Jesus Christ The Righteous – A Meditation On Psalm 1

Uplook – July/August 2023 — Grace & Truth Magazine

Jesus Christ The Righteous
A Meditation On Psalm 1

The Way Of The Righteous And The End Of The Ungodly
In Psalms, a book especially directed to the children of Israel, we find all kinds of teaching, including practical teaching for ourselves as believers. A righteous man and an ungodly person are contrasted in Psalm 1. We can see in the righteous a picture of ourselves as New Testament believers, for we have been justified by grace through faith. We are declared righteous by virtue of the finished work of the Lord Jesus, who died for our sins and was raised for our justification (Rom. 4:25).

Even in the Old Testament people knew the principle of justification by faith. We see this with Abraham. David wrote about the happiness of the man “whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity” (Ps. 32:1-2 NKJV).

Justification is not only the remission of our sins, but it is also acquittal. We are forgiven and go free on the basis of the finished work of the Lord Jesus. Because of what He has done, God does not impute, or charge, our iniquities to us. Someone else has stood in our place and fulfilled God’s demands.

The Righteous One
It is even more beautiful to think of the Lord Jesus, the Righteous One. He is the Holy One. The apostle John said, “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn. 2:1-2).

Psalms 1 and 2 speak clearly about the Lord Jesus, as do other psalms. In Psalm 2 we have the Lord Jesus Christ presented as the anointed King who is appointed by God over Zion and will reign in righteousness. His dominion will extend to the ends of the earth. “I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion … You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession” (Ps. 2:6-8). The Spirit of God here revealed the distant future, giving a picture of the glorious end time when the Lord Jesus will reign on earth. In that glorious kingdom of peace, the law will go forth from Zion and all people will submit to the Lord and His Anointed. Regarding this moment, at the very end after the judgments, Revelation says, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come” (Rev. 12:10, see 11:15).

Back in Psalm 1 we can see not only ourselves but also the Lord Jesus Christ. As the perfect Man, the Righteous One, He went His way on earth in dependence on God and was constantly guided by the Holy Spirit. His Father kept His eye on Him every moment.

Walking, Standing, Sitting
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Ps. 1:1). This refers to the righteous, which is evident from the last verses of the psalm. The righteous one is contrasted with three groups of people: the ungodly, sinners and scoffers. There is a progression in this list:

• Ungodly people live without God, not knowing Him and being separated from Him.
• Sinners are not only separated from God but they actually sin, doing things contrary to God’s will. Their separation from God is reflected in their actions.
• Scoffers go further, not wanting to take God into account and also ridiculing and mocking the things of God and the Word of God – the things of eternity.

We see scoffers in the New Testament, especially in the time in which we live. Second Peter 3:3-4 warns, “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’” These people mock everything that is holy and good. It is outright rebellion against God.

There is also a certain order in the activity described of these people. The psalm speaks of walking in the counsel of the ungodly, standing in the path of sinners, and sitting in the seat of scoffers. Perhaps we could say the list begins with walking according to the thoughts of the ungodly, what they dwell on in their hearts (consider Prov. 4:23). Then there is a step to standing in the pathway of sinners – the wrong path. Before long, one may be found sitting in the seat of scoffers and feeling at home there, which is a place without hope.

Blessed
Where are we walking, standing or sitting? Who are we with? Psalm 1 begins by telling us, “Blessed is the man,” or happy is the man, who is separated from the ungodly, sinners and scoffers. If we do not walk in their counsel, stand in their way or sit in their company, we will be happy! There should be a clear distinction between believers and the world, which is facing destruction. When the distinction exists, God calls us “blessed.” Remember, God knows what is in our hearts and minds, and He sees where we are.

One who is blessed has “his delight in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (v.2). The blessed believer has a very different object in his life than the people of the world. Yet, maybe we still need to ask ourselves individually, “On what is my heart focused? Is the Word of God in my hands? Is this the treasure I enjoy?”

Planted By The Rivers Of Water
God calls us blessed and happy when we sit by the springs of living water – when we find our joy in His Word and ponder it day and night. That reflects what we read in Leviticus 11 about the clean animals that chew the cud. The food passes through them again, as it were. It is the same with us believers: the food of the Word of God has to go through us multiple times. We cannot take its precious value in all at once, but we have to process it in our hearts.

The other characteristic mentioned in Leviticus 11 concerning clean animals is that they have cloven hooves, which give a stable walk and a steady pace. Returning to Psalm 1, we see our walk is to be in accordance with God’s will – a walk He considers pure. Such a one is “like a tree planted by the rivers of water” (v.3). It is evident that the Word of God, described in this psalm as “the law of the Lord” (v.2), is compared to those life-giving and refreshing rivers. The blessed man takes in the living water day and night, and he is nourished and comforted by God’s Word.

Perhaps you sometimes think about a certain portion of Scripture and then go to bed. The next day you may grasp some understanding of the text. That’s the positive thing about pondering on the Word of God day and night. David wrote: “My heart also instructs me in the night seasons” (16:7). This is specifically written of the Lord Jesus, but it also applies to us if we constantly ponder God’s Word.

Fruit In Its Time
As we go on in Psalm 1:3 we see that the “tree planted by the rivers of water … brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither.” This is a fruit-bearing tree! The righteous person – the true believer – is a tree that is nourished by the living water of the Word of God and bears fruit.

Grass that sprouts in the field speaks of man’s impermanence. Like the grass, our lives here are short (90:5-6; 1 Pet. 1:24). But this tree is more useful and impressive, showing firmness. It can bear fruit, which is also a wonderful characteristic of a believer who feeds on the living waters. Such a person is led by the Holy Spirit and produces fruit of lasting value. We can think of the nine-fold fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Fruit comes in God’s timing – in season!

In the parable of the owner of a vineyard, the man came looking for fruit on a tree, but there was none to be found (Lk. 13:6-9). How is it with us? Does God see fruit in our lives, in our hearts?

There is also foliage in Psalm 1 – green leaves that shall not wither. This is also important because it speaks of what can be seen outwardly in the life of a believer. If we truly feed on the rivers of water from God’s Word, our leaves will always be green.

These same things are presented in Jeremiah 17, beginning, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness” (vv.5-6). But then we see the contrast: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” (vv.7-8). It is the same imagery. Stand by the waters, firmly rooted and drinking from the water; then the leaves will remain green and the tree will not cease from yielding fruit for God.

Psalm 1:3 concludes, “And whatever he does shall prosper.” That is the Lord’s blessing. There are many things in our lives that we undertake and do not succeed. But if we truly allow ourselves to be led by the Word and the Spirit of God, and act in dependence on the Lord, then we will prosper in His strength and according to His thoughts and ways (consider Isa. 55:8-9).

This is an enormous contrast in Psalm 1: the tree will remain standing and bear fruit even when storms come, yet the ungodly “are like the chaff which the wind drives away” (v.4), nothing remains of them. “The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (v.5) when God comes with His judgments on this world. This is serious! The wicked will not endure in judgment. “The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (v.6). The Lord’s knowing “the way of the righteous” is a tremendous encouragement to us. He knows our pathway! “Blessed,” God said if you belong to Him.

The wicked one has his sources from which he feeds and then acts, but there is no value for eternity. Instead, if we belong to the righteous, having been justified by faith and absolved from guilt, we should live and walk righteously before God. We find this so beautifully in the letter to the Romans, which speaks at great length about our justification by faith (Rom. 1–8). Then you read about the problem of Israel, the ancient people of God (Rom. 9–11). The last five chapters (Rom. 12–16) deal with how someone who is justified, a true believer, can live and walk righteously in this world. The Lord knows the way of the righteous!

When we think of the Lord Jesus as the tree planted by the rivers of water, giving its fruit in its season, we see things in their perfection. God the Father testified of Him, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:17). He is the perfect Righteous One, and whatever He does prospers!

May the Lord be gracious to us, so we will take sides with Him and those He has made righteous. We have heavenly resources, which God has given us in His Word and by the Spirit. It is on the Spirit that we depend in order to walk and bear fruit to the glory of God and His name. This is what the Lord expects to find in us.

There we shall drink the stream Of endless bliss above: There we shall know, without a cloud, His full unbounded love.

By Hugo Bouter (adapted)