begins this way. Oh, Lord, you have searched me and known me. Do you see the connection between God knowing and God creating? And then Psalm 142 might give us the best guidance here as to what it is for the Lord to know the way of the righteous. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my path. Sounds a little bit like Job. In the way where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me.
Look to the right and see, for there’s no one who regards me. There is no escape for me. No one cares for my soul. I cried out to you. Oh, Lord, I said you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Bring my soul out of prison. You see, the psalmist is crying out to God, the one who delivers, the one who guides, the one who knew his path. That’s the idea. Guiding, directing, bringing out of prison.
Doesn’t the Lord show us that very thing in the accounts of, say, Abraham or even David? He watched over them, each one of them. He guided each one of them. Think of Abraham, time and again, sending his wife, Sarah, off as his sister. But trusted God would raise up Isaac even as he was commanded to sacrifice him, guiding Abraham. What about David? Sinning against God with Bathsheba and yet he becomes the writer of Psalm 51 because he believed and knew the Lord was able to make his heart white as snow and restore him to the joy of his salvation.
It’s just the way that God guides. He knows the way. He knows the way of Abraham. He knew the way of David. Yes, he guides the way of those whom he makes righteous. Notice that the psalmist writes, the Lord knows the way of the righteous. He doesn’t merely state that the Lord knows the righteous, but he knows the way of the righteous.
That’s critical. Here, the way could be translated as the road, the path, or the journey. And so we have this truth that the Lord knows the way of salvation. Now that may be an obvious understatement, but it’s actually very critical for the understanding of this psalm, because it seems to be exactly what the psalmist is getting at. John 10 really brings this idea out.
I’m the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. He flees because he’s a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd and I know my own. See, Jesus Christ is an active, caring shepherd that protects the sheep, his children, from the wolves and brings them to tender, green grass and quiet waters, a place for the sheep to be nurtured. to grow, to multiply.
Indeed, he’s the narrow gate, isn’t he? Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. Those who find it are few. Do you see how important this passage is?
The Lord knows the way of the righteous. Jesus is the one who’s guiding your way to himself. He’s the guide. He’s the one who knows the way. Indeed, he’s the one who has pioneered the way, so to speak. He becomes the guide. Guide for his people. The one who possesses each and every one of the sheep. The one who’s purchased every single sheep of God, and so he leads them and guides them. You see in the garden, as Adam and Eve sinned against God and as they were driven out, there was only one way back and God guarded it with the cherubim and the flaming sword.
There was no way for Adam to return to get back in. The gate was narrow, the gate was guarded, the gate was shut. It would only be opened. By these words, I will put enmity between you and the woman. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. It would only be opened by the new and living way that Jesus opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh.
You see, it’s the shepherd. He’s the one who leads. And that’s how David pens Psalm 23. He restores my soul, he leads me in paths of righteousness. Don’t miss that. He leads me in paths of righteousness. For his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus is constantly leading. He knows the way of the righteous and he’s leading The perfect and only guide, the risen, ascended, mediating prophet, priest, and king. That’s the idea.
The question tonight is does he know you? Does Jesus Christ know you? Is he leading you? Does he know your way? Is he guiding you? in his way. If you’re thinking tonight, I don’t know him. I’m not sure if he knows me. It’s a simple solution. Cry out to him. Cry out to Jesus. Oh, Lord Jesus, I want you to know me. I want you to lead me. I know I’m a sinner. Help me. Guide me on your path. I don’t want to walk through the valley of shadow of death or even the valley of death without you. Does bring us to our second point.
The Lord does not know the way of the wicked. Now I don’t write this to suggest that God doesn’t know something. But that seems to be what the psalmist is writing, that God is so distant from these that there’s a certain way in which he doesn’t know them. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
It may be helpful at this point to remember that there are actually only two ways. There are only two eternal destinations, as we remember that our souls are eternal, that each and every person born of Adam has an eternal soul, and that they will exist forever. And we must remember that there are only two places which men, women, and children, indeed even children, will exist eternally. And this psalm, the beginning of the 150, reminds us of that truth. that there are only two eternal destinations and thus there are only two categories of people, those who are saved by grace in Jesus Christ and those who are not and who are condemned to hell and damnation for their sins. Only two. Every single person will fit into one of these two categories, a sheep or a goat.
Those who have been justified in Christ and those who have rejected that justification. Those who are in Jesus Christ will live a blessed life, even as this psalm speaks of the blessed man, a blessed life forever with their Savior, as their sins have been washed away in his blood. And those who are not in Christ will exist eternally in a state of damnation and eternal fire and torment outside of the presence of the living God as punishment for their unwashed and unrepented sins. This psalm reminds us of those two categories. And here, in this last verse, we’re reminded of these two ways, the way of life and the way of eternal death.
So who are the wicked? In the first portion of this psalm, we find that the wicked are sinners and scoffers. We find that the wicked are not those who delight in the law, but hate the law. We find that the wicked will not meditate upon the law. They’re not planted by God. They will not yield fruit pleasing to the Lord and will wither. The wicked will not prosper eternally. They’re like chaff that the wind drives away, and they will not stand in the judgment This describes the way of the wicked in general. But why is it that the wicked will perish?
Notice the difference in the verse. The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the same does not follow for the wicked. The Lord is guiding, overseeing, directing, keeping the righteous righteous in Christ. But the Lord has removed his restraining hand from the wicked. These have been allowed to go their own way. See the difference? The wicked have planted themselves in such a way to ensure their growth in sin, not in righteousness, to ensure their continuation in unrepentant rebellion against the God of creation.
It’s in a sense that the wicked have placed a hedge of protection around their own ears and hearts such that they do keep on hearing but do not understand. They keep on seeing but do not perceive. Their hearts are continually dull. Their ears are continually heavy. Their eyes are blinded because they don’t want to hear.
Because they’ve determined not to hear. because they stop their ears to the word of God, to the bread of life, all because they love their sin and hate the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s a description of the wicked. You might be thinking, well, we’re all sinners. There’s no one who does not sin. And if we’re honest, we can state that we’re all wicked. So then what’s the difference between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked? It’s because the wicked refuse to repent and believe.
The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel. As Mark records it, that’s the first sermon of the Lord Jesus Christ. The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe. That’s the way of the righteous, not because you’re a good person, but because God has changed your heart by grace.
The wicked are not so. They refuse to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The wicked refuse to submit to his lordship. The wicked refuse to love and obey the God who made them. That is the way of the wicked. The way of the wicked will perish. I never knew you. Depart from me. Those should be terrifying words. Depart from me.
God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the fountain of life. And can you even conceptualize an eternal existence that is not life, that is not with your creator, that is not with your maker? That’s a definition of hell. And that is what the rich man was saying to Abraham, I am in anguish in this flame. He was experiencing eternal existence without his maker. That’s the way of the wicked.
Do you see the wisdom of God in giving us this psalm at the beginning of the 150? Wisdom literature. And it is in his wisdom, God’s wisdom, the wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, that he has revealed himself to his children, and this is the method he has chosen, his very word. And he’s communicated to us in such a way that those who have ears to hear and eyes to see will understand by the work of the Spirit.
If you love this psalm, It’s only because the Spirit has worked upon your heart and he’s drawn you to Christ and he’s changed you. You see, we can’t pat ourselves on the back and say, well, yeah, I’m the blessed man because I’ve come to this faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. No, no. You’ve come to faith in Christ because of grace. And it’s only because of grace that you’re not in that category of the wicked.
His word is given to men whom he inspires and fills with the spirit. And then the word is inscripturated, written down for all to see and hear. And then he grants ears to hear to his children. He gives his spirit to his children so that you can understand. He grants new, tender, fleshly hearts that you want the word.
You desire to receive it. You want to hear it. You want more of it. And not merely receive it. You love it. You delight in it. You long to read it. You long to meditate on it because of the work of the Spirit. His word abides in you. Your word I’ve treasured in my heart. If you abide in me, my words abide in you. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.
Anyone. who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God, the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. You see, the Word of God, along with the spirits abiding, changes you. It gives you this desire to walk in the counsel of the upright, to stand in the path of the blameless, to sit in the assembly of the righteous. This is God’s means, this is His way, His plan of sanctification in the lives of His children. See, God does not usually save and immediately translate someone into glory. Sometimes He does. Could He have done so with you? He could have. But he hasn’t chosen to.
And so Psalm 1 in part sets forth God’s grand design, his design to prepare his children for their homecoming, to prepare you to enter into glory. In his wisdom, he’s working through his word in the spirit abiding within you that he molds and shapes you, each of you, as is needed. And that’s what we see here. In this first Psalm and throughout the Psalms and throughout the Proverbs. So he’s calling you tonight to continue to delight in his word, to meditate upon it. The law is holy, the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Romans 7. It’s perfect. It’s the law of liberty, it has set you free.
And so the call tonight is to meditate, certainly upon the Word, but to meditate upon his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Word, who is your Savior, who’s given this to you tonight so that you would be blessed. Yes, the Spirit does in fact lead the children of God to and on the path of life but leaves the wicked to their own way.
Do you know Jesus tonight? The better question I think is, does Jesus know you? And if you’re saying yes, do you praise God? Do you praise him? Do you come to worship praising God because Jesus Christ knows me. We should all be doing that. This house should be filled with praise and joy because you’re known by the Lord Jesus Christ. What a joy to know our Savior. and to know that you’re known by Him. Amen. Would you pray with me? Our Father and our God, what an awesome thing it is to consider being known by Jesus Christ.
We confess that we haven’t done anything. We have not done anything. We’ve done just the opposite. to cause Jesus to want to know us, to love us, to die for us. But he has. And so, Father, our hearts are filled with praise. Help us, Lord God, to be those who are so thankful. Because our names have been written in the book of life only because Jesus knows us. We thank you and praise you for our Savior. We thank you for your love for us. Help us. Help us to be those that radiate Jesus’s love for us to all those we come in contact with this week. We ask this all in Jesus’s precious name. Amen.