4/08/07

The Essence of Christ in the Psalms: His Abiding Presence

Psalm 1:1-6

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scoffers; [2] But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  [3] He shall be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.  [4] The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. [5] Therefore the ungodly will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  [6] For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

There is much to do in this Psalm about the contrast between the godly man and the ungodly man; about the fruit of righteousness and unrighteousness.  Psalms 1 is in a way a formula of life, both now and everlasting.  It is also a picture of what makes a person truly happy.  However, I believe that it reveals much about the work and person of Jesus Christ, Himself.

There are three blessings that come to the truly happy person: fullness of life, prosperity, and everlasting life.  These blessings are outside the scope of a person who has not been declared or made righteous. Reference

The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.  Deut. 32:4

Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you. Deut. 9:4

There is none righteous, not even one. Romans 3:10

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

The fact I that unless there is a work of the Spirit of the Living Christ in us, we are as ungodly as all the rest.  So what is it that which makes the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous?  It is the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit. 

All of our choices are affected by His indwelling.  What is the difference in the one who walks in the counsel of the unglodly and one who “does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly?”  It is the work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is working a “delight in the law of the Lord.”  The Hebrew word for “delight” is chepets.  It means to take pleasure in, to hold precious, that which is desirable.  So, we who have been made righteous by the redemptive work of Christ, should find pleasure and desire or delight in His law.  The phrase “His law” in the OT times could have related to the Torah, the Ten Commandments, or that which was spoken by God through a prophet. 

Where, literally, does that desire come from?  It comes from the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit drives my desires for the things of God.  It is not something that comes naturally to us.  Even as the “redeemed ones”, we still have the propensity to rule our own kingdoms.  Why don’t we always do that?  We don’t because we are not yet perfect, but God is at work in us.  He is changing us, conforming us, crafting us to be like Christ.  One of the “delights” being changed is our ruling ourselves.

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 9:23

and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 2 Cor. 5:15

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5b

The Indwelt Presence of the Spirit of Christ is an active force.  It is the active presence of Christ that enables and causes us to delight in Him.  There is a subsequent process that is working as a result of the “delight.”  The more one delights in Him, the more he grows into the likeness of the object of his delight.  The One who produces the delight in our hearts for His glory, is the Same One who is produceing growth.  Here we find the likeness to the “tree firmly planted by rivers of water.”  The person who delights in the Lord is like a tree.  Not just any tree, but a fruitful tree.  One whose life flows from the depth of its roots toward the water that gives life.  It is a fruitful life.  It is a prosperous life.  The word for “prosperous” in the Hebrew is “tsaleach”.  It can mean to be successful, to increase, to thrive, to advance, to be useful or to be victorious.  The intent of the word is far more general than to imply financial prosperity.  In Genesis 39:2-3, we find two words with the same Hebrew root:  “And the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. [3] Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.”

John 15 is the NT understanding of this OT truth.  It is in Christ that we find the delight of life that produces fruit and brings a life of prosperity.  Jesus said, [1] "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. [4] Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. [5] "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:1 4-5

We must remember that whatever comes from our lives as believers is only accomplished by the redemptive work of Christ and the indwelling of His Spirit.  The fruitfulness of Christ is more an indwelling work than an external work.  For years, I was led to believe that the “fruit” spoken of here was the number of people that I lead to Christ.  Yes, we are called to be witnesses.  But, the “harvesting” work is that of the Holy Spirit.  He and He alone has the ability to bring a heart to a place of faith and repentance.  I have known people who were so motivated to see people come to Christ through their witness.  Yet, there seemed to be a loss of real love for those people.  They were focusing in on the “fruit marks on their evangelistic pistols” so much that they lost sight of compassion, understanding, sincerity and even loving concern. 

Christ is revealed as the “Active Presence” in producing the delight and the growth.  I see one more way that His Active Presence is shown in Psalm 1.  It is revealed in Eternity.  “He knows the way of the righteous.”  That means that He is aware of who they are and where they are going.  If He is active in their delight, and growth, He is active in insuring that they will spend Eternity with Him.  They will stand in His assembly. 

Jesus gave this wonderful promise to those who submit to His Lordship and delight in His presence. 

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. [2] In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3

Where do you want the desires of your heart come from?  Desires come from that which rules your heart. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.  It is Jesus’ desire that we experience the fullness and richness of life, but not at the expense of His glory.  That is why we find in Psalm 37 these words:

[4] Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. [5] Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. [6] And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday.

We find two of our key ideas from Psalm 1: delight and desires.  The word says that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, the desires of our heart will come from Him.  It does not mean that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us what we want.  That is a contradiction: the battle between His wants and our wants.  What are the desires of my heart when Christ is ruling?  They will be the desires that He chooses for me.  For Him to rule me and then for my heart to reveal a self-centeredness of what I want is contradictory.  Notice verse 5.  It says when we commit our way to the Lord, He will accomplish it…He produces the fruit He wants.  Verse 6, then says, that it will be His righteousness that He will work out…see, that is His desire for us, and as He rules us, that becomes our desire also.  Then look at the judgment…it is like the noonday.  Look at these verses and tell me that you don’t see one of those huge trees of Psalm 1 being God’s desire for you and me.