BIG IDEA:
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS WORTH IT – BOTH NOW AND FOREVER!
(THE STRENGTH OF CHARACTER AND BLESSINGS OF THE RIGHTEOUS
VS. THE LACK OF CHARACTER AND JUDGMENTS OF THE UNGODLY)
INTRODUCTION:
Poem by Robert Frost –
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both….
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Not that we desire to travel both roads … but the choice of which path has far-reaching consequences.
I. THE RIGHTEOUS
A. Strength of Character
1. Careful avoidance of the influence of sinners (:1) – Note the progression:
“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. Total absorption in the Word of God (:2)
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.”
B. Blessings
Overall: “Blessed” (:1)
1. Stability and Strength — “like a tree firmly planted by streams of water”
you need a constant supply of the water of the Word of God;
cf. Christmas tree: after stop watering it, it dries up quickly
2. Fruitfulness – “Which yields its fruit in its season”
takes time and patience; a tree does not yield fruit immediately
a. Fruit that is distinctive to the tree
b. Fruit that appears after patient, long-term growth
3. Endurance – “And its leaf does not wither”
Overall: “And in whatever he does, he prospers”
Allows believers to be the ultimate risk-takers, within the framework of the will of God
II. THE UNGODLY — the exact opposite – “The wicked are not so”
A. Lack of Character
1. Immersed in sin
2. Absorbed in the world
B. Judgments
1. Instability / no strength – “they are like chaff which the wind drives away”
cf. the husk of a peanut beneath the outer shell
2. no fruit — just frustration
3. no endurance
III. CONCLUSION — FINAL DESTINY (:6)
“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.”