Sunday, Spetember 14, 2025 PM

We'll be continuing in Psalm, Psalms 1, this evening, so if you want to turn there. We'll also be in Galatians some, so if you want to hold your place in Galatians, we'll be there as well. Let's start with a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this evening that you've given to us. We thank you for your Word, that you would even speak to us your creation, that you would give us insight into who you are, that you would give us revelation about yourself, that we might know you more.

We thank you that we are created in your image, and you show yourself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. We ask as we go through Psalm 1 that we would be drawn more and more to you, that we would seek to walk in your paths, that we would know you more and be conformed more into the image of your Son.

And we ask that your Spirit would change us, and we thank you for your work in our lives. It's in Jesus' name that we pray, Amen. All right, Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.

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. The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The Blessed Man and the Law of the Lord

We've gone through and talked about the blessed man and who he does not associate with. He walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

So what does the blessed man do? What is the blessed man like? In verse 2 we see, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. In the next Psalm, in Psalm 2, it opens up in this way.

We're told, the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bonds in pieces, and cast their cords from us.

What are these bonds? What are these cords being talked about? Law often equals oppression in the hearts and minds of many, particularly those who wish to be the lawmakers. It's oppressive to have someone telling you what to do, how to live.

So lawmakers see these as oppressions. We should be the ones making the laws. Laws for thee, but not for me. And yet, we see the blessed man delights in the law of the Lord. Not only does he acknowledge it, does he see it, he delights in it.

Why is he delighted by the law? Is the law in and of itself commendable? Should we delight in the law of the Lord? I'm sure many of you can think of laws from the Old Testament that might seem a little bit strange to us.

Some of them probably seem arbitrary. Why is that wrong? And if that was wrong then, is it wrong now? All of us bacon eaters, we like bacon. If it was wrong then, is it wrong now, these questions. Should we delight in the law of the Lord?

In short, yes we should, but why? We can see consequences of what happens when someone does not delight in the law of the Lord. Adam failed to delight in the law of the Lord, in the command of the Lord.

Delight is more than just an acknowledgement. It's more than a fearful avoidance of consequences or of breaking the law. Delight is happy, it's joyful. Adam did not delight in it and it brought a curse.

In Deuteronomy 4, I think we get some insight into the purpose of the law. Deuteronomy 4 verse 6. He's talking to the nation of Israel, the people of Israel. Therefore be careful to observe them, to observe the laws.

For this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all of these statutes. And say, these are the surrounding nations. The surrounding nations around Israel will say this because of the laws that they hear the Israelites have.

Surely this is a great nation. This great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us? For whatever reason, we may call upon Him.

And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? The nations surrounding Israel would see the laws that were given to them.

And it says that this was their wisdom and understanding. And they would say, what God they must have that has given them such laws. It's not the laws themselves, but rather the law of the Lord. It's not just laws in general, but these laws come from the Lord.

The blessed man delights in them because they are wisdom from God. He delights in them because of who they come from. He knows more about God because it is God who gave these laws. One might take this verse, so just verse 2.

And if you read it, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and his law he meditates day and night. So one might take that verse as many do, and in a heart of seeking to be obedient, commend that we keep or that we need to keep to the laws of the Old Testament.

After all, if they are wise and they are wisdom, we ought to pick them up and live by them. But in Galatians, Paul addresses this argument. So if you'll turn to Galatians. We've already seen that the law is wise, it's for wisdom and understanding, and that the people that see these laws are called to recognize the God that gave these laws.

But Paul gives a little bit of clarification in Galatians. So look at Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2. He says this, starting in verse 16. Knowing that a man is not justified. We define justified as being declared righteous.

This is what we use when we talk about salvation. Knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law.

For by works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. Three different times he says we are not justified by works of the law. In reading that, I think we get the idea that man is not justified by the law.

He's not declared righteous by works of the law. And then continue forward in his argument looking at chapter 3. He's trying to get the Galatians to go somewhere with him. Galatians chapter 3 verse 1.

O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? What does he mean not obey the truth? They're trying to take up the old covenant law and he charges them as being disobedient.

Because he said we're saved by faith in Christ, not by works of the law. So who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified.

And here's his question. This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law? So that's salvation. Were you saved? Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law?

The answer to that is no. They did not receive the spirit by the works of the law. They were not saved by works of the law. But he goes a step forward. He says, did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?

The answer is hearing of faith. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the law? So you're saved by the spirit. Are you now saying that you continue in sanctification by the law?

The answer to that is no. We are not being made perfect by our flesh, by the keeping of the law. That is not what makes us perfect. That is also by the spirit. So, if the blessed man delights in the law of the Lord, we must remember that while there is much to be gleaned from the Old Testament law, they are wisdom fashioned specifically for a people and for a time.

So we must be careful not to put ourselves into slavery while also searching for the principles and the wisdom that are there. There is wisdom there. There are principles there. For instance, this is from Leviticus and I'll read it to you.

You are to keep my statutes. You shall not crossbead two different kinds of livestock. You shall not sow your fields with two different kinds of seed. And you shall not wear clothing made of two different kinds of material.

And I would guess, myself included, I'm probably wearing two different kinds of material tonight. There are certain laws that we no longer keep in that sense. So, what would be inherently wrong about mixing the materials?

What would be inherently wrong about sowing two different kinds of seeds in a field? What is inherently wrong about eating bacon? It's because of the law giver that said, don't do it. Israel was to be holy, set apart, other than the nations around them.

That's what that's getting at. They were not to mix with the other nations. We learn from the Old Testament laws that holiness is of the utmost importance. God was willing and did curse Israel for their disobedience.

That's the first thing we learn. Holiness is of utmost importance. And then two, we are not able to keep the law. We can't keep the law. This is why we see God telling Peter, kill and eat. Call nothing unclean that I have called clean.

The substance and principle of holiness remains. We are called to be set apart. But the practice, the eating of bacon, the mixing of fabrics, that was the principle, the shadow that was set there for them to follow.

Continuing in Galatians 3, we can ask the question, then why did God give the law? If the blessed man delights in the law of God, and we're seeing some difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, then why did God give the law?

Galatians 3. Look at verse 16. Now to Abraham and to his seed were the promises made. He does not say, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to your seed, which is Christ Jesus. So when you hear the word seed, think Christ Jesus.

Look at verse 19. What purpose, then, does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come, to whom the promise was given. Question, has the seed come? Yes, Jesus Christ has come, and the promises were made to him.

Now, does this mean that we're to unhitch from the Old Testament, or that we have no delight in God's laws? No, that's not what we're saying. Matthew 5 .17, this is Jesus. Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them. Christ satisfies the law. He fulfills them in a satisfactory way. So, what is the application for us? If the blessed man delights in the law of God, we ought to meditate on the law day and night, but do so in the light of Christ, for the purpose of wisdom and understanding, for the purpose of knowing God, the one who gave those laws.

After all, who is the blessed man? Ultimately, who is this talking about? Is not Christ the ideal, the blessed man, who delighted in the law of the Lord? And so we meditate on it. We can delight in the law of God.

All of Scripture is breathed by God. It's profitable. We don't unhitch from it. It's still beneficial. It still bears wisdom. But there's a change, right? The seed has come, the one who fulfills the promises.

Christ, the Fulfillment of the Law

Lastly, there are some who would tell us that we have to keep the law in order to know what love is. They would say the law is given to us to teach us how to love. I would argue the New Testament would have us look to the fulfillment of the law, Jesus, in how to love.

You want to know how to love? Look to Jesus, look to Christ. So again, in Galatians, look at Galatians 5. Galatians 5, 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

And in the next chapter, Galatians 6, 2, it says this. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. The law of Christ. We bear each other's burdens. We love our neighbors as ourselves.

Romans 10, 4 says, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Those who believe on Christ, the law has ended for righteousness. Romans 13 goes into even more depth. Romans 13, 8 through 10.

Oh, no one, anything except to love one another. For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness.

You shall not covet. And if there is any other commandment, all are summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.

And so as we look at the blessed man who delights in the law of the Lord, it's for the end in order to love, in order to love his neighbors. The law was given so that they might know God more. We delight in the law because we delight in the lawgiver, the one who gives the law.

The laws came from him, but now we've been given more than just the law. John 3 .16, for God so loved, which we've defined love as fulfillment of the law, for God so loved the world that he gave his son.

Now that we have the son, we look to him. If you want to know how to fulfill the law, if you want to know how to love, which is the fulfillment of the law, look to Christ. And that's how we fulfill the law.

And so we meditate on the law day and night. Old Testament, New Testament. We know God more through his word. Christ is there in the Old Testament. There's much to be gleaned from his commandments that he gave to the nation of Israel.

There was much wisdom in what he was telling them to do in order that they might be set apart. And we're called to be set apart in just the same way. Those principles remain. And so in order to fulfill the law and be set apart, we love.

It says that they will know us by our love, one for another. We're to love our neighbor as ourself. We love one another. This is the fulfillment of the law, and this is how the world will know us. And so I'll end with that a little bit early, and then we'll continue next time we meet.

I think this Wednesday, someone else will be teaching because we'll have practice for music night, and then Sunday is music night, and then we'll pick back up in Psalm 1. So if you'd join me in praying.

God, we thank you for the person of Jesus Christ, who is the very embodiment, the image of you. We thank you that he bore the curse and that we can walk in your way. We thank you that he has become a covenant for us, and we see that there was no way that we could have kept covenant on our own.

You became the covenant. You kept the covenant. And in your love, you sent your son that he would die for us and raise from the dead. While we were sinners, you first loved us. So may we love you in return and love each other.

Help us to love our neighbors. Help us to love those around us. Give us practical ways of doing so, delighting in your word and what you've said, that we may draw closer to you because of the wisdom that you give.

And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures.