November 26
“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.
In the first three verses of Psalm 1, the psalmist wrote about the blessedness of the godly person. In the concluding three verses, he writes about the ungodly, and he says, “The ungodly are not so.” The ungodly person’s happiness and way of life is far different from that of the godly person. Likewise, where the ungodly will be in eternity is radically different than that of the godly.
The psalmist writes, “The ungodly . . . are like the chaff which the wind drives away.” The psalmist is speaking of the ancient threshing custom. The bundles of grain were thrown on the ground or the threshing floor. In the middle of the pile was a post, to which was fastened a long pole. At the end of the pole an ox was tied. As the ox kept walking in a circle, it trampled out the grain from the husks. Then, on a windy day, the thresher threw the straw and the chaff into the air with a fork. The strong wind blew the chaff and straw away, and the grain kernels fell back to the ground or floor. The ungodly are like the chaff, scattered by the wind, empty and useless.
“The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment.” The ungodly are the wicked unbelievers who will not be able to stand before God on Judgment Day, when Jesus comes to earth visibly again. The ungodly are sinners who have rejected the forgiveness of sins gained by Christ on Calvary’s cross. They are sinners who will not gather with the congregation of the righteous – that is, they will not be numbered with those on Jesus’ right hand who believed and trusted in Him as the Son of God and the Savior, whose holy, precious blood washed away their sins. The godly are the congregation of the righteous; they are declared righteous and forgiven by faith in Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
The psalmist continues with the words, “The Lord knows the way of the righteous.” We are reminded of the words of Jesus: “I am the Good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep . . . My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand,” John 10:14-15, 27-28.
The psalmist concludes with the words, “But the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The way of the ungodly leads to everlasting damnation, as the evangelist Mark writes at the close of his Gospel: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned,” Mark 16:16.
The believer in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior gives all credit to God for our salvation. The unbeliever insults God, and he will not escape God’s judgment!
“O Jesus, who my debt didst pay,
And for my sin wast smitten,
Within the Book of Life, oh, may,
My name be also written!
I will not doubt; I trust in Thee,
From Satan Thou hast made me free,
And from all condemnation.” Amen.