A KEY TO KNOWLEDGE

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 119:15-16 NASB

¹⁵ I will meditate on Your precepts
And regard Your ways.
¹⁶ I shall delight in Your statutes;
I shall not forget Your word.

This Psalm is known for its length.  There are a number of individual verses that seem to be familiar to Christians, ie. Vss 9, 11, 67, 89, 103 and of course 105.  These are most often quoted and the content gives a good reason that they are.

The foremost problem with Psalm 119 and many Christians, I might even say most, is that they don’t take the theology and instruction of it seriously.  A good illustration of this is vs 7.  The Psalmist brings together thankfulness, prayer, and righteousness.  Note that this is the context of a particular study, God’s righteous judgments.

The verses chosen for today have in them two words that are frequent in this Psalm.  They are “delight” used eight times and “meditate” used seven times.  Neither of these is in any way unusual and their value is determined by the association of thought in its context.

Meditate is to “ponder, commune with oneself”.  This by implication indicates speech.  It is to “reflect, express devotion, and it is sometimes prayer”.

In this verse and in the whole of the Psalm, it is always linked with conduct.  In vs 15 God’s precepts, when they are the meditation of a believer, will bring attention to his obedience to God’s demands.  Directly opposite to this is Paul’s descriptive statement of the lost in Romans 8:7.

While “delight” in vs 16 gives us the inward attitude of the believer, it is “to look upon with complacency, to be pleased, to enjoy and take pleasure in”.  This also is a common word and the definition is enhanced by the context.

The attitude of the believer in vs 16 emphasizes the enduring value of God’s Law.  When it is his delight, God’s Word is continually his lesson book.  The indication is that ignoring or ignorance of God’s Law will bring a failure of interest in Scripture.

This is but to say, “the word of God will separate you from sin or sin will separate you from the Word.”  “Sin is lawlessness”.

Please read John 7:17 and meditate on it.

DESIRE FULFILLED; MEDITATION REWARDED

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 119:1-3 KJV

 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.

² Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

³ They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

ESV

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
² Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
³ who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!

The believer loves the law of God.  He may fail to study it therefore misunderstand it.  He may err in applying it, but it is so integral to the Christian life he cannot ignore it.

Again let me state that ignorance of the law, failure by the pulpit to teach it, the confusion between legal righteousness and faith righteousness, and outright ignoring its demands, is a primary cause of the low state of church.

The 119^th Psalm begins with the “blessed man”.  In this beginning there is a twofold description of this man.  His blessing is a divine prerogative.  But it is directed to the ones “who walk in the law of the Lord,” and those “keep His testimonies.”  A Puritan said, “As Psalm One is a door to all the Psalms, vs. 1-2 of this Psalm is the door by which it is entered.”  This is meant to inform the reader that ’the blessed“ is the elect from God’s side and the believer from the human side.  And it is inclusive.  Those who do not fit or refuse this description of the Psalm do not fit under the twofold title Elect and believer.

The ESV has done an excellent service to translation here.  It does not have a period at the end of vs two, but extends the sentence through vs three.  Verse three can be understood as the summation of vs 1-2.  In this summary the conduct of the “blessed” is described.  In their everyday conduct “iniquity” is foreign to them.

They are the same one who in Psalm 1:1 are separated from the world in all their conduct.  This conduct is to “walk in His ways”.  It is the same as “the path of the just” in Proverbs 4:18.  Again James 1:25 tells us this is not legalism but liberty.

Psalm 119 should be our confession and prayer.  Please read Matt. 5:17-19.

THE CERTAINTY OF FAILURE

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Hosea 4:6 NASB

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

The question came up in conversation about the statement in Acts 13:7.  The city official, Sergius Paulus, is described as a man of intelligence.  What is meant by this description?

My response was that it appeared that he was not in the bondage of that culture in which he lived.  The influence of the false prophet Bar-Jesus did not keep him from listening to Paul from whom he heard the gospel.

The prophet Hosea spoke to the northern Kingdom at the same time Isaiah was in the South.  He announces the Word of God has come, denouncing Israel and declaring a controversy with them.  In vs. 1 God declares that Israel, as a whole, has no knowledge of God, nor does their character demonstrate the traits of divine influence, faithfulness and kindness.  But their conduct has sunk to the level of  disgrace so great that a depression of their prosperity is complete.

The Lord further accuses them in vss 4-5 of being like their priests and prophets who stumble both by day and night.  In vs 6 because of ignorance in the teaching cadre, there is an overwhelming destruction throughout the land.  “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

There are causes for this destruction.  First is the knowledge which they lacked.  In vs 1 it is stated, “There is no…knowledge of God.”  It is not ignorance of farming, or hunting, or fishing that they lack.  They don’t know God, who He is or what He does.”

Israel in Deut. 6 is given the responsibility to know and teach their children about God and His law.  Their elders, priests, and Levites are to have God and His law as their chief study.  They have not done this.  They do not know God.  What a terrible indictment against those who for so long have enjoyed the favor of God.

The result of this destructive ignorance of God is listed.  First God is going to reject them as mediator-intercessors.  Their prayers will no longer avail.  They will not hold the office of priest before God.  Secondly He will reject their children.  There is an accusation that is the crux of their ignorance of God and their destruction.  They have forgotten the Law of God.  They are and will continue to be a lawless people.

When ignorance of God prevails, lawlessness prevails, recession in morals and prosperity is common and the ministry fails in its task of speaking for God.

I weep to say that ignorance in the Church has so darkened the understanding that emotional response to heathen entertainment is represented as the work of God’s blessed Spirit.  Please look at Col. 1:9-14.

THE GOSPEL CENTER

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Acts 28:30-31 NASB

³⁰ And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, 

³¹ preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

Francis Schaeffer writes “What is central in the Christian message of good news to the world?  It centers in only one thing; the redemptive death of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  True Spirituality, pg. 21, Francis Schaeffer 1971. 

Having met Schaeffer and studied under him, I have a great respect for him and his many accomplishments.  The statement quoted is not unique to him and though it is common in the church for at least the last 150 years, it is no less erroneous and no less mischievous.

If Schaeffer’s statement is true as it is representative, then Paul was not demonstrating concern for the “good news”.  His commitment to the message of John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter and the other Apostles who all came preaching the kingdom of God is at its best inadequate.

There are only two events of importance in the history of the world, the creation with the sin of Adam, and the crucifixion with resurrection of Jesus.  This being so the preaching of the kingdom is more extensive than the death of Christ.  This is not changed by the fact of the message of good news in that death.

It is saying that the “Gospel” to be proclaimed to the nations is a message which has content other than the “cross”.  Paul’s message to the Ephesian Elders in the 20^th chapter of Acts is an example of Gospel preaching.  Please note the following: 

vs 20 ^- how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 

vs 21 -  solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Vs 24 -  But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

Vs 25 -  “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face.

Vs 27 -  For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 

Vs 31 -  Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. 

There can be little dispute but that Paul is not naming so many different messages but the singular concern, “The word of His grace”.

Further when Paul in Romans 10:8 writes about his message as “the word of faith which we are preaching”, does not mention the cross but in 10:9-10 sets forth confession (probably intending baptism), and faith terminating on the resurrection as the necessary requirements for salvation.  Then in 10:13 salvation is summarized as “calling upon the name of the Lord.”  This is further explained in 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.  “Hearing by the word of Christ” cannot be limited to His death but must include the important truths of who He is as well as what He had done.

In conclusion I would ask you to look at I Cor. 15:1-11.  Paul claims this as “the word which I preached”.  Please look closely at 15:1, “in which you also stand”.

WORDS

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 15:1-5  NASB

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
² He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.
³ He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
⁴ In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But who honors those who fear the Lord;
He swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵ He does not put out his money at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

Whenever you receive this, it is the reflections of an early Saturday morning.  The Lord’s Day is tomorrow and the question of Psalm 15:1 is unusually pressing.

“Who can go to church on Sunday morning with a good conscience, and fellowship with God and His people?”  Will you not admit this to be a pressing question?

The writer follows his question with a description that is as plain as it is peculiar.  The plainness lies in the clear statements of the requirement. 

Looking at his words we find:  “He speaks the truth in his heart.”

The truth he speaks is a result of character.  There are a couple of facts about truth.  It is always precious or desirable.  It very often will be, or least can be, costly.  It is a necessity to fulfill the Divine commandment.  “He does not slander with his tongue…nor takes up a reproach against his friend.”

This appears to be two sides to one coin.  It is the fact that a friend’s reputation is precious.  Nothing hurtful is to be spoken against him even if it is true and it can be avoided.  Very simply there is no requirement that we say all we know.  “Love covers a multitude of sins.”

“He swears to his own hurt and does not change.”  This is the price of truth.  Truth is precious.  It is more valuable than I am.  My hurt is never to be compared with or allowed to contest truth.

This description of a good conscience does not appear particularly difficult.  But there is something strange about it.  Though it is a major portion of the description given there is a single subject, the speech of a believer.

Why is this?  First it identifies our spiritual condition, “Out of the multitude of the heart the mouth speaks.”  We only fool ourselves when we think we are not known by our speech.

Secondly it is harmful to others.  We often do not realize the hurt we cause and the damage we do with the words we speak.

Read James 3:1-12.

LIGHT OR DARKNESS

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Isaiah 8:20 NASB

²⁰ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 

The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us in 1:9, “There is nothing new under the sun”.  After 50 years of studying theology, the Scriptures, and history centering on Church history, I vouch for what the Biblical writer said, “Nothing new”.

The new movements invading evangelical Christianity are not new at all.  A recent periodical we receive pointed out two of these movements, divergent views of the atonement and radical Mysticism.  I will assure you that neither is new.

The heresies regarding the atonement all have their origin in the early history of the church and have been effectively identified and denounced.  There is a requirement involved.  An interest in history and theology are required to know the truth and the errors defined by it.

Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury in the 11^th century was the author of Cur Deus Homo, or Why The God Man?  This has been since then the standard by which any theory of the atonement must be measured.  The atonement is very simply the death of Christ as the Triune God’s  requirement for the salvation of sinners.  God and man ,in the union of the God-man, died and His death was received by God as the price for all the sins of all the elect.  Was there more than this involved?  Certainly!  But this is the basic cause and achievement of the death on the cross.  Any attempt to confuse, obfuscate, or detract from this is to bring another Gospel which Paul condemns in Galatians one.

The problem of Mysticism is an old one also.  And if I may say so it is a plague in the church.  From the earliest days of Monasticism, the mystics have taught some form of fellowship with God other than faith in Him and His word.  Every foul bird imaginable has found its way to roost in the church on the back of this encompassing error.

Liberalism, Mormonism, Christian Science and Ouija Board Christianity that is sold to the modern church have come bringing their particular application of Mysticism.  If at 10:00 AM I say that it is daylight and the sun is shining while I spend the rest of the day lying, I’ve mixed some truth in my dialogue.  That is no redeeming virtue for the day of lies.  So those heretics have some truth that will not redeem their error.  A blind sow will occasionally find an acorn.

Back to Isaiah 8:20.  This is a matter of fact statement.  There is a judge of our controversy.  That judge is Scripture.  If what is taught is not Scripture, then there is no light, there never has been a dawn.

But it is said, “You have your Scriptures and we have ours”. That is not so.  Scripture has an exegetical value, an historic value, and a logical value.  Truth will always satisfy these criteria.

If it is not for the church to find a common understanding of Scripture, why does the Bible assure us that this common understanding is available to us?

“We do not teach doctrine”.  I’ll assure you that was evident the moment you began speaking.  “Theology is not our concern”.  And so because theology is the knowledge of God, it is evident that you do not know God.  “We are just still before God and let Him fill us.”  That is known as “Quietism” and has been a heresy since the 17^th century.

Please look at II Peter 2:1-3 and consider the certainty of deceptive teachers.

THE GREAT DIVISION

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 1:4-6 NASB

The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
⁶ For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

The words which declares the certainty of the division among the human race are negative, plain, and certain, “The ungodly are not so”.  They have no blessing, they do not delight in God’s law, and they do not have the benefit of Divine planting.  They are “ungodly”.  Nothing that characterizes the “Godly” is so about them.  Please note Psalm 5:5; 7: 11; 9:17; 10:4; 11:5.

The wickedness of those who are identified as ungodly is consistent throughout the Psalms.  This is the continuing description of the unconverted throughout the Scriptures.  And as their description remains the same so does God’s rejection of them.

The description in Psalm One paints with a broad stroke that which prevails among all who are separated from God.

 Like the chaff

1.  They are without stability and they will always fail in judgment.
2. Judgment is determined for them.  They are now and in the future under God’s condemnation.  As the saint has guarantees which are the grounds of assurance, the “ungodly” has equal assurance.  His judgment is certain and his failure in it is secure.
3. There is no place for him in the church.  If by ignorance, deceit, or failure of discernment he does find an entrance, he is certain to fail.  As he cannot stand in judgment he will fail in the true church.
4. He and his works will perish.  He cannot leave a testimony by his life or an inheritance in grace for his children.  He will not stand but there is an additional guarantee.  His works will rot.
5. Why is this so for some and not all?  “The Lord knows”.  He knows them eternally with affection.  He knows them presently with saving sustaining grace.  And He shall know them everlastingly in Glory.

His knowledge is of His eternal counsels and the outworking of His purpose of love and mercy to those He has chosen.

Please look at and meditate on II Thess. 2:13-14.

THE BENEFITS OF DIVINE PLANTING

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 1:3b NASB

Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

The far-fetched idea that the Reformed approach to salvation allows for a wicked convert has never been entertained by any but a few antinomian heretics.  The doctrine in all accepted Reformed confessions is that the elected, regenerated, converted person is also sanctified.

This is the purpose of God worked out in the daily walk of the Believer.  Just as there are none justified who are not sanctified, there are none planted who do not have the characteristics of the “planted tree”.

These characteristics are as encouraging as they are certain.  First each and every one is fruitful.  This fruit is stated and qualified.

A.

Each brings forth “its” fruit.”  Each believer is an individual.  He is neither measured by another nor is he required to produce in a particular way.  Each has his fruit.  In this sense our fruit may differ.  The principle stated in I Cor. 12:11 “The Holy Spirit…distributing to each one individually as He wills,” is the cause and design of production.

B.

A most encouraging benefit is the “ever green” guarantee, “whose leaf also shall not wither.”  There is the Kingdom principle that our works will everlastingly benefit us.  But in this guarantee we are told that we, while we walk this vale, will not “wither”.  No matter when, where, or under what condition a believer exists, he or she will still be productive.

As an older person I feared that day when some form of senility completely incapacitated me, when all dignity will be lost and seemingly nothing worth-while remains.  But no more.  Whatever lies ahead from God’s side I will not “wither”.  My “leaf” will remain green.  God has said I am to be certain I am a “blessed man” and that my delight is single.  The green leaf is His business.  He will care for that.

C.  The fruitfulness is designed to be useful.  For the guarantee is a prosperous life to be attributed to the evergreen tree.  This tells us we will not be like the lying fig tree which received the Lord’s curse.

There is always a certain beauty here for it is an evergreen tree, but here there is an enhanced beauty and worth.  This believer prospers with his one talent or with ten.  He is planted to never wither and to always prosper.

My neighbor recently planted an olive grove.  The first year there was a small harvest.  The next year a drought, and nearly no harvest.  But this year the season has been very good and there was a far greater harvest, but not as good as it is hoped that it will be.  There will be another season and as the conditions of the grove change the hope is, in its season, the harvest will increase.

We all go through different seasons.  Thus the Psalmist tells us, we will be fruitful, we will be evergreen, and we will have useful production.  Some more – some less – but all productive all their lives.

Read and think about I John 2:12-14.

A TREE

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 1:3 NASB

³ 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.

The Psalmist proceeds from a plain descriptive statement to a metaphor.  The blessed one is like a tree, a planted tree, a tree planted by rivers of water.  The metaphor is a rich description of the advantages God has purposed for the believer.

1.

 He is a tree with all the strength, vitality, and permanency a tree can represent.  Our region has experienced prolonged drought.  One of the discouraging results has been the dead trees that fill the landscape.  Great oaks that looked so permanent are now dead and falling, but this is not what a great tree represents.  They in their height, breadth, and beauty remind us of their strength and stability.  These dead trees are an anomaly and a disappointment.  There is a more certain expectation for this tree in our Psalm.

2.

Again this is a planted tree.  No accident here.  It is not an acorn picked by a crow, lost in flight and fallen to its present spot.  All purposes and deliberation put this tree where it is.  It is where it is deliberately, and this is the very best place for it.  Divine concern has placed it here for its best production and its greater safety.  It is now evident that the blessed one is to have every necessary advantage.  He is a planted tree.

 3.

And he is by the “rivers of water”.  It is agreed that the death of our great trees is because of a lack of water.  The trees near the creeks and rivers have not died.

What an advantageous position this tree holds.  As it is by the river of God its supply of moisture is never failing.  As I look west from my yard there is a large forest but there is a creek in this woodland.  There are no dead trees on the creek.  They have escaped the deadly drought.

The metaphor informs us of the Sovereign love, concern and advantage we as believers experience.  Read Romans 8:28 carefully.

LEARNING THE LAW

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 1:2 NASB

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

I have made some statements about the believer and the law that may seem strange in the present context of church teaching.  But after 51 years in the church both as a member and as a teacher, I have found the single greatest contributor to the low level of spiritual power presently experienced in Christianity to be the of a misunderstanding and a disregard for the Law of God.

I have mentioned before that the most helpful commentary on the law that I have found is in the Westminster Larger Catechism.  The law with the questions, commentary, and scriptural proofs is preceded by a list of rules given for the understanding of it.  These rules are excellent helps to clarify and explain how the Ten Commandments are to be understood.  They are being included today that you may know how the Law has been, in the past and should be in the present, understood by Christians.  Please read them carefully.  The Scripture texts for the rules can be found in the Westminster Larger Catechism.

Q. 98. Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?
A. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments, which were delivered by the voice of God upon mount Sinai, and written by him in two tables of stone; and are recorded in the twentieth chapter of Exodus; the four first commandments containing our duty to God, and the other six our duty to man.

Q. 99. What rules are to be observed for the right understanding of the Ten Commandments?
A. For the right understanding of the Ten Commandments, these rules are to be observed:

1. That the law is perfect, and bindeth every one to full conformity in the whole man unto the

righteousness thereof, and unto entire obedience forever; so as to require the utmost perfection of every duty, and to forbid the least degree of every sin.
2. That it is spiritual, and so reacheth the understanding, will, affections, and all other powers of the soul; as well as words, works, and gestures.

3. That one and the same thing, in divers respects, is required or forbidden in several commandments.
4. That as, where a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden; and, where a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded: so, where a promise is annexed, the contrary threatening is included; and, where a threatening is annexed, the contrary promise is included.
5. That what God forbids, is at no time to be done; what he commands, is always our duty; and yet every particular duty is not to be done at all times.
6. That under one sin or duty, all of the same kind are forbidden or commanded; together with all the causes, means, occasions, and appearances thereof, and provocations thereunto.
7. That what is forbidden or commanded to ourselves, we are bound, according to our places, to endeavor that it may be avoided or performed by others, according to the duty of their places.
8. That in what is commanded to others, we are bound, according to our places and callings, to be helpful to them; and to take heed of partaking with others in what is forbidden them.

THE BELIEVER’S DELIGHT

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Psalm 1:2 NASB

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

“Delight: noun.  A high degree of pleasure or satisfaction of mind,  joy.  ‘His delight is in the law of the Lord’.  Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, and is not dependent on sudden excitement.”

Noah Webster, 1828

“Something one is inclined to, a valuable thing.”  Strong’s Hebrew Concordance

The “blessed” man has a consistent conduct in a world of inconsistency.  But his conduct is not self-directed.  The believer is directed by a single rudder and is powered by a single engine, the holy Law of God.  The voice from the Psalms will later say, “Oh how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day.”  Psalm 119:97

As that which is loved by the saint and represents the whole will of God for our sanctification, so it is not a passing interest.  It is the constant interest of the “blessed” man.  In His law he meditates day and night.

Meditate in the Hebrew is to think beyond or further.  A look back to Joshua 1:8 gives some insight into what “meditation”, in a Biblical sense means.   

In Joshua 1:8 note it is a book.  The book that has as its basis the commandments as a covenant. 

This book being read is to be taught and it is, through studious attention, to be the moral and spiritual roadmap for those who have God’s favor.

This then is what the “blessed” one is to spend his spiritual appetite and interest in learning and doing.  And we find this the a concern for the New Testament writer; cf Romans 7:12, 14, 22; I John 2:3, 4.

The mind of the believer has been renewed.  It delights in a new subject, obeys a new master, has a new principle of righteousness, love, and not only is obedient to the law but loves this way of obedience.  Every believer behaves differently than the world because he thinks, loves, and is empowered to a different end.

Read Romans 12:1-2 for the confirmation of this way of life.

A PECULIAR PEOPLE

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

I have endured my laziness and procrastination as long as I am able.  So, if you will receive it, I will presume on you to read these daily thoughts.  I do not claim originality.  What I write will be the result of all the teachers I have had, and an accumulation of that learned from the great books I have read.  I will not try to quote except in particular instances.  I will only ask you to understand that I am but a pool into which many streams have and continue to flow.

There are a couple of rules I will follow.  First the NASB will be the translation that will be used --except when I forget.  Secondly, I write from a Reformed conviction.  I make no apology for this and I will not intentionally defend the truth as it is presented.  When there are truly controversial or unknown Scriptures an alternative may be given.  Thirdly I am dogmatic.  This is because I am old and there is little room left for change.  But also because I truly believe what I believe and if I didn’t I would change.

Psalm 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!
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ 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.

⁴ The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
⁶ For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm one is a beginning place.  It is the door through which you enter the treasury called Psalms.  The description of the people spoken to and of is given.  They are either “blessed” or “wicked”.  They either have God’s favor or will face His judgment.  There is nothing in between.  There is no grey area.

The blessed one is God’s beloved.  The other is hated by God.  It is a fatal error to think that people in this world can exist in a neutral position or in some kind of loving relationship with God until death and at that time it will be determined what their everlasting disposition will be.

Psalm one describes the people who have God’s favor.  From Psalm one through 150 this is the consistent intent of whom ever the author may be.  Any other than the blessed is the enemy of God, whether he is in the church or among the nations.  And it should be noted that most who are described as God’s enemies are in Israel as the church.

In VS 1 the “blessed man” has a particular behavior.  He is separated from the world in which he lives.  It might well also be noted that the description is negative.  He “walks not”, “stands not”, and “sits not”.  While those with whom he lives “do walk, stand and sit” opposed to God and under His just disapproval.  This was then, and is now, the character and habit of a believer.  A saint is one who is separated from the world.

Let me leave you with a couple of New Testament references, Colossians 3:1-3; I Peter 1:14-16.