THE HAPPY MAN

Psalm One

Sermon of the Week #200613 - March 31, 2006

Blessed is the man, is the same as happy is the man.  And as a man, this happy man is susceptible to all the temptations that can come to any man, any time, any place, in every and any generation since the time when God created Adam and Eve. This happy man is also susceptible to all the diseases that can come to any man, and he is susceptible to the death that can come, and will come to any man.

Note that we are not told, “Blessed is the man who is the CEO of a large corporation; blessed is the man with several million dollars; blessed is the man that is a popular movie star; blessed is the man who wins the lottery.” A person can have all these things and still be under a curse. The man who is blessed and happy is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.

THE COUNSEL OF THE UNGODLY

What is the counsel of the ungodly? The counsel of the ungodly is the advice of the ungodly. Consult the ungodly, and take their advice and that is a surefire way to be unhappy.

What do the  ungodly tell you in the matter of your relationship with the Lord? What message is there for you from the ungodly on the Lord^’s Day regarding the day of worship? The message comes through loud and clear, “Worship of Almighty God is not all that important. As a Christian you can miss it with the utmost impunity. The Lord’s Day should be called Funday and not Sunday.” What advice do you get from the horoscope? Does the ungodly astrologer ever advise you to be faithful to God and His Son^’s Church? The counsel of the ungodly is the advice that God is an elective at best; you can take Him or leave Him. The counsel of the ungodly tells us that God would never let anybody go to hell; He is too good for that. The counsel of the ungodly tells you there are many bibles and many gods and they are all good.

Next not only happy is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, but also blessed is the man, happy is the man, that standeth not in the way of sinners.

STANDETH NOT IN THE WAY OF SINNERS

Many Christians stand in the way of sinners. Those are the ones who associate with sinners. We have to associate with all kinds of people in work and business, but to choose such people for social purposes is a surefire way to be miserable.

Where you stand is very important. Do you stand on the Word of God or do you stand in the way of sinners?

Where do you stand on baptism? Do you stand with Luke who said, “Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him, and they came up out of the water”? Where you stand may be very important on the judgment day.

It is far better to stand with the congregation of the Lord on the Lord’s Day and sing the songs of Zion, remembering the Lord in His death at the Lord’s Table, than to stand anywhere else. For the person who has been a Christian, there is no way he can be happy apart from that stand with the righteous on the Lord^’s Day. Standing on the promises of Christ my King. Through eternal ages let His praises ring. Glory in the highest I will shout and sing. Standing on the promises of God.

THE SEAT OF THE SCORNFUL

Notice the deadly progression of the unhappy man. First he listens to the advice of the ungodly, then he stands in the way of the sinners, and then he sits down in the seat of the scornful and says, “This is the place for me.” The ungodly scorns the happy man.

But what comfort does the atheist have for the person who has just learned that he has a terminal cancer? The evolutionist may scorn the person who believes the Biblical story of creation. But what solace does the dying man have in thinking he is descended from a monkey?

Actually it is somewhat comforting for the ungodly to believe in evolution because if he can convince himself that he is an animal, he feels that he is not responsible, and God surely will not hold a gorilla responsible for anything. This is one of the favorite tricks of the Devil, Surely you can^'t be serious. Happy is the man who sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.

DELIGHTS IN THE LAW OF THE LORD

A happy man is the man who delights in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night. This is the secret of the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, standeth not in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. He meditates on the law of the Lord day and night. It is more difficult to get the members of the church to do this than almost anything else. They will invest more time reading anything else but the Bible. It is easier to convince them not to rob a bank than to read the Word of God. The church can listen to a preacher editorialize on a verse of scripture for a hundred years every Sunday, and never know any more of the Word of God than when they started.

While I would not put down the thought of being busy in the Lord^’s work, at the same time there is more to being happy than merely being busy. A person may drive the church bus, work in the parking lot, attend all the dinners, sing in the choir, be an usher for all the services, a star on the bowling team, attend all the summer camps, and still not fit the description of the happy man cited by the Psalmist. The happy man here is the one who meditates on the Word of God day and night. Only through this practice can a person be truly happy. Blessed is the man.

THE TREE MAN

Once more the happy man is the man who is like a tree planted by the rivers of water who brings forth fruit in his season. Paul tells us to be urgent in season and out of season. Some are like apple trees, some like cherry trees, and some are like plum trees. We bear different kinds of fruit. The Lord can use all of us. However, some are like strawberry Christians. They come in season during the spring for a few days during something called Easter, and are barren the rest of the time.

The tree planted by the rivers has a continual source of supply of nourishment and there are several rivers of supply. There is the river of prayer. What a source of strength is supplied in the promise, “There is one God and One mediator between man and God, himself man, Christ Jesus.” There is the river of God’s Word that gives us an infallible source of instruction on the will of God. There is the river of the Lord’s Supper that reassures us week by week of our salvation through the blood of Jesus.

Then think also of John’s description of Heaven when he said, “He showed me a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

           Many cities are built near the river; they seem to draw their life from the river. In John chapter seven Jesus stood and cried in the temple, “If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink and out of him shall flow rivers of living waters. And this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believed on Him were to receive, for Jesus was not yet glorified.” Jesus was glorified when He was crucified and arose from the dead, and the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost. Those who believed in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus were told, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Then the river that Jesus predicted began to flow forth the living water and will continue to flow until that day when the redeemed will gather by the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God. The gospel song says, “Shall we gather at the river, where bright angels’ feet have trod, with its crystal tide forever that flows by the throne of God.”

However, it is a sad predicament today when we consider that the river of the water of life in this world has been polluted. Many years ago I stood by the bank of a small stream of water in Pennsylvania and asked the farmer about the purity of the crystal clear water. I asked, “Did you ever drink water from this river?” He told me that years ago when as a young man and plowed with a team of horses, that he had often drank from the waters right out of the river. That river eventually became the Ohio River.

If a man would drink directly out of that river today as it flows by Cincinnati it would kill him. Kill him because the river has been polluted. Chemicals and sewage have been thrown into the river and it is no longer safe to drink. Who polluted the river?

The river of the water of life that flowed crystal clear from the Day of Pentecost has been polluted. All kinds of garbage have been thrown into the river during the centuries since the day the Church began. The garbage of denominational names, false doctrines, and the filth of other books claiming to be the Word of God have polluted the river. Who polluted the river?

Consider the words of the Apostle Paul who said, “If we or an angel from heaven preach unto you any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed.” After he made that statement he repeated it and said, “If any man preach unto you any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed.” Who polluted the river?

There are other religions today given by men and some that claim that were given by angels, and gullible lost humanity dip their cup into the poisoned stream and swill the poison. Who polluted the river?

John adds his warning also to that of Paul when he says, “If any man take away from the prophecy of this book, God shall take way from him his part of the tree of life and if any man add to the words of the prophecies of this book God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book.” Who polluted the river?

There is an old hymn we use to sing that gave a timely reminder:

“Mid the storms of doubt and unbelief we fear

Stand a book eternal that the world holds dear

Through the restless ages it remains the same

Tis the book of God and the Bible is its name

The old book and the old faith are the book on which I stand

The old book and the old faith are the hope of every land

The old book and the old faith are the bulwark of the land

Through storm and stress they stand the test

In every clime and nation blest

The grand old book and the dear old faith

Are the hope of every land.”

CONCLUSION

Now this in conclusion: Whatever you can say about the happy man, cannot be said about the unhappy man. The ungodly are not so. The ungodly are like the chaff, which the wind driveth away.

The godly man will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Not so for the ungodly, they shall not dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The house of the Lord on earth is the Church. Paul tells us in Ephesians, “We are no longer strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints and all the household of God, being built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone.” After the Second Coming of Jesus and the Judgment, the household of God will move right into Heaven. There will not be a “NO VACANCY” sign hanging out for the Christian. He has promised, “In My Father’s house there are many mansions.”

The names of the godly are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Not so for the ungodly, their names are not found in the book of life. The godly will be told, “Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Not so for the ungodly, who will be told, “Depart from Me ye cursed into the eternal fire which is prepared for the Devil and his angels.” In the last chapter of Revelation John says, “Blessed are they that have washed their robes for they have a right to come to the tree of life and enter in through the gates into the city.” Not so for the ungodly, for nothing unclean shall enter into the city, for without are the dogs and the sorcerers, and the whoremongers and everyone that loveth and maketh a lie.

The Psalmist said that the way of the ungodly shall perish. Not only will he perish, but also his way will die with him. He shall not stand in the Judgment. He will not be acquitted. He will not be  able to stand against the withering blast of judgment.

The scriptures have much to say of the judgment. In some of the last words of Paul, he exhorted Timothy, “I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom, preach the word.”

The Apostle Peter in Acts ten as he preached to Cornelius stated, “The Lord charged the Apostles, to testify that this is He who hath been ordained to be the judge of the living and the dead.”

Then in the gospel according to John, Jesus said in the fifth chapter, “For neither doth the Father judge any man, but He hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father that sent Him.”

And Paul reminds us in Acts seventeen, “God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world through that man whom He hath ordained; inasmuch as He hath given assurance unto all the nations in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” One lady told me once that Jesus Christ will not judge her because she did not even believe in Him. I politely informed her that she would not have any choice in Judges because God had already settled the matter.

Then there is the prediction of Paul in Second Corinthians chapter five, “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good of bad.”

And then, of course, we must mention a further word of Jesus when He said in Matthew sixteen, “For what shall a man be profited if he shall gain the whole world and forfeit his soul, or what shall a man give in exchanged for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then shall He render unto every man according to his deeds.”

I dreamed that the great Judgment morning had dawned and the trumpet had blown. I dreamed that the nations had gathered for judgment before the white throne. From the throne came a bright shining angel and stood on the land and the sea and cried with his hand raised to heaven that time was no longer to be. And Oh, what a weeping and wailing, was heard as the lost were told of their fate. They cried for the rocks and the mountains, they cried, but their prayer was too late.

The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.