February 9, 2020 Covenant

Will the title of my message this morning is blessed is the man and we're beginning our new series as we move through the Psalms. We're not going to do all 150 of the songs, but we're going to pick up some some Psalms that characterize and capture some of the main themes that we find there and some of the main different types of Psalms that the Lord has said inspired by his spirit for us to to reflect upon and meditate upon I think the song might be the most most read book in all of the Bible. I think there's a possibility of that are about you. But how many of you read a Psalm is you're doing your daily devotion make it a part of your daily reading and I'm sometimes what I'll try to do is read the song and maybe a proverb and then something somewhere else in the scripture in not only do we use this songs in our devotional readings, but we certainly also use the songs as we frame worship and we've made an intentional effort over the course of the past. All the years at covenant to incorporate the Psalms on a weekly basis to lead us to worship our call to worship our confessions off and even sometimes the songs that we sing are based upon. If not, literally simply taken from the Psalms the song served as a kind of lectionary for the temple has God appointed Israel to praise him for all he had done. He also appointed in many ways the Liturgy in the lectionary of what that phrase would sound like and look like as men inspired by God wrote the psalms of praise to him. John Calvin wrote about the songs in his commentary on the book. I have been accustomed to call this book and and anatomy of all the parts of the soul, but there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscience conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror or rather. The Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life. All the grief Sorrows fears doubts hopes Harris perplexities in short all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are want to be agitated the other parts of scripture contain the Commandments which God enjoying his servant to announce to us, but here the prophets themselves seeing they are exhibited to us as speaking to God and laying open all their innermost thoughts and affections are found. You can kluddes we can find no better guide for calling upon the Lord in prayer than the Psalms. If you go to the series, we're going to open up individual songs and study them but we're also going to look at to a certain degree at the structure of this book and some of the different Tools in literary devices that psalmist used to convey who got is into poetically Proclaim what he has accomplished. I'm not sure if you've ever looked at the songs in this type of way before but the songs are broken down into five different books in your Bible. The author of the Psalms was not a singular author and that author did not sit down and and and the right out the songs in one day in in a single sitting or over the course of a month as an author adopolus might do with a book but the the Psalms is an anthology a collection of of Psalms from throughout the history of Israel. There's five different books in the songs. If you look in your scripture that one book The Psalms 150 songs is broken down into five constituent books book 1 Psalm 1 through 41 book to 42272 need to see the titles if you were thumbing through your scriptures with me book 373 289 book for 92106 book 51072 152, even the book of the Psalms itself is structured a for the sake of the the message that it conveys in the way that it was used in the life of Israel. If you study the songs, you've probably noticed there at the top of the songs. The little notes that are near the title 115 out of 160 of the Psalms contain annotations over a third of those annotations are directed to the musical a director of worship. And so you'll read psalms the red dress to the leader or the choirmaster Princeton Psalm 31 in 4751 through 62 all have those designations. You also fine with in the Psalms directions upon the instruments that are to be used. I don't know if any of you here are musicians or singers, but if you were to look over bins shoulder or Brandon shoulder when they're performing they have a sheet in front of him a score of Music which includes instructions on how to play which instruments are to be used in the temple. That is to be selected. If you would open up the him, you'll find not only the words of the him and the notes of the hand but sometime instructions on which tune to play with the him are traditional hymns can be played to number a different musical tunes that undergirds the the words and so to the Psalms provide those types of instructions. And so you'll read that this song is to be played with stringed instruments word. According to certain to know the flute or the sheminith which was an 8 string instrument arrangements are also laid out as well. You hear that this song should be played with the tune of the dough of the morning or the lilies are a dove on distant Oaks. Now course those tombs with Tunes we don't have and we don't know but the musicians in that they did and that's how they would present the music for that particular song. Some of the songs have notations that indicate win that song Miss to be used in the life of the Liturgy of Israel. One song says it's to be played on the dedication of the temple and other for a memorial offering and other notes are found as well. Also in the Psalms you find notations regarding the authorship of Psalms mini carry the names of the individuals 73 of the Psalms, maybe seventy-five are attributed to King David as the author of the song music either as the author as the one who inspired it but most likely is the author of 13 of these relate explicitly two incidents in King. David's life in W study his wife in the scriptures. You might see in your footnotes. One of the Psalms noted about his flight from King Saul or his sin with Bathsheba one of the songs that we read as we're confessing our sin comes from the David who who confesses Lord it is against you and you only have I sinned not minimizing his sin before the people but realizing that first and foremost, he broke his Covenant with God before he broke his Covenant with his wife and his family and the nation the other authors in the Psalms include asaph the sons of Korah. Who were the Levites who had written some of the songs and let and worship King Solomon Moses Ethan the ezrahite that he man if you can believe that he's in the Bible Heman the ezrahite as well and I and a few others and so the book of Psalms has got a great story to tell and we'll dig into that in the course of this series. You probably noticed it says you read the Psalms but you might have never thought of it, but the Psalms actually are have different types different types of songs with in the book. You have hymns which declare the glory of God in creation and his work over history him is that singer of the enthronement of of Yahweh of the king of the glories of the Heavenly City and the Earthly Throne Jerusalem in Zion, you have Psalms that focus on communal lament times of mourning that Israel brings before the Lord in corporate worship as they describe suffering or or or are challenges in battle or purses from enemies. They present those concerns before the Lord as a community. You have Royal Psalms that talk about the kingship of David and his line that point forward to the Messiah quite often those songs describe the ideal version of what it is really like king would look like as opposed to the real version and in so doing they begin to paint a portrait of the Son of God who would come as the king of Israel. Indeed the king of the world. Show me the most prevalent songs are not the communal songs or these Royal Psalms but individual lament Psalms, will you read of the struggle of an individual in their life quite often in the Psalms? You read a bit of a person who feels surrounded by their enemies and overwhelmed by hardship that their last possible rock on which they can stand is the Lord himself, who is there deliver in times of difficulty and those psalms written inspired by the Holy Spirit provide a great deal of encouragement to us when we go through difficult times in Converse Psalms of Thanksgiving in which both individuals and the community-at-large rejoices for what God has done at the end of the Psalms you find songs that are used as the great throngs are making their way to the temple to worship you think of the songs that were sung even as Jesus entered into the Temple of hosanna. Hosanna in the highest blessed is he Comes in the name of the Lord for the people of God didn't have a book that They Carried around to sing their songs, but they learn those songs from being present and worship. They memorize them and they could grab hold and sing them as a community weather in worship or on their way as they made great Journeys in pilgrimages from wherever God had led them back to Jerusalem for feast days this morning. I want to open up one of my favorite songs, which happens to be the first song. So you got a Bible feel free to open it up and take a look at it Pastor Bob read it for us. It's short so I'll read it again, but it sounds like this someone blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. Door stands in the way of Sinners North 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 hit Albany does he prospers the wicked are not so but I like chaff that the wind drives away there for 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

Abyss Psalm is somewhat unique in that. It's not a element and it's not a song with Thanksgiving. It's not a royal song that talks about King David or a communal song that the congregation is proclaiming to the Lord but it's what's known as a wisdom song. Heading is the song I think intentionally that opens up our anthology of Psalms that we study and present I think before us the fruits of studying the psalter of making it a part of our everyday lives that there is blessing for the one who meditates day and night on God's word. And so this wisdom Psalms. Someone has got a great deal to teach us and one of the things that we're going to look at today is one of the techniques what are the literary tools that song misused will see this time and time again as we make our way through the Psalms and the technique or the literary tool is called Parallelism. Can you say parallelism for me? Right? Can you say synonymous parallelism?

Okay, Brandy take that back to FSU. Let him know about that one. Okay parallelism, and if you take a look with me and I would encourage you to open a Bible. Because we're really going to be kind of looking at some of the literary structure here. If I just say it out loud. You're not going to be able to see it. And in your mind's eye. I want to appoint your attention to this this first section of the song and I'm going to show you the parallelism that what is the word parallel mean? Okay, you know I always thought as a kid of the parallel bars that gymnasts would use that was I think the the image that was before me two things that are side-by-side exactly and here we were talking about a parallelism things that are set side-by-side to convey something to you. Now often when we look at English poetry. How is English poetry conveyed? How do you know that you're reading poetry quite often? Because the Poetry does what it it Rhymes and so quite often in English poetry rhyme schemes are used to convey meaning will in Hebrew. It's less rhyme schemes and more literary schemes or literary devices that convey ideas, by the way in which the words are structured interesting me enough and God's inspired economy. That was pretty smart given that the Bible is translated in the thousands upon thousands of languages around World, it would be very hard to capture that literary beauty of a rhyme scheme when you're moving from one language to the other. I sat down with the Weavers yesterday here at church as they talked about their translation efforts in Papua New Guinea moving the Bible into another unknown language for a people group that lives far from the English tongue and farro from the Hebrew tongue. And so the tools that did Hebrew poets used was with literal literary. Tools parallelism was probably the number one tool that they use and we see it very clear example of that here. You see that dark. Anyways, you look at that text spot three different things that are set side-by-side that say similar things that are intended to convey a meaning. We see it there in the first two verses blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked now listen carefully for the parallelism nor stands in the way of Sinners store sits in the way of the seat of scoffers. But his Delight is in the way of the Lord. Do you hear those three different parallel statement who walks not in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of Sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers. He saying the same thing synonymous things a synonym is a common word. That means the same thing the same type of things parallel to each other side by side. I think that the scholars actually call this a tristick which is these three statements that are set side-by-side to convey a meaning. It needs to a certain degree bills on the other. Not only do we have synonymous parallelism. Like we have here the same thought being Express each time. But sometimes we all soften have also have a antonym. What's the weather going to be in Anton and Ann Thomas and Thomas parallelism, I guess would be that which is parallelism is in set in Conflict. The righteous do this the wicked do this, right? The fear of the Lord is strength, but denying the Lord will bring judgment that would be two ideas set side-by-side that contrast with each other and what kind of Point these different things out in some of these tools and when you be get when you know them as your reading through the songs, you're easily spot some of these things we won't go too deep into those kind of tools, but it'll be helpful as we kind of delve into the Psalms here. But let's take a look at the pair of that the song that is antithetical parallelism. Not autonomous pure Bliss, I'm sorry. This particular song and talk a little bit about what set before us because we said already it's a wisdom Psalm and it seems to be the introduction to the Book of Psalms blessed is the man who does not do these things but who does do these things and what's interesting is that blasted reminds us I think at least to a certain degree of the language that Jesus used with his disciples there on The Sermon on the Mount as he sat them down before him. What was it that Jesus said to his disciples. Blessed are the poor in spirit speaking to his disciples for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied. You must wonder if Jesus had in his mind the introductory song that lays before all of Israel the benefits of delving into God's word. Remember when Jesus said to his critics you pour over the pages of scripture as if by the scriptures you possess eternal life, but these scriptures point to me. It's so Jesus using very simple language about the blessedness of his disciples finds an antecedent here in the Psalms in the psalmist is going to tell us that this is what it looks like to be blessed. He's going to describe not only what it looks like, but what it doesn't look like as well. Blessed is the man he tells us and then he begins with laying out a list of of do's and don'ts and it doesn't begin with the dude's which is an interest. He doesn't Begin by positively telling us how it is that we are to be blessed. But he begins by telling us what we must not do if we would be blessed. 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 so we find the positive there at the very end. What is it that he's saying here with his parallelism? He's building an image for us to look at as we noticed the language in the word that he uses. It seems that there's a progression that takes place in the life of this one who is not blessed. So instead of telling us how to be blessed. He tells us how not to be blessed blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked if we're going to be blessed. We must not walk in the counsel of the wicked. We must not sit in the seat of Sinners. So he begins or stands in the way of Sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers and we have an image there a progression. How does it begin it begins with walking it continues to standing and then eventually it leads to sitting it's an image of a slowed Evolution into a lifestyle that opposes the things of God. It's a gradual progression away from the things of God. And the author of the Psalms is worn in all of these people. But if they're going to be blessed they need to ensure that this does not characterize their life because if they end up walking and then standing and then finally sitting among Those who are scoffers and centers and wicked then they certainly will not find blessing there. The parallelism builds upon itself and it begins with his instruction not to walk in the counsel of the wicked. The Hebrew word Wicked there is Russia. We're going to learn a little bit of Hebrew now that we're in the songs are usually learn Greek, but can you guys say Russia? All right, that's a word that means morally wrong or actively bad that we must not walk in the counsel of the wicked when the author is the song talks about walking. He's talking about the Hebrew concept of a following or are walking along with or being conversant with or behaving like and then the council of of these Wicked ones is is the advice or or counsel that that they would provide do not take your purpose from them. That's exactly how it seems to begin that we begin kind of a relationship with with people and we kind of gauge who they are and what they're like and if we dated this the person who clearly is is wicked who is morally wrong who is doing what's not right and choose to continue to walk alongside of them that we begin to listen to the council to take their advice our purposes begin to be shaped by their purposes. And that that walking that way of living is ultimately would lead to to to a very unpleasant place. Give me when Jesus said I am the way and the truth and the life we spot talk not being the way he was talking about be the one with whom we walk alongside of. Even we talked about the taurise the study of the tour of God's word. It's a way of life. That is so different than the Way of the Wicked blessed is the man who does not walk in The Way of the Wicked it goes on from there or stand in the way of Sinners hear the word not Rashad which means morally wrong but Qatar which is a criminal or one who has been accounted guilty and offender someone who was broken the law and and people know that that's the case. The beginning. To walk alongside of the person who's done wrong now leads to standing with those who are known criminals who publicly have been ascribed with criminal activity or immoral activity and it's a picture of that slow. The generation do not do this if you want to be blessed and then finally it ends with this individual sitting in the seat of scoffers. They're no longer walking or standing but now they're relaxing in sitting at hanging out with folks who scoff at others. Literally. The Hebrew word for scoffer is Lutz, which is one who makes their mouth sound like foreigners. Somebody would see foreigners gathered around and and makeup make make fun of the language that they're speaking in and pointed them and pretend to speak like them just to put them down and intentional malicious attitude towards others. This is not the way to be blessed but it sure is a challenging thing to avoid in the cultures in which we live is believers. Jesus told his disciples playing me that that you are not of the world but you're in the world and is a great challenge to be in the world and at the same time not to become of the world that challenge takes place in our workplaces. And that's cool. Then in our family is in relationships. It takes places with the cultural things that the world sets before us. It's difficult as Christians took to hold a hand breath away from things that are wicked when you live in the midst of Awakened Culture. It's especially hard when we find the New Testament calling us to love and care for those who are sinners and scoffers. What was Jesus famous for he was famous for sitting and eating with sinners. And yet was Jesus not aware that he was not supposed to walk or stand or sit with them the exact condemnation that was brought by his critics. And so if we hold Jesus's call for us to take the good news of the Gospel to Sinners and yet the song is called equally inspired by God's word to protect ourselves from entering into relationships with them that would compromise our integrity for our character then we got to balance those things. That we were meant to to reach out to them to care for them but not to carouse with them. And that's a fine line. Jesus was a master at entering into it with tax collectors and with prostitutes he could sit and eat and be himself and share the good news of the Kingdom, but he never compromise his moral integrity. He would sit with him by day, but I doubt that Jesus would sit with them by night. If you know what I mean, he would engage with them in friendship and fellowship with a purpose to share the good news of the Gospel with them, but he would not enter into their sinful ways that Believers. This is a challenging call on our lives, especially as we talked about even today in a culture that is increasingly moving away from biblically grounded commitments until we're going to have to become better and better at these very things. There's no room to run away and pretend like it's not there or never. Talk to anybody that does things in moral but we have to figure out a way to be present and to love and to care and yet not to compromise who Christ is called us to be in the midst of all of that. How will we do that? I think the psalm is provides us some good direction blessed is the man who does what who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of Sinners nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but by contrast His Delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law. He meditates day and night and here we have another parallelism between two ideas blessed is the man who does one thing but not another thing that would be an antithetical parallelism same kind of idea but going in different directions. They do not invest their lives engaging in relationships with Sinners, but they invest their life engaging in a relationship with what With God's word and by inference with God himself a person who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night and who takes the white in it. Do you meditate on God's word I know is Christian's this something that is brought before us on a regular basis and I know about you but if you looked at the history of my life I have times when I'm in God's word on a regular basis and then you get busy and then you're on time to the air and yet we always know from what the scriptures tell us in from our own personal experience that we need to be intentional about setting aside time for the Lord as overwhelmed as we might be. It's got to be a key part of our daily life noticed that the song that says what his Delight is in the law of the Lord and all his law he didn't get paid once a month, right Bill kept shaking his head. No, right. I'm sorry. I did miss that I read that wrong. But his Delight is in the law on Sunday morning, right? No it on his law He meditates In the Heat of the day the Hebrew says and the coolest of night each and every day in fact during the day and throughout the And why is it that he meditates on the law of the Lord and good lights in it? Because he's pursuing a relationship with its author. We talked about just a few moments ago. It was Jesus. You said the scriptures will not provide you life these scriptures point to me. It's God's word and God's word reveals God's character as we open up. The scriptures were building a relationship with him and that's a pretty key observation to make. I need the heresy of Our Generation. I've begun to see in this falls into what we talked about about covenants path over the course of these seven years are people who claim that they love the Lord but reject his word. I meditate with Jesus I spend time with Jesus I know him but I don't know what the scripture say. And I want a firm what the scripture say. And so what the psalmist here has done. It said what knot is the lightest in the Lord and under relationship with him. He meditates on day and night but his Delight is in the law of the Lord hand on it. He meditates day and night. There's no way to know the Lord apart from his word. Where did most famous passages of the scripture is Jesus talks about God's love for us and our love for one another. Do you know what Jesus says he says this to his disciples. If you love me, you will obey my commands. And where do we learn those commands from his word to say that we love the Lord Jesus Christ and yet to reject out right what he says in his word is an antithetical parallelism. Not a paralyzed but it's at the pentacle for sure right? It's so here the psalmist I think has a timely message for us and as we grow in our relationship with Christ, we grow in that relationship and proportionate to the time that we spend in his word with him. I shared this story before but as Melinda and I built our relationship the big thing that I would wait for was not her text messages because there were no text messages back then Brandon. I'm sorry there weren't any not all the rest of you experience what I experienced the thing that you wait for most is what you waiting for the the letter that would come in the mail and you go to the mailbox on the college campus and you check it and I get one today. It's like the little ding of the text message for the kids just takes a much longer. Of time, right and you open it up and you pour for that letter and I remember in those opening years of falling in love every single word in common. What does that mean? What does that mean? What does this mean that wears their heart going now? And And you do that because you come to know the person that way and gotten is Providence in his sovereignty is chosen for our seek to write down his heart for us in the pages of scripture that no one might alter it and that was some couples on Friday night and talked a little bit about things of faith and we talked about the Fidelity and historical accuracy of the scripture. There is no other book in Canada of human libraries that is as Faithfully conveyed from generation to the next over thousands of years than the word of God. Donnelly is he giving us his inspired word but he is super intended. It's transmission from one generation to the next that we might open it and never fear that we're not reading words that God intended for us. And so as we open it meditate day and night that blessing will come and it has great consequence and there's a great contrast verse 3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water yields. Its fruit in its season its Leaf does not wither and all that. He does he prospers the wicked or nuttzo butter like cha With the Wind drives away with interesting here when he says he is like a tree planted by streams of water. It's not simply a tree that grew up near streams of water, but it was a tree that was transplant and planted near those streams. The actual images of a tree that was once in a different location. If it did not have great resources that's been moved to this close location head is now blossoming in Blooming because the waters are so near

It's a picture of one who is a biting near the rivers of God's provision and being overwhelmed with fruitfulness in season because of the life that the Lord provides and that wife comes from that relationship. But what's interesting about this song is that this blessing is not an accidental blessing. It does not come as a matter of happenstance or a matter of luck. I looked up blessed in on on the internet this week and vocabulary.com gave the definition of blessed and in the definition that vocabulary.com gave a blessed was being thankful that you've been lucky enough to get something. That was the that was the definition of I'm blessed about this you're being thankful for your lucky Ennis the picture of the song that steer is not a picture of one scoop luckily is falling into great provision. It's the picture of one who intentionally has not walked in the way of Sinners are stood in the the the the counsel of the wicked are sat with scoffers. What is intentionally alternatively invested their life in God's word and coming to know who he is and because of that intentional investment the Lord has provided for him and remarkable way. His Leaf does not wither and in season. He provides a great fruitfulness. Not so the Wicked the psalmist tells us they are like chaff that the wind drives away. How many of you guys have seen shaft before you ever seen that before when it's Google that one as well since I didn't grow up as a farmer in the Bay Area Riders more computers and Silicon Valley than than wheat farmers and chapped and stuff. But what I thought were pictures of people taking grains of weed and throwing them up into the year after they crack them and the wind would blow or they would fan or they would use a electrical Fannin coaster Our Generation and it would blow on those things that when they were throwing up in the grain which is precious would fall and the chaff the rest of it would simply be blown away. Put a different picture from this fruitful tree planted your Living Waters to the chaff that is blown away by the wind dried up and useless for anything even for the fire. Blessed is this one? He concludes with challenging words are for the wicked verse 5 will not stand in the Judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, but the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the Way of the Wicked Will perish. In the beginning courses of these lives that this wicked man in this blessed man leaves, they made very significant decisions about how they would live in their life. The one shows to consort with the company of wicked and sinful scoffers and intentionally self and the other chose to use their life to invest in a relationship with the Lord day and night and that investment over the course of time as great consequences is judgement comes The wicked will not stand in the Judgment, but they will fall. Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous for the Lord knows the way of the righteous again that kind of antithetical parallelism. But the Way of the Wicked he does not know and so it will perish. I think a John 3:16 for God so loved the world that he sent his son into the world that whoever believes in him shall not perish.

And yet it's not simply believing in Jesus Christ, but it's developing that relationship with him on a daily basis for suing his love for us growing in a relationship with him through studying his word and meditating upon it that begins to change our hearts and our lives that fills us with the Springs of water that never go away that spring up to Eternity. As Jesus said the leaves are leaves green in season and out and gives us fruitfulness in the times that God intends and so over the course of the weeks ahead will have a chance to look at many more songs, but I take away from this one is an encouragement to you as it is to me. This week get back into the word spend that time with the Lord meditate on the things that he's written to you. Listen for his voice and enjoy the life that he offers for those who love him for those who are blessed by the provision that he is made for us these streams of water that come from him to us for the word that he has given. Let's close in a word of Prayer. Gracious and holy God we give you thanks for for who you are for the people that you have called to yourself that have worshipped you down Through the Ages it is called you the Lord. Who praised you and wrote down these Praises in the pages of the Psalms and handed them down to us words not simply of men though, certainly from their experience but words inspired by you that we might be encouraged that we might be blessed help us Lord to walk that fine line between caring for those who do not yet know you and often or moving in a very different direction than the one that you would call them too for caring for them, but not for consorting with them Lord. Help us to retain Integrity of character that would allow us to be the Friend of Sinners while also pointing to you with the way that we live in the things that we say that we might be blessed. Even as you have promised. We pray all these things in Jesus name Amen Let stand in sing are closing song.