March 3, 1999

EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Life or destruction--a decision all must make
___ Psalm 1:1-6
___By Dillard Wilbanks
___Travis Avenue Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___Psalm 1 is the gateway to the entire collection of 150 songs in the Hebrew songbook. The Psalmist's use of antithetic parallelism sets forth two opposing choices: one leads to life--the other to destruction. These contrasting mindsets exist within two conflicting kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Each has a contrasting point of entry: the narrow gate leading to life and the wide gate leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). This choice of "absolutes" is highly offensive to our culture. The natural mind prefers a both/and alternative to the either/or absolutes of the supernatural.
___ Wise living (Psalm 1:1-3). In using the generic term "man" to depict mankind, the Psalmist promises blessednesses (Hebrew) to those whose lives bear the marks of the man of God. First is the mark of discipline. The Psalmist identifies three things that a godly person will not do: He will not walk in the "counsel of the ungodly"--influenced by those of godless wisdom and thinking; he will not stand "in the way of sinners"--those habitual offenders who have so missed the mark their paths have strayed into lawless living; nor will he "sit in the seat of the scornful"--those who habitually treated the holy, good and sacred with contempt or ridicule.
___While these three characteristics may be viewed as variations on a theme, we find in them an exposition of progressive depravity: The influence of ungodly wisdom leads to identification with the lifestyle of sinners which results in becoming established in the authority of their depraved judgments. Second is the mark of devotion. The man of God delights in the "law of the Lord." The imperfect tense describes a busyness in searching and knowing through meditation upon the Scriptures. Jesus reminds us that the true mark of a disciple is an abiding knowledge of what God has spoken or revealed (John 8:31-32).
___Third is the mark of distinction. In verse 3 a simile is used to describe the blessed person as "a tree planted by rivers of water," yielding fruit and evergreen. His distinctiveness is evidenced in stability, fertility and consistency. Prosperity is also promised. To be guided by God's word is to be guarded by God's word to live in spiritual fullness and perpetual provision for every need in life. Stability is first in the sequence. If our physical "branches" extend wider than our spiritual roots go deep, we'll topple in the inevitable storms of life.
___ Destructive living (Psalm 1:4-6). Fourth is the mark of destiny. The psalmist first notes an essential difference. The picture is reversed. "Not so are the ungodly." They are not like trees defying the storm but like chaff driven by it. Those who do stand in the way of sinners shall not stand in the judgment.
___He then notes an eternal difference. Their two ends are found in verse 6. The righteous are known by God intimately, personally, experientially and eternally. The ungodly are not so known of God and will, therefore, perish.
___There is, consequently, a marked difference in the wise living of those who are his and the destructive living of those who are not. That difference extends to their ultimate destiny in death. Between the two, God's "blessednesses" are only experienced by a "marked man" or "marked woman" of God!

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