Lesson Plan: A Wisdom Psalm

2001-04-23

Passage

Psalm 1 (a wisdom psalm)

Lesson Aim

The student will be able to identify the need to be emancipated from world affairs and make necessary changes in life in order to have an uninhibited walk with God and to respond better to His calling. The question to the student: “what makes us different from everybody else?”

Introduction

In post-modern America, it is easy to get lost in the sins of worldliness, even in the church. Take for example, the book The Coming Revolution in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan. His mission is to get sponsors for Asian native missionaries to reach the lost in Asia. In this book he talks how when he came to America from India for the first time, he walks around in amazement in seeing the affluence of American society. He says in his observations:

Religion, I discovered, is a multi-billion dollar business in the United States. Entering churches, I was astonished at the carpeting, furnishings, air conditioning, and ornamentation. Many churches have gymnasiums and fellowships that cater to a busy schedule of activities having little or nothing to do with Christ. The orchestras, choirs, “special” music--and sometimes even the preaching--seemed to me more like entertainment than worship.

Many North American Christians live isolated from reality--not only from the needs of the poor overseas, but even the poor in their own cities. Amidst all the affluence live millions of terribly poor people left behind as Christians have moved into the suburbs. I found that believers are ready to get involved in almost any activity which looks spiritual but allows them to escape their responsibility to the Gospel (page 39).

If this is the case, how does the Christian differ from the average American?

Study, Part 1

What are the traits of and qualifications to be this first type of “blessed” man?

  1. In stating the obvious, blessed. Such a man will have internal peace (not freedom from trials) that comes from knowing God. We know God from what His word says about Him.
  2. Does not partake in the lifestyle of unrighteousness.
  3. Does not have contact with people in this world. Of course, we would need to go into further examination because as Christians we need to be in touch with the unsaved. The most important part of this point is that intimate fellowship with unbelievers could be very dangerous. The walking, standing, and then sitting shows the progressive involvement and chokehold sin can have on us as we continue in ungodliness. Many of us can definitely relate to this. If someone would bring this up, the question would need to be counter-asked: “are we to be set apart completely away from the ungodly (i.e. unbelievers) at all times?”
  4. Meditates in God’s Word (the Law). This is not a question of pondering legalistic righteousness. This is pondering what God’s righteousness means so that it permeates our entire thoughts. If godliness is on our minds, then the ways of the wicked as we once were are not on our minds (cf. Philippians 4:8). Of course, if we are to meditate on it, we need to know it and study it. This kind of devotion is what it means to have delight in the law of the Lord. Knowing the Law shows us God’s righteous character and our unrighteousness, remembering our need to know Jesus.
  5. Like a well-watered tree that produces fruit. This question, if not brought up by the class, should be asked by the teacher: What does this simile mean? Of course in various New Testament passages it means good works as an expression of faith. The main point is that such people offer true worship to God, and realize they are a part of God’s plan. This plan is bigger than just themselves, which is very different from the wicked. The wicked’s agenda in living life is to be self-centered, anything but focusing on the ways of God which are exegeted in God’s law. This will come up later. Here, blessing follows when knowing and walking with God.
  6. These people are a well-watered tree that does not perish. This means that they do not possess the ephemeral quality that all physical life faces: death.
  7. Always prospers. As will be seen in the New Testament correlation, such people by the world’s standards are not necessarily the rich, nor are their lives without the pain that comes by living in a fallen world, but their prosperity is in their works as true worship (see answer 4) that comes from the heart (see answer 3). This is, logically, dependent on the duration of the time they meditate on God’s word and remain separated from the world’s way.
  8. The Lord ‘knows’ the righteous. If the observation is left at this, the question needs to be brought up, “does not God know everything?” This is in regard to intimate fellowship with God, that godly people allow themselves to be known by God, and recognize their inability to please Him without the once-for-all blood atonement of Jesus, whether it is from the Old Covenant looking forward to the New, or today knowing exactly what Jesus has done for us. The use of antithetical parallelism in Psalm 1:6 gives us insight on the depth of this; if the wicked shall perish, we can see that being known by the Lord means His protection and focus is on us, ultimately meaning salvation (see a short discussion of yada below, and its usages).

New Testament Correlation

Read Matthew 5:3-12, keeping in mind the Psalm just read.

  1. What does Jesus say about those who are “blessed”? Simply taking it from the text: Poor in spirit, mourning, meek, they hunger for righteousness, merciful, peacemakers, and persecuted for righteousness’ sake. This describes the current state of the “blessed” in the world. They are broken by sin, but look forward to complete reconciliation and glorification when they enter the kingdom of heaven. The fulfillment of their reward is stated after each trait they possess, which is to come, that they may possess the kingdom of heaven, will be comforted regarding their sin and obtain mercy. God will keep these promises to whom He ‘knows’.
  2. What is the relationship between the “blessed” and everybody else, according to the passage? The answer is simply, that the world hates them and persecutes them. Going back to the first point above, referring to Psalm 1:1... in order for the believer to have intimate fellowship with an unbeliever and walk in their ways, the believer would have to compromise their relationship with God. The question is inevitably coming and needs to be addressed: what makes the believer different from everybody else?

Study, Part 2

Who are the ungodly, what makes them ungodly, and what happens to them?

  1. Like chaff in the wind. Transient, in time will vanish completely without a trace.
  2. Will not stand in judgment. God will eventually draw the line of how much evil they will do; they will not be declared righteous. Not in the congregation of the righteous. They have no part in the inheritance with the righteous, and will one day not be seen among them at all.
  3. They will perish. Unlike the leaves that will not wither, these will see their end. They do not focus on God’s eternal plan, but will focus on the ‘here and now’ desires of the flesh, which inevitably will lead to the focus of the New Testament correlation section. In Psalm 1:6 (as seen above), by seeing the use of the parallelism, they are not known by God. The Hebrew word is yada, which is a very common word in the Hebrew bible. Often times, as in Genesis 4, we see that when Cain and Adam had relations with their wives to produce offspring, this same word yada was used. This is an intimate knowledge of which we are speaking, and we get the same sense here. God knows everything, but an intimate knowledge and fellowship He shares only with those who walk with Him.
  4. No regard for God’s Word. In the juxtaposition of our two cases at the beginning of the Psalm, one can see that the mind of the ungodly is not righteous thinking, but on themselves. This will be brought up in the previous point and also in the New Testament correlation.
  5. Is not like the well-watered, fruit producing tree. They do not have the mind to please God, so neither do their works please God.

New Testament Correlation

1 John 2:15-17. Read this passage, keeping in mind the Psalm just read. The answers in brief to these the class gives will be posted on the board under the listing for the Psalm, under the ungodly examination.

  1. What kinds of things does the world focus on, and what does John say about the ungodly? They focus on their physical needs and desires. The lust of the flesh is just the simple desires built into the sinful man since the Fall. The lust of the eyes is dangerous because people are attracted to things because of physical beauty, but are also nothing but evanescent. The pride of life sums it up: people are focused on themselves and serving themselves. They are also exalting themselves. This world and its way are passing away, but the mind that focuses on the will of God abides forever. Those that love the world do not have God’s love in them.
  2. What is the relationship between the world and those who submit to the will of God? They are simply separated. The world will disappear, and the righteous, bought by the blood of Jesus, will abide forever.

Summary

Does this age-old situation of the godly and the ungodly exist today?

  1. Consider the comparison above. The question to transfer from the Biblical world to the modern world would be: Is it important for modern Christians to remain out of the affairs of the world? Possible answers could include that it is important not only for our own spiritual well being, but also for the sake of being a good witness to the Lord Jesus. There should be noticeable differences in us that make us set apart from the general flow of the world.
  2. What are some characteristics of the world today that are especially detrimental to God’s people? Too much stress on one’s career; watching excessive television, especially without a critical eye; monetary greed, to name a few. Of course there are things that are more extreme than these as well. Post-modern America has a lot of traps that could make a compassionate Christian into an indifferent, impatient person like many people in the world are.

Application

What possible things in your life may detract from your walk with God? Write down some basics to help you remember. During the course of the week, pray for your own situation. “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).