Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Opener
Recently, my wife and I had the opportunity to go to the UK.
We visited London and Edinburgh, Scotland and we were consistently in awe of some of the old architecture there.
Edinburgh had a giant castle and both had old cathedrals.
In London, we had the opportunity to go into St.
Paul’s Cathedral, and like many towering Cathedrals of the past, the entryway was elaborately decorated with scenes and characters from the Bible.
For the designers, it was important that the gateway into the church was a representation of what you would find on the inside.
Similarly, Psalm 1 has been described as the gateway to the Psalms.
Why?
Because of it’s clear distinction between the wicked and the righteous.
James Montgomery Boice tells us:
The most important is the use of the idea by Jesus toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount as recorded by Matthew.
The last section of the sermon lists a series of contrasts, between which choices must be made: two gates and two roads, two trees and their two types of fruit, two houses and two foundations.
The part regarding the two ways says, “Enter through the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt.
7:13–14).
Psalm 1 is the clearest, most carefully developed, and first full expression of this idea in the Bible.
Not only is is Psalm 1 a gateway psalm, but it has also been called:
The father of all wisdom psalms
Staint Jermone called it - The preface of the Holy Spirit
Charles Spurgeon called it - The Preface Psalm, then goes on to say “It is the psalmist’s desire to teach us the way to blessedness, and to warn us of the sure destruction of sinners.
This then, is the matter of the first psalm, which may be looked upon in some respects, as the text upon which the whole of the psalms make up a divine sermon.”
So, then, let’s come to the scriptures today knowing that it sets to paths before our very feet.
Two paths and two only.
Psalm 1 develops this one core theme and implores us to comprehend how much a person’s thinking will shape his or her life.
Let’s read it together:
Psalm 1 (ESV)
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.
There are just 6 verses to this little power-packed psalm, so let’s step up to the gateway and explore every inch of it’s carvings and paintings to gain an understanding of what the whole of the psalms will teach us.
Outline
1.
What a Righteous Man Does
2. What a Righteous Man Receives
3. What a Wicked Man Does
4. What a Wicked Man Receives
1.
What A Righteous Man Does
refuses to walk in wicked counsel
refuses to stand with the ways of sinners
refuses to sit (abide) with scoffers
delights in God's Law
meditates on God's Law at all times
The Downward Spiral
Did you notice the progression?
A pattern is set here and it is a universal truth for all people.
Like a character arch in a good movie, you can see how the seeds of the wicked start subtly but quickly flower into full bloom.
Or to put it a different way, much like a business analyst showing the upward trend of revenue in a company meeting, the Psalmist is showing the inevitable downward trend of those who take the 2nd path.
You will start in the black and spiral downward into an eternal red.
The Psalmist intended for is to see it.
To recognize it here and in our own lives.
Remember, this is the beginning of the psalm and each and every one of us is set before two paths.
We have not yet walk down either one, but we are warned here where the first path will lead.
WALK: As most sinful things do, it starts off small and harmless.
We simply walk alongside the wicked and listen to their counsel.
It’s as if we are strolling through the park simply listening to their ideas, thoughts, and philosophies.
We place ourselves in a position to be influenced by their tainted worldviews.
Little by little, their ideas become our ideas.
It reminds me of the song by Casting Crowns called ‘Slow Fade.’
It’s a small tweak to your thinking, but compounded over time, it will lead to more.
In the era of the internet, there is no shortage of terrible advice.
With just a few clicks, you can be reading, hearing, and watching a pantheon of voices that speak what is contrary to scripture.
DO NOT entertain them.
If you do, you will be like a hooked fish that will be reeling into the boat for the slaughter.
STAND: At some point, those seeds of influence will culminate into action.
Now, instead of walking and listening, you are actively engaged.
Maybe you are aware, or maybe not, but the next logical step is that you stand in the way of sinners… meaning, you are now doing what they are doing.
The way of the wicked has successfully transitioned from your thought life into the real world.
You are now acting upon your the evils that you have recieved into your mind.
Do you see it?
When scripture speaks of the ‘way of sinners,’ that word ‘way’ means lifestyle.
As in their ‘way of life’ or ‘mode of action’ or ‘the road/path of their journey.’
It is literally a picture of you making the decision to disregard one path and commit to the other.
Influence leads to acceptance.
Acceptance leads to action.
Now, you are not fighting the fisherman, you’re actually are swimming toward the boat.
SIT: Once you are living that lifestyle, it is only a matter of time before you become an influencer of others.
Not only is your thought life tainted by sin… not only are you now actively living the lifestyle of sinners, but now… you sit in the seat of scoffers.
This gives the picture of a full embrace of sinfulness.
You’ve fully given yourself over to the dark side and have fully flowered into a leader of sinners who actively mock those who do not agree with you.
You have leapt from the water into the boat and unless God extents mercy, your fate is sealed.
And, it all started by simply entertaining a thought.
As Charles Spurgeon puts it, “The seat of the scorner may be very lofty, but it is very near to the gate of hell; let us flee from it, for it will soon be empty, and destruction will swallow up the man who sits therein.”
Put a different way, if this describes you, you are like a lobster who thinks he has it made because you got upgraded from a cold, crowded tank to an exclusive hot tub.
I bet you didn’t expect to get all that from a single verse, did you?
Do you see now why this is called the Father of the Wisdom Psalms?
Now, for crystal-clear clarity, the downward spiral of the wicked is put into direct contrast with the righteous.
Blessed is the man, says the Psalmist, who doesn’t do those things, but rather, delights in and meditates on God’s law.
Step 1 is to withdraw and separate yourself from the ungodly (meaning not to fill your mind with their ideas).
Step 2 is to fill your mind and delight in God’s ideas.
These two steps are counter-balanced weights and both must be there, or else you will not become the righteous person the Psalms speak of.
Delights in God’s Law
Now, at first glance, this can be confusing.
Isn’t the Law bad? Didn’t Paul encourage the Galatians to step away from the Law and toward God’s grace?
Isn’t that supposed to be the focus?
Well… yes and no.
We do delight in God’s grace.
It is truly amazing just like the song says, however, that is only one of his attributes.
There is so much more to God that we get to adore!
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