In this episode, we delve into the teachings of Psalm 1, often referred to as the Threshold Psalm. Uncover the profound truths regarding the path of righteousness versus the way of ungodliness, and learn how these ancient words can influence your everyday life. With clear breakdowns and thoughtful reflection, this episode offers guidance and encouragement for those seeking a godly path.
Blessed is the man, are the opening words of Psalm 1. What a wonderful thought and a wonderful study from Psalm 1 is just ahead here from the International Gospel Hour. Thanks for being here with us.
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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. For 90 years, churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s word through International Gospel Hour. You are about to listen to another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, starting now.
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I am bound for the promised land.
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Well, greetings and hello, everyone. Thank you for being with us once again. And we also appreciate our Jay Webb for his kind words. We appreciate Jay telling you about our broadcast and also about the things that are coming up on our program today. You’ll hear from Jay shortly about our Facebook page. But first, once again, greetings and we are delighted that you are with us. We are thankful for our listeners who desire to pursue truth and to know said truth as noted from John 8, 31 and 32. Such truth is sought with an honest heart and diligent search. And we thank you for tuning in to our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. Now we begin today with what we’re going to refer to as our psalm cast. Where from time to time we’re going to be looking at the beautiful book of psalms and consider the teachings within. Now some psalms may take a little longer than others, of course due to their length. But a joy of study is truly ahead. And so we hope to cover, well, I would love to cover every psalm eventually. But that’s 150 of them, so we’re just going to start with one and go from there. I think about the old saying, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Well, we’re going to take it one psalm at a time through what we will call the psalm cast. We’re going to begin with Psalm 1 in a moment, but first, as I mentioned, here are a few words from our J-Web about our social media.
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And now, Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the shaft which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall 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 ungodly shall perish. May the Lord always bless us with the reading and the hearing and the application of His Word. You know, I read where Psalm 1 is thought to serve as an introduction to the rest of the Psalms. It is called the Threshold Psalm as it brings us through and into the ideal entrance into the book. Now, whether or not it was intended for that purpose, well, it certainly lays a good foundation because here, from the very outset, we see a clear contrast of godly living, verses 1 through 3 of Psalm 1, ungodly living, verses 4 and 5, and the way that each one will go, verse 6. The late Brother Winford Clark had a simple breakdown. With the godly man, he brought out, the godly man, there is separation, satisfaction, and stability. Now let’s think about that for a moment. The godly man is separate from the world. He is satisfied and he is stable in that walk of which he is living. There is a certainty there. A godly man can grow. But the ungodly man, you see a sure rejection, a shameful reproach, and sorrowful ruin. Nothing good will come by being an ungodly man. That certain or sure rejection have nothing to do with God. The shameful reproach will lead to a sorrowful ruin of that man’s life. So today, let’s break it down. Let’s talk about the godly man from verses 1 through 3. Now we notice the progression. He is walking not in the counsel of the ungodly. He is not standing in the path of sinners. And he’s not sitting in the seat of the scornful. An individual is walking within that. Then he stands or he takes a stand or he stops allowing it to absorb. He sits down a total relaxation. He’s in the wrong place when he walks, stands and sits according to the ungodly. But this is not the godly man. No, he finds delight in the word of God. Other translations see this word as a pleasure or an interest. In other words, this is it. This is where the godly man resides. There is nothing better for him to find. He will walk in the right way. He will stand in the right way. He will sit in the right way. He has a pleasure and interest. He finds delight in this and it keeps getting better. He has no time for the counsel of the ungodly. I mean, why should he? He left that life. He knows what that life teaches. He remembers that emptiness and now he is full. He has no time for standing in the wrong way. He’s certainly not going to listen to the counsel. Why stand in the way? There’s no appeal. There is no counsel that will tell him, stand here. No, he’s going to stand in the way of faith. There is no time for him to sit and deride, to be scornful. Again, that just simply does not appeal to the godly man, for he has found the best life. He finds delight. Then, when he finds it, he meditates on it. Not only has he found it, he keeps looking. The word meditate, it’s as he is saying, I am determined to learn of its meaning. And I want to know this. I want to understand this. And that zeal is filled by the knowledge. You see, zeal without knowledge is not a wise way to go. Paul taught that in Romans 10, 1 and 2. But he’s like the one in Matthew 5 and verse 6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. And so in a meditation and so on. Now, folks, don’t laugh at this, but. It is as if he is talking to himself because the Hebrew word of meditates has a basic meaning of a low sound. Or in other words, he’s talking to himself. He meditates. He reminds himself of how good God has given this to him. Then he is like a tree. He’s rooted and planted. Now, this is his choice. He obeyed the gospel. He became a servant of righteousness. I think about Romans 6 and verse 17. But God be thanked that you were the servants of sin, but now you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you became servants of righteousness. And I go back up into the first six verses of Romans 6. And I find the parallel, the death, burial, and the resurrection that you were dead in sin. You were buried with him in baptism and you were raised to walk in newness of life. You see, he made a choice. Parallel with this passage concerning being like a tree planted by the waters of verse 3 of Psalm 1, listen to Jeremiah 17, 7 and 8. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord, for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters. which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. A tree planted by the waters. You know, when I think of that, I think of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in the Smoky Mountains in southeast Tennessee in the United States. And I think about the Old Mill restaurant there in Pigeon Forge. Now, I’m not giving a commercial here, but when I’m standing there and look at the trees behind the Old Mill that are along that big, heavy creek bank, they’re leaning toward the water. And that’s why we are to be like the tree. We lean toward the water of life, Jesus Christ. One is able to be fruitful in growth. And think about 2 Peter 1, 3 and 8. To grow. To grow in Christ. And to be of the true vine, Jesus Christ, John 15, 1 through 10. Friends, there is no better way to live than to live as a godly man. Because on the opposite side, the ungodly man in verses 4 and 5, he’s not blessed, he’s not praised, he’s hopeless because he’s not approved of God. Can you imagine that? He allows himself to be steered by the world. Storms come and they take him every which way. Psalm 7, 24-27. Like shaft, he’s tossed to and fro as the winds blow. The husk of grains and grasses that are separated during threshing. All of that is just worthless matter. He’s sinful without support. He has not the church. Friends, is that your life? You know, we can live a better life. I’ve got something for you. First time I’m offering it, as a matter of fact. We have a new Bible study by mail. It’s available from International Gospel Hour, titled, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. This study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man. And friends, like all of our materials, it’s absolutely free. So here’s what you do. Call us toll free at 855-444-6988. Leave us your name and address and just say God and man. Or you can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com. Click on the contact tab and leave us the same information, name, address and type God and man in the message box. This is another new Bible study that is free from the International Gospel Hour and from our friends at God-and-man.com. Again, we’ll mail you that book absolutely free. Great study tool. Because, friends, the way of the righteous is known of the Lord. We all want to be a godly individual rather than an ungodly individual. In 2 Timothy 2 and verse 19, Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands having this seal, The Lord knows those who are His, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. The way of the ungodly shall perish. There is no presence of the Lord. Friends, we hope our very first Psalmcast, and from Psalm 1, will help you as you look at your life. To live as a godly individual, is always better than living as an ungodly individual. And you can always change your direction if you’re walking ungodly. Once again, let us send you the free study booklet, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. Once again, 855-444-6988. Leave us your name and address and just say God and man or go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com. Click on the contact tab and leave us the same information. Name, address, and type God and man in the message box. We’ll continue these studies at another time. Thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour broadcast. I’m Jeff Archie and friends, as always, keep listening.
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God be with you till we meet again. Thank you for listening today. May this study prompt your search of God’s word for His will in your life. To assist you in your study or to listen to our other programs, please visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com. To God be the glory.
In this episode, we delve into the teachings of Psalm 1, often referred to as the Threshold Psalm. Uncover the profound truths regarding the path of righteousness versus the way of ungodliness, and learn how these ancient words can influence your everyday life. With clear breakdowns and thoughtful reflection, this episode offers guidance and encouragement for those seeking a godly path.
