The Ungodly Are Not So...Psalm 1 and 2 pt 2

The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.(Psalm 1:4-6)

Psalm One is a wisdom psalm. The Spirit shows us by contrast the difference between the truly happy man, and his antithesis, the ungodly. In the sparest of language, two ways of life are shown side by side, the essence of the truly happy and of the miserable.

The ungodly are not all like the ‘blessed man’. They do hearken to the counsel of the ungodly. The ever shifting wisdom in the words of pundits, ‘experts’, psychologists, scientists, philosophers old and new, educators, politicians, opinion shapers, are given all authority by the ungodly.

But to the ungodly, the Bible is an outdated book, not relevant in the light of modern “insights into human nature”. After all the Prophets and Apostles of the Bible were narrow-minded, anti homosexual, anti psychological, Patriarchal figures who saw things in black and white! They didn’t have the modern insights of fields like sociology, psychology, and related fields.

The Biblical authors leave no room for tolerance of other people’s “faith traditions”. Nor did they have the benefit of the insights into human nature as discovered by godless atheists such as Freud, Maslow and Fromm.

But it is demonstrably proven fact that the godless are not happy, they are utterly miserable. How could the promoters of our modern “break throughs” such as feminism, identity politics, abortion on demand, no fault divorce, and homosexual marriage be other than miserable? As God says in Proverbs 8, “…All they that hate me love death!”.

The metaphor for the ungodly, is chaff. What a contrast to a rooted , healthy, fruitful tree! The ungodly are like the chaff, that is the empty , useless husk of a wheat grain.

Rejecting the very concept of absolute Truth, they have no roots (fixed principles). The ungodly are constantly arranged and re-arranged by the wind ( the spirit of the age, the shifting opinions of man), like a pile of chaff on a windy threshing floor.

What can you do with the chaff? It is inedible, you can’t make furniture out of it, it is an empty shell, stripped of its value. This is the state of those who reject a right relationship with the God who made them. They still bear the image of God, but they are hollowed out. Chaff is either blown away in the wind, or in the end, it is burnt.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

One of the things which contributes to the misery of the ungodly is that for the most part, all they see and live for is this temporal life. True happiness in large part depends on belief in a final judgment, and an afterlife.

To the sinner, the idea that death is the end of consciousness, is a mixed comfort, and a wishful thinking. Any reduction of responsibility, diminishes our humanity. Accountability to God infuses human life with significance, for all decisions are of eternal import. Animals will not give account for their actions, we do.

The righteous know this, and facing it, they “agree with their adversary quickly” while on the way to court, ( God’s judgment), pleading guilty. Through the gospel, they settle out of court, accepting the gift of God’s justifying salvation.

Preparation for final judgment allows the righteous to joyfully endure the inevitable trials and pains of this present life. When this life is seen as only a preparation for the life to come, trials and tribulations can be seen as temporary , and even useful experiences.

But when this life is seen as all there is, any suffering, trials and tribulations are made to seem unbearable interruptions to the already limited enjoyment of this temporal life.

What does he mean that “the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment”? The knowledge that men and women are responsible beings and not animals, accountable to an infinite ,personal and Holy God, is inexpressibly comforting to the godly man, and equally horrifying to the godless.

The wicked cannot stand with confidence and impudence, in the light of the coming judgment, they aren’t ready! They don’t want to believe it, they seek to deny it, ‘whistling past the graveyard’.

The godless have no place in the congregation of the righteous, they don’t ‘feel right’ there, because they feel judged , but that is because God is there. “I won’t set foot in a church, too many hypocrites there!”, bellows many an unbeliever, to which I usually reply, “There is always room for one more, come on in!”.

The Lord knows the way of the righteous…That is, the holy God regards the way, he takes a special interest in, he makes even “all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are the called according to His purpose!”(Romans 8:28)

But the way of the ungodly shall perish…The ungodly would not give credence to God’s word, he took no delight in it, he would rather honor and give much weight to the opinions of the experts, fallible man! The sinner would listen to any one but God.

Having built his life on mere chaff, and yet making sure he took his stand with the rebels against God, in the end the scornful is seated, almost completely paralyzed in cynicism and sin.He can hardly move now, believing almost nothing.

But at least he did it all his way! But we are to know, in closing, that the way of the ungodly will perish, it will be forgotten, cut off, eternally ruined, and separated from all that makes life worth living.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe on Him, would not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Interestingly, when I read “shall not stand in the judgement”, I interpreted it to mean they would not be there, “at” the judgement. But on further study it implies they shall not be able to stand “during” the judgement.

And John 3:16 is fitting. They shall not enjoy eternal life, for they will perish. Weeds thrown into the furnace to be burned up. Gone for all eternity.

Very fitting and thoughtful review of basic, unassailable counsel given by this psalm, especially to young men and women finding their way, learning how to walk in the world but not of the world.

Thank you for writing down your meditations and observations, PB!

“I won’t set foot in a church, too many hypocrites there!”, bellows many an unbeliever, to which I usually reply, “There is always room for one more, come on in!”.

That "unbeliever" has much better eyesight than the wise within. Why hang out with the openly ungodly, especially when they are so quick to decide his character, even before he is in the door.

"Everybody falls short", but that doesn't mean everybody is content to make light of their failings. Explains why the sinners will be sitting with Abraham, Moses and all the rest of the patriarchs and prophets, and the righteous thrust out.

The Messiah himself could be sitting in the next pew, but who would recognize him. After all, he would surely be just another hypocrite. Well, after the church social he could always head over to the local lumber yard. He might need assistance in choosing materials for a building project. He'd get all the help he needed from the hardworking employee on the Sunday shift. You know how many of them are. They'll work on Sundays and holidays so the others can go to church, be with their families..

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