October 14, 2022 – Friday
Psalm 1:2-3 NIV
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Comment
Verses 1-3 did not tell us much about the wicked or sinners or scoffers other than we were to avoid following the advice of the wicked, nor walk in the same paths as sinners, and not to spend time in the company of scoffers. Then we found the blessed would find pleasure in obeying God’s commands. And finally, living such a life would make a person like a tree planted by streams of water.
But what of the wicked? The final three verses of this Psalm answers that question. The first thing we find out is that unlike the man who is blessed, the wicked are not planted by flowing streams. Instead, They are like chaff that the wind blows away. But what is chaff? It is the very light covering around the grain’s kernel and it has to be removed before the grain can be made into flour by a grinding process. You can literally toss grain into the air with the shell (chaff) and the wind will blow the chaff away leaving only the grain that is then made into flour. Tozer wrote one of the greatest gifts of the spirit is discernment as This gift will enable us to distinguish the chaff from the wheat, and to divide the manifestations of the flesh from the operations of the Spirit. Indeed, chaff is not only found around kernels of grain.
We learn still more about the wicked as well as sinners in verse five, Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. Looking first at Matthew 3:12, we get a real sense of what this is about, 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Next in Matthew 25:31-33, 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. The wicked and sinners (which includes the pretenders) are the goats. There will be no sinners in the congregation of the righteous as Jesus explains in Matthew 13:41-43, 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Well that also explains verse 6, 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. The wicked and the sinners who refuse to change their ways, their way then leads to destruction. Who are the righteous? Those who have repented (acknowledged their sinning ways and turned away from them), who have believed (that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and rose on the third day from the dead), and who call upon Jesus as their Lord and Master. This is the A, B, C of salvation which is given along with scripture by JD Farag at the link.
Bottom Line: Destruction, eternal damnation awaits the wicked and those who refuse to stop sinning and repent. Let others know about Jesus so they may escape such a fate.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, In this Psalm You have shared so much in these six short verses. Help us to take them to heart and put them into practice in our day to day lives. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek