The 6th Sunday after Trinity

SERMON - Profiles in Righteousness!

INI

Text: 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. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

In Christ Jesus, through whom we are righteous, dear fellow redeemed:

The earliest President of whom I remember being aware was John F. Kennedy. I was five years old when he was elected in 1960. I still remember the day when the Principal of Sleepy Eye Elementary School entered my third grade classroom to announce that President Kennedy had been shot and seriously wounded by an assassin’s bullet while visiting the city of Dallas. I still remember watching the funeral procession proceeding through Washington D.C. en route to Arlington National Cemetery—a horse-draw caisson bearing President Kennedy’s body. Later on in Grade School I remember reading President Kennedy’s book entitled Profiles in Courage. It was a book about history, and I liked history. The book’s Preface provided a definition of political courage—the willingness to put the best interests of your country above those of yourself, even if it cost you dearly. What followed was then a series of biographies of famous American leaders, who indeed sacrificed their personal interests to do what they believed was vital for their country. My favorite chapter was the one about Daniel Webster, who sacrificed his ambition to become President in order to preserve the Union during the years leading up to the Civil War. After reading that book I was absolutely convinced that as a society we needed more such courage and I, for one, was determined to be more courageous!

Psalm 1 which in many ways is a Preface for the Book of Psalms. In it the psalmist provides a definition of righteousness. Righteousness, as courage, is a virtue our society sorely needs, but unfortunately all too often lacks. Today instead of talking about profiles in courage, let us consider PROFILES IN RIGHTEOUSNESS! We will find that righteous men and women are, first of all, planted by the Father; secondly, they are watered by the Son; and, thirdly, they are fruitful through the Spirit!

I.

Yes, righteous men and women are planted by the Father! “Blessed is the man,” the psalmist begins. In the original Hebrew this is a statement of the superlative: “The man is most blessed who…!” Who does what? The psalmist begins with the negative: “Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” Man is a fallen creature—by nature sinful and prone to evil, but evil is multiplied when sinners are influenced negatively by other sinners. That is why the apostle Paul warns us believers: “Do not be deceived. ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’” (1 Corinthians 15:33) But, notice the progression of thought presented by the psalmist. Many times people at first just flirt with evil—they are simply walking by, but then their involvement increases as they stand and listen, resulting ultimately in total immersion in evil as they sit and plot with other sinners. The man is most blessed who does not do that, but who rather finds that “his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” The key to righteousness is found in God’s Word. If you are both to possess righteousness and practice righteousness, you must be in the Word!

For you see, it is through the Word that God the Father plants faith in our hearts! “He shall be like a tree planted,” the psalmist exclaims! It is by the power of God that each and every one of us is alive today. It is by the wisdom of God that we are functioning human beings, unique in so many respects and capable of accomplishing so many different things. But the Scriptures are so very clear—we are spiritually dead until God makes us alive through His Word. It is God who plants the seeds of faith, which ultimately grow and produce trees of righteousness, men and women who believe God’s truths, entrust themselves to God’s grace, and then commit themselves to obeying God’s will.

Such individuals, we often say, are grounded in their faith. They possess deep roots and are able to withstand the severe challenges of this life. Consider Abraham or Joseph or David or Esther—all of whom faced and overcame great forces of evil. They were able to do so, because of faith which accounted them righteous before God and rooted in His unchanging truth! “The ungodly,” the psalmist says, “are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.” Think of the chaff that shoots out of the back of a combine as it harvests wheat or soybeans—small bits of stem and husks that simply blow in the wind and are lost forever! What happened to the Pharaoh of the Exodus? What happened to the giant Goliath? What happened to Judas, who betrayed our Lord? They were not rooted in the Word. They had no faith, and were ultimately and eternally lost! PROFILES IN RIGHTEOUSNESS! Righteous men and women are planted by the Father!

II.

They are also watered by the Son! The psalmist says: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” Jesus once told the woman at Jacob’s well: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). He later cried out to the crowds in Jerusalem: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).

All plants need water. It was reported this last week, that while crops in our area are doing well at this point, we need approximately one inch of water each week throughout the remainder of the summer if those crops are to flourish. If you go out to central South Dakota, where Sara and I were first privileged to serve—an area where water is precious—you will notice that the only trees are those located down by the rivers. There the roots of those trees go deep and find the water necessary to sustain their lives.

Even so we believers—righteous men and women—need the water of Jesus’ Word. We need it regularly and in large doses! That is why the psalmist again said that the man was most blessed who took great delight in God’s Word and meditated upon it by day and night. Consider Daniel, who spent his entire adult life separated from his family and in service to foreign kings. We are told that as an aged man, as he studied the prophecies of Jeremiah, he discovered God’s promise to restore His people to the Promised Land after seventy years of captivity. Through that study Daniel, who would never personally return to Palestine, was encouraged in his faith and able to encourage others as well. Consider Mary, whose Song of Praise—the Magnificat—demonstrates a thorough knowledge of Old Testament Scripture. It was her constant contact with the Word of God, which enabled her to fulfill her calling as the mother of our Lord. Consider the apostle John, who as an old man wrote his Gospel, his Epistles, and received the Revelation. He informs us of the purpose of those writings and indeed all of the writings of the Bible: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

My dear friends, I hope that you would see yourself as a PROFILE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS—someone who is watered by the Son on a regular basis and so vibrant in your faith, your hope, and your love!

III.

Yes, I hope that you will find yourselves also to be fruitful through the Spirit! The Psalmist writes: “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.” It is the Spirit’s work to sanctify us—to cause us to be holy and bring forth fruits of faith to the glory and honor of God and to the blessing of all those around us.

A tomato plant that does not produce tomatoes is hardly worthy of the name. It is not producing what it was created to produce and ultimately will be disposed of. Even so the righteous man or woman is to produce fruit. The apostle Paul wrote: “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). God planted us and Jesus waters us with a purpose—so that the Spirit of God can work in us and through us to accomplish all that God has planned for us and those around us whose lives are touched by our own.

My dear friends, we have not been placed here in this world—planted here in Mankato—simply to satisfy ourselves and fulfill our own wants or needs. We are here to glorify our God through our words and deeds. We are here to be effectively His mouth and His hands to bring blessing to others. Think of Ruth, who gave up her life in Moab to assist her mother-in-law Naomi. Think of the time and the toil of gleaning, which put food on the table, and which ultimately led to great blessing for Ruth herself as she became attached to Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer. Think of Dorcas, that little known saint mentioned in Acts 9. She was a believer living in the seaport town of Joppa. She spent her time making clothing for the poor of that city. When she died the people mourned and testified to the apostle Peter of all of her good works. Peter was led by the power of God to restore her to life.

“The ungodly,” the psalmist says on the other hand, “shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” The unbeliever will not be able to stand before Jesus on Judgment Day. He or she will stand condemned by their own lack of faith-generated good works. They will not find themselves among the righteous blessed to hear Jesus welcome them into heaven. My dear friends—are you a Ruth or a Dorcas giving of yourself to help others? Do others recognize in you one in whom the Spirit is active? I hope and pray that it is indeed the case!

The church of God—our Immanuel congregation needs men and women of righteousness! We need individuals with a faith planted by God, watered by the Lord Jesus, and whose lives are fruitful through the Spirit, for then God’s name will be hallowed among us and His kingdom will indeed come to us! We could not be more blessed than that! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting
To God alone be the glory!