Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

God has already provided healing for us in the Atonement of Christ, so now it is not a matter of trying to get God to heal us, but of learning how to RECEIVE our HEALING. We need to RECEIVE our HEALING by FAITH in the Word of God. Mark 11:24: “Whatsoever THINGS you desire (such as HEALING), when you pray, BELIEVE that (1) you RECEIVE them (your HEALING), and (2) you will HAVE them (in manifestation).” In order to have the confidence to believe we receive our healing from God when we pray, we need to embrace some BELIEFS about HEALING from the Word of God. There are 4 key STEPS we need to take in order to get into position, so that we can believe that we receive our healing when we pray. These 4 STEPS are 4 BELIEFS from the Word of God that we need to embrace. *STEP 1: We first need to know that it is God's WILL to HEAL us, otherwise it is impossible for us to believe we receive our healing when we pray (Mark 11:24). The Bible reveals it is God’s WILL to HEAL us. Healing was purchased for us by the great sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. *STEP 2: We must BELIEVE that God is a rich and liberal Giver of Healing. He gives us healing when we pray. He is the God of the immediate response. We must BELIEVE that He is our HEALER today: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, TODAY and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He WANTS to HEAL us now. LOOK to the LORD for your HEALING, rather than being preoccupied with the problem. If we are overly preoccupied with the problem, we will fail to receive the solution (healing). Hebrews 11:6: “Without FAITH it is impossible to please Him, for he who COMES to God MUST BELIEVE that (1) HE IS (our Healer), and that (2) He is a REWARDER (a generous giver of healing) of those who diligently SEEK Him (in prayer).” These 2 BELIEFS are the first 2 STEPS of FAITH. *STEP 3: God gives us HEALING POWER when we pray and ask Him to heal us, which then works mightily in us to drive out all sickness and to restore our health. *STEP 4: God ordained the Method of the Laying on of Hands to impart Healing Power. Romans 10:10: “(1) With the HEART one BELIEVES unto righteousness (right standing in the promise), and with the MOUTH, CONFESSION is made unto SALVATION (the manifestation of the promise).” So believe you receive your healing and keep SPEAKING God's WORD: “By His STRIPES I am HEALED. Jesus Himself BORE my SICKNESSES and CARRIED away my PAINS” (Isaiah 53:4-5, literal translation, Matthew 8:17, 1Peter 2:24). Hilary completes her study by a look at the healing of Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46--52).

Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One (v2) for 3 offices: Prophet, Priest & King, to preach, pray & reign (in Christ, we share all 3 anointings). (1) First, He was anointed a PROPHET (to declare God's Word to men) at His Baptism, authorised by the Father speaking from Heaven (Matt 3:17). Then (2) His initial ministry of HIGH PRIEST, to offer Himself as a Sacrifice on the Cross, endorsed by Father from Heaven (John 12:27-33), followed by His appointment & anointing as our everlasting High Priest in the order of Melchizedek at God's right hand (Ps 110:1,4). Also (3) His Ascension was His coronation, enthronement and anointing as KING of kings, over the earth (Ps 110:1), endorsed by Father from Heaven at the Transfiguration, a prophetic preview of His Kingdom (Matt 17:5), which He'll establish at His 2nd Coming. Psalms 2 & 110 are twins, fitting together, revealing His Ascension (2:6, 110:1) and the continuation of His anointed ministry on earth thru the Church (in Christ). Ps 110:2 says He will extend the rod of His power (His authority & power) from Heaven, ruling in the midst of His enemies on earth. v3 says He'll do this thru His people on earth, an army of priests, who've received a new birth and present themselves to Him as free-will offerings to do His will (as the dawn gives birth to the dew, so the Lord gives birth to this holy army). They are king-priests, the royal priesthood family, under the High Priest King Jesus. Thus Christ, the Head, shares His anointing with His body (Ps 133:2). This confirms the Anointed One in Psalm 2 includes those in Christ, and the Divine Decree made to Christ, raising Him from death and enthroning Him as God's Son, was also spoken into us (v6,7). Thus we're anointed by the Spirit to function as prophets, priests & kings. (1) Just as His 1st ministry was as a PROPHET to speak God's Word to men, so when He rose, He 1st gave us the Great Commission to preach the Gospel and make disciples (Mark 16:15, Matt 28:19-20). Thus He anointed us to prophesy (Acts 2:17) - speak His Word under the Spirit's inspiration. He gives us His Spirit to empower us to witness (Acts 1:8), for "the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy" (Rev 19:10). The Church's main mission is to preach the Gospel, thus Ps 2 closes with the anointed ones in Christ preaching to the kings, judges & peoples of earth (v10-12). Their Gospel Message starts: "Now therefore" (v10), pointing to His completed work - His life, death, resurrection, ascension and coronation as Lord & King over all (v6-7). Thus it begins with a proclamation of who He is and what He's accomplished, establishing He is God's appointed & anointed Saviour and Lord of all. On this basis, it then appeals to us, saying: "therefore serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little (in a moment). Blessed are all who put their trust (take refuge) in Him" (v8-10). Thus it calls men to urgently respond in faith and trust Christ for salvation, for the Son is angry at man's sin (rebellion) and His fiery anger could suddenly break out against him at any time (Heb 12:29) - He delays His judgment to give man a chance to repent. Only in the Son is safety from God's wrath. God has provided Him as our Refuge, so if we trust in Him, we come under His covering (Atonement), for He took our place & bore God's judgment on Himself. The trembling denotes our utter weakness & dependance on Him to save us, for we can't save ourselves by our own strength or stand before God in our own righteousness. But when we trust in Christ alone for our salvation, He saves us, so we end up rejoicing. Saving faith also includes submission to God's authority (fear) - repentance from our rebellion against God. Thus submission to God naturally results in serving the Lord. The Gospel calls us to "kiss the Son" (v12) - an invitation to respond to His message (offering us forgiveness, peace & intimacy with God) by drawing near by faith, and giving Him our homage, affection, love, heart & worship (1Ki 19:18, Hos 13:2, Luke 7:38-45). When we do this, He kisses us, imparting His Spirit & eternal life into us (John 20:22), and we enter into loving union with Him. The timing of this Proclamation is between His Ascension (v6) & the Day of His wrath (v12) - the Church Age. To accomplish our mission, He also (2) anoints us as His PRIESTS to pray & offer up sacrifices of praise, sharing in His ministry of intercession (2:8), praying for God's Spirit to work in the hearts of the lost, and for us to be filled with the Spirit to boldly share God's Word with them (Acts 4:29-31, v23-28). Also (3) He anoints us as His KINGS, to exercise authority in His Name (Mark 16:17), using His rod to break the enemies' power (2:9), especially over the lost. thus in Christ, we share in His 3-fold anointing as (1) PRIESTS to pray (v8), (2) KINGS to rule (v9), and PROPHETS to preach the Gospel (v10-12).

Christ declares the Decree of the Lord in Psalm 2:7, starting by confessing His IDENTITY - His SONSHIP, as the Firstborn from the dead. Then in v8, He continued to declare what God said to Him at His Resurrection-Ascension: "Ask of Me, and I will give You (1) the nations for Your inheritance, and (2) the ends of the earth for Your possession." The spiritual warfare between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness is over (1) the souls of men (the nations), and (2) the control of the earth itself. With His Blood, Jesus redeemed (purchased) both (1) the the souls of men, and (2) the earth (Revelation 5), which is why He alone has the right to open the Scroll with 7 seals (the Title Deed of the earth). Psalm 2:8 should be translated: "Ask of Me, and I will give You (1) the nations - Your inheritance, and (2) the ends of the earth - Your possession." Thus the nations are already Christ's inheritance and the earth is already His legal possession. But there is a difference between possessing something legally and experientially - for example God gave Israel the Promised Land legally through Abraham (Joshua 1:3), and then later experientially through Joshua (Joshua 1:2). So having just granted Him the inheritance that He had purchased with His Blood, and having ordained and anointed Christ as the great heavenly High Priest (Psalm 110:4), the Father told Him to ask of Him, and He would hand over to Him the souls that belong to Him (John 6:37). Since then Christ ever lives to make intercession for us at God's right-hand (Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34), releasing the Holy Spirit to convict us, regenerate, save and sanctify us to Himself - we are His inheritance (Ephesians 1:18). If we are saved, it is only because Christ prayed for us, and asked the Father to give us to Him. In Christ, we are also anointed to be royal priests in the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:3-4, Revelation 1:6, 5:10, 1Peter 2:9), and so we are to share in His ministry of intercession by the power of the Spirit, especially in praying for the Holy Spirit to fill us and empower us to reach the lost, and for Him to soften their hearts and open their eyes, so they might receive Christ. In other words, v8 also applies to us - we are to ask God to save people by His Holy Spirit and cause them to grow spiritually, so that they become our inheritance (the fruit of our ministry). Christ must have taught the apostles this truth from Psalm 2 during the 40 days, because in Acts 4:23-31 we see them using Psalm 2 as the basis for their prayers to be filled with the Spirit to preach the Gospel, for the salvation of the lost, resulting in a harvest of souls (Acts 4:33, 5:12-16). In addition, the Father told Christ to ask Him to give Him actual possession of the earth. This is when He moves into action as the anointed King - he is worthy to be the Lion-King, because He was the sacrificial Lamb of God (Revelation 5). This will be start to be fulfilled in the Day of the Lord (Tribulation), when Christ no longer sits, but stands and starts to make His enemies His footstool, by moving in judgment (Psalm 110:1, Revelation 5:6). At the 2nd Coming, Christ will complete His judgments against His enemies, and take full possession of the earth and establish His Kingdom here, ruling the world with a rod of iron, in fulfilment of Psalm 2:9: "You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.” At the 2nd Coming, He will be manifested as God's ordained and anointed King of kings, ruling over His Kingdom with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15-16, 12:5), and in Christ we will also be anointed kings, who share in His rulership (Revelation 2:26-27). Thus v8-9 also applies to us, which means that in our present spiritual warfare, in fulfilling our mission on earth, we are to use His rod of iron (the Name of Jesus) to break the power of the enemy, when it comes against us, and in setting the captives free.

In Psalm 2:6, God declares the victory that He has won through Christ, by saying: “Yet I have set My King (Jesus Christ) on My holy Hill of Zion (in Heaven).” This was accomplished by God's Decree, by which He raised Christ from the dead and caused Him to ascend to God's right hand (Psalm 110:1). Next in Psalm 2:7, Christ, the King, starts to declare this Decree: “I will declare the Decree: The Lord has said to Me: ‘You are My Son. Today I have begotten You.'" Acts 13:33 quotes Psalm 2:7 and asserts that God spoke this to Jesus, when He "raised Him up" at His resurrection. Hebrews 1:3-7 quotes Psalm 2:7, linking it with His Ascension. This confirms the Resurrection and initial Ascension to Heaven must have been on the same day. Hebrews 5:5-6 quotes Psalm 2:7, along with Psalm 110:4, saying that this was when God glorified Jesus and anointed Him to become the everlasting High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.According to Psalm 110:1, this took place at the Ascension - His Coronation as King of kings (Melchizedek was both a King and a Priest). When Christ speaks of being begotten on the day of His resurrection, He is not talking about His eternal Sonship as God, but the total regeneration and glorification of His humanity at His resurrection. He is called "the Firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18), "the Firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29), and we are "the Church of the Firstborn" (Hebrews 12:23). He became a man to identify with us, so that we could be identified with Him. When we trust in Christ, we are put into Christ (He is the head and we are His body), and we share in His sonship and inheritance. Thus through our union with Christ, we also partake of the power released by this Divine Decree, which is how we were born again - God has "begotten us again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1Peter 1:3). Thus God has made us His sons through Christ's Resurrection, which is why the New Birth and indwelling Holy Spirit was not available before the New Covenant was established. So, when Psalm 2 describes the spiritual warfare, with God's enemies arrayed against the Lord and His Anointed (Christ), we are included in the Anointed One. Therefore, we are included in Psalm 2 and have a part to play in the spiritual warfare on earth, now that our Head, Jesus Christ, is seated in Heaven. Just as Jesus declared the Decree of the Lord concerning Himself, so we also must believe and confess God's Decree over us, saying: "I am born again, I am God's child, raised with Christ to new life and seated with Christ far above all principality and power. I am a new creation, more than a conqueror in Christ, the righteousness of God in Christ." In this way, we establish our new IDENTITY and POSITION in Christ, based on Psalm 2:6-7. We must be strong in who we are in Christ, if we are to fulfil God's will and play our part as God's representatives in the spiritual warfare, for satan's main attack is against our identity in Christ (Revelation 12:10-11).

Psalm 2:1-3 describes the present spiritual warfare with mankind in confusion and rebellion against the Lord and His Anointed (Christ). The Lord in Heaven laughs them to scorn (v4) and then speaks to them in His wrath (v5), declaring His answer to all their puny efforts to overthrow His authority: “Yet I have set My King (Jesus Christ) on My holy Hill of Zion” (v6). This was fulfilled by the Ascension of Christ to God's right hand (Psalm 110:1). Having completed His perfect life as a man, climaxed in His sacrificial death for us and His resurrection, Jesus ascended into Heaven. We discuss why Jesus had to initially ascend to Heaven on the morning of His resurrection (John 20:16-17), to (1) fulfil the feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10-11, 1Corinthians 15:20,23, Matthew 27:52-53), which is why Mary was not allowed to cling to Him (John 20:17), unlike in Matthew 28:9, Luke 24:39, John 20:27, (2) to present His Blood in the heavenly Holy of Holies (the throne room), to establish the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:12), (3) to receive all authority in Heaven and earth (Daniel 7:13-14, Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:19-22, Psalm 110:1, Philippians 2:8-10, Revelation 12:5), and (4) to receive the Holy Spirit on our behalf (Acts 2:32-33), enabling Him to impart the indwelling Holy Spirit to the disciples that same evening, causing them to be born again (John 20:22, Genesis 2:7). The Ascension of Christ, represents the completion of God's decisive move in the spiritual warfare. It means that God's Anointed One has been sent into the earth as a perfect Man and has accomplished His mission of purchasing our salvation and defeating all his enemies, and is now established in the highest place as Lord over all. By His completed work, He has already won the victory, and He did it for us. When we were put into Christ, we were raised with Him and made to sit with Him at God's right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power (Ephesians 2:4-6, 1:20-21).

Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm of importance, much quoted in the NT, a cosmic Drama describing the present spiritual warfare in the Church Age, especially as it comes to its climax. Along with Ps 1, it's part of the Entrance Hall into the Book of Psalms. Ps 1 reveals the contrast between the righteous & wicked on an individual level, Ps 2 reveals it on a global scale, showing the spiritual conflict between those in God's Kingdom and those in satan's kingdom. Thus they are foundational. In this video, we introduce Ps 2 and see how it fits with our times. It's a Psalm of David (Acts 4:25-26) pointing Messiah's victory & rule over the earth, fulfilling the Davidic Covenant (2Sam7, 1Chr 17). It's parallel to Ps 110, for both speak of Christ as having ascended, having accomplished the work of His 1st Coming & received all authority to rule earth, and both also look forward to His 2nd Coming, when He'll enforce His authority, judge His enemies and establish His Kingdom on earth. Thus they describe the present spiritual war on earth between His 2 Comings. They are prophetic of the spiritual war in the Church Age, with relevance to us, giving a theological perspective for interpreting world events. In Scene 1 the focus is on the unsaved masses of humanity living under darkness & deception, striving with God's Spirit, lovingly yearning for their souls. Speaking thru David, He asks from a heart of love: "Why do they restlessly war against each other, and imagine (meditate) a vain (worthless, empty) thing?” (v1). Why reject God who loves them so much? Why think they can save themselves without God? These souls are the battleground, over which both sides are fighting. In the end each must chose between God & satan. Scene 2 answers the question as we see the forces trying to control them - rebellious angelic & human rulers of earth: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His ANOINTED (Messiah-King)” (v2). This describes purposeful rebellion against God. This describes the battle-lines of the 2 opposing powers. On one side, the Lord & His Anointed One (Christ & all those in Christ), God's anointed weapon in this war (we are in Ps 2), and on the other side all those fighting for the enemy, both demonic & human. This war is over (1) the inheritance of precious souls, and (2) possession of the nations & their land (v1,8). The enemy's desire & message is revealed in v3. They want to throw off God’s laws & authority but can’t escape His rule & jurisdiction. In Scene 3, the focus moves up higher to God on His Throne and His Anointed One (2:4). What's His reaction to the enemy? He laughs at all their plots & striving. He's in Heaven, far above, seeing all. He has all authority, knows the final outcome and never worries. Heaven is always full of joy. As we live on the battleground, it's vital for us to keep this vision of God before us - that we are on the victory side and He will defeat all His enemies. We can laugh with God that the enemy is defeated and rejoice in His victory. The next step in this drama is that God gets serious. Righteous anger rises up in Him against His rebellious enemies (v5), and He announces He's already made His decisive move, guaranteeing His victory and the certainty of final judgment on His enemies: “Yet have I installed My King on my holy Hill of Zion” (v6) - fulfilled in His 1st Coming. God sent forth His anointed weapon, Jesus, who destroyed the power of the enemy in His life, death & resurrection. He rose victorious, ascended far above all powers and is seated at God's right hand, signifying His completed work (Ps 110:1). So, God's answer to satan is He has already set His King on His Throne in Heaven, in the holy Hill of Mt Zion. The battle is already won and satan defeated. Jesus paid the price to redeem every soul (His inheritance), and purchased the earth (His possession), so He now possess the earth's title-deed (Rev 5), and has the right to rule all nations. He is already God's appointed King, over both sinners & saints - ruling sinners by external power and His saints internally by His grace. At His 2nd Coming, He'll manifest His authority & victory, returning in power to take possession of all the earth and rule over all nations from His earthly throne of David on the holy hill of Zion. In our spiritual war, we must follow God's example in 2:6, and point to Christ's finished work, declaring He has accomplished our salvation, defeated all evil powers, and has risen victorious and ascended on High, far above all principalities, and is Lord over all. Thus we confess Jesus has defeated the evil one, and is enthroned on high, with all enemies underfoot, so now we also have the victory, for we're in Christ and have risen with Him and sit with Him far above (Eph 2:6), so now we operate from a position of victory (Rom 8:37). We're not trying to get the victory, for He is our victory, and we're enforcing His victory on the earth.

We can’t follow Jesus in our own strength. We must depend on His Spirit to live the life of a true disciple. The key to surrender is embracing the truth we are slaves ('doulos') of Christ, translated servant (Rom 1:1, Phil 1:1, Titus 1:1, Jas 1:1 2Pet 1:1, Jude 1:1, Rev 1:1). A slave is owned by his master, owning nothing himself, but a servant still owns himself and things. We are owned by Christ, purchased with His Blood (1Cor 7:22-23), so every blessing and gift we receive does not belong to us, but God. We thank God for His blessing (acknowledge Him as our Source) and trust Him for His continual supply (for He is faithful), and surrender (release control of) it back to Him as Owner, in worship. This qualifies us to receive and possess more blessing. We belong to God, so our whole life needs to be surrendered to Him. Then we can abide in Him and continually access His grace, as we cling to Him. When we embrace the fact we belong to Christ, surrendering to His Spirit is natural, but if we hold on to our own life (self-ownership), it’s hard to surrender, so we only do it when necessary. The degree we embrace His right of ownership is the degree we can submit to His leadership, which then determines the degree we can possess His blessing. Only when we embrace His ownership can we surrender our beings fully to Him, for Him to possess us, and only then can we fully possess Him and all He wants to give us. Embracing His ownership and surrendering to His control frees us from covetousness (trying to own, control and hold on to things), which disconnects us from grace, and disqualifies us from possessing His blessing. He made us in His image with capacity to receive and express power, wisdom, dominion and glory, so we desire them, but if we covet them, it blocks His power in us. Jesus said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself (self-ownership), and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save (hold onto) his life (soul) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (independent soul-life) for My sake will find (discover) it (real life)” (Matt 16:24-25). The key to a higher life in God is to accept we are His slaves, owned by Him. Then surrender is easier. Our ownership by God relates to the Holy Spirit and sanctification, for when we accept Christ and His Blood, we belong to God, and He puts His Spirit inside us, as the seal and sign of God's ownership (Rom 8:9). The more of our soul, body and life we surrender to God, the more we allow His Spirit to possess, fill and control us, the greater His Presence in us (our holiness), setting us free from sin. “In Christ, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, the guarantee (down payment) of our inheritance (the fullness of God - full payment), until the redemption of the purchased possession (when He gives Himself fully to us and takes full possession of us), so that we will be to the praise of His glory” (Eph 1:13-14, 2Cor 1:21-22). When He returns, His Spirit will take full possession of our soul and body, resurrecting, perfecting and glorifying us. The more we allow His Spirit to fill and take possession of us, the more we experience His grace. Only when we’re poor (owning nothing, owned by God), are we rich, possessing all things He has for us (Matt 5:3, Luke 6:20). Embracing belonging to God, yielding final control to Him, trusting His love to guide and provide for us, sets us free from carrying the burden and stress of managing our life, as if all depends on us. It lets the Spirit flow in us and lead us. He takes the burden and carries us, once we let go of trying to control it all. If we don’t trust in God, we become insecure and anxious, and so cling to things, which we value, to try and secure ourselves, but they are idols, as we value them more than God. He says: “Let go of them. They’re too important to you. Cling to Me and surrender all things, worries and burdens to Me, and My Spirit will carry you and give you all you need.” He controls and guides our life, if we surrender to Him. This is the key to walk in the Spirit, experiencing His fullness. He wants us to have all things to enjoy (1Tim 6:17), but we cut ourselves off from His life, when we act as our own owner, trying to own and control the blessing. Embrace the truth you belong to God, own nothing and will always depend on Him for His continual supply of grace. Then you’re qualified to possess the fullness of His blessing. This is in Psalm 23. In Psalm 22, He lays down His life for His sheep, purchasing them with His Blood (John 10:11). Then in Psalm 23, risen again, He leads His OWN sheep into fullness of life (10:2-4,10). Experiencing fullness (“I shall not want”) is predicated on “The Lord is my Shepherd.” So, to be blessed, we must submit to His leadership. Once a sheep knows he’s owned by (belongs to) the Shepherd, then following (obeying) Him is natural. He stays close and follows Him, so He can lead him into fullness.

Having described the nature and blessing of the righteous, being like a blessed, upright, strong tree planted by God's River of Life (1:1-3), it declares: "No so, the ungodly, not so!" (v4). He then compares the ungodly to the chaff, which the wind drives away (1:4). We describe threshing, when the chaff is separated from the wheat, and winnowing, when both wheat and chaff are thrown up into the air, and the chaff is carried away by the wind. This describes what happens at a man's judgment right after his death. The threshing, which physically separates the chaff from the wheat, corresponds to physical death, and the winnowing describes what happens after death, when the chaff is blown away by the wind to a place of judgment, to be burnt. Whereas the wheat (believer in Christ) continues to stand in God's Kingdom, the chaff (unbeliever) can't stand before God, and is blown away into His fire (Hades, then the Lake of Fire). This process of judgment will be brought to its climax and completion by Christ at the Day of Lord: “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matt 3:12). The word for threshing sledge is tribulum, where we get the word Tribulation. The chaff (thin skin around grain of wheat) is dry, empty, weak, unstable, and worthless, once separated from the wheat. God gives all men a measure of goodness in this life (common grace), but if they reject God, then at death His grace is removed and they become what they've chosen to be, an empty shell, separated from God's presence, life, goodness and glory (substance). The substance and value of our life comes from God's Presence, so those who die ungodly will immediately discover who they are in themselves, without God - worthless chaff, only good to be thrown into God's fire, for they are useless to God, for they've refused to fulfil the purpose for which they were created - to glorify God, choosing rather to be their own gods. Thus the nature and destiny of the cursed, weak, unstable chaff is opposite to the believer, who is like a tree, strong, stable, standing forever. At this time sinners and hypocrites can join in the congregation of the just, but when judgment day comes, sinners will find they can't stand before God with the just (who have right-standing with God thru Christ's righteousness), and will be separated from the just and removed - blown away to a place of fiery judgment (1:5). The conclusion (v6) contrasts the way and destination of the righteous and the way of the ungodly: "For the Lord knows (watches over) the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish (end in destruction)." We must choose to which of these 2 groups we belong. It describes these 2 groups and their 2 corresponding ways of life, to help us identify to which we actually belong. The Way of the righteous is Christ Himself (John 14:6), so to walk in this Way, means walking with Christ, in fellowship with Him. The statement that the Lord KNOWS the way of the righteous, in a way that He does not know the way of the ungodly, speaks of His personal relationship and involvement with them - that He is walking with them, and watching over them in love, making sure they will reach their glorious destination together. (Saying: 'I am the way' means personally leading us to our destination). On the other hand, the ungodly choose to go their own way, apart from God (Isa 53:6), and Jesus will say to them "I never knew you" (Matt 7:23), and so their way will end in ruin. Jesus is the narrow Gate and Way that leads to life (Matt 7:13-14). We enter through the narrow Gate when we trust in Him and His death & resurrection, receiving Him as our Lord and Saviour. Then we enter into the narrow Way, of walking in fellowship with Him, trusting His leadership. If you are righteous in Christ, you are on the Way of righteousness, which means you are travelling on a very different road through life than the multitudes of ungodly people, on the broad road leading to destruction ( 1:1). Finally, we point out there is only 1 Person who has perfectly fulfilled Psalm 1 - JESUS. This is a portrait of Christ - the Blessed Man of Psalm 1. This is why 'the blessed man' is in the singular, and the 'ungodly' is plural. Without Christ, we would all be useless chaff destined for fire. But He has made a way for us to be put into Christ and receive His righteousness. Since Psalm 1 is fulfilled in Christ, when you are put into Christ, then Psalm 1 also becomes true for you, for you are in Christ - you become a blessed man in Him (Eph 1:3), planted (in the new birth) by the River of the Spirit, with full access to His grace, enabling you to grow spiritually, become fruitful, as you meditate on His Word and develop strong faith roots to draw upon His life.

Psalm 1:3 says the blessed man, who meditates day and night in God's Word will "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." Our ROOT system is our FAITH in God, which connects us to God's life and grace in His Spirit. The secret of a tree’s success is its roots, which are invisible, underground, representing our heart. As we meditate in His Word, our faith-roots becomes stronger, which means that our ability to draw on the waters of the Holy Spirit increases, causing us to thrive, become strong, upright and evergreen, and bear much fruit. That fact that we are planted by the River of Life, means that in Christ, we have continual access to the grace of God in the Holy Spirit. We cannot bear fruit of ourselves - the key is drawing from the life of the River of God. Fruit that glorifies God is produced by the Divine life that flows in and through us (John 15:1-16). We allow God’s life to flow by meditating on God’s Word (to strengthen our faith) and drawing upon His Spirit by faith. We look at a number of other scriptures that use this same imagery of believers being like fruitful Trees planted by rivers of water (Jeremiah 17:5-8, Isaiah 61:3, 37:31). We see this imagery in the first earthly Temple of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2-3), and the Millennial Temple, in Ezekiel 47:12: “Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the Sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.” Also we see it in the everlasting heavenly Temple, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1-3). All of these are pictures of us (redeemed mankind), who are God's ultimate Temples. These gardens with trees planted by the river of life are a picture of garden of our soul. Our thoughts, emotions, convictions and commitments are like trees (Proverbs 3:18). If they are formed and filled by the Word and Spirit of God, they are fresh and fruitful, connecting us to His grace. We relate this to recent discoveries that show that our thoughts are imaged by protein structures in the brain. Whereas God's Word forms healthy tree-like structures, evil thoughts of bitterness and hatred manifest as ugly, twisted protein structures. By meditating in the Word, we can renew our mind, so that it becomes a garden full of fruitful trees, all well-watered by the river of life. Since: "as a man thinks in his heart, so he is" (Proverbs 23:7), it follows that the blessed man who is like a flourishing tree (1:3), is a reflection of the state of his heart (the trees growing in his heart). Likewise, the parable of the sower can in interpreted on both levels, for the seed (which is the word of God) can (1) represent the whole spiritual life of a man, or (2) a particular word of God, which grows by meditation in (hearing) the word (watering with the Word), and brings forth fruit. Thus, the measure of a man is determined by His meditation, and all the trees that he allows to grow in his soul determine the kind of man he becomes, that is, how much he becomes like the blessed, strong and fruitful tree described in Psalm 1:3.

We start our studies in Psalms by introducing the Book of Psalms as a whole. It is God’s Hymnbook, the longest book of Bible (150 chapters), which shows the importance of praise and worship. It is poetry, the language of the heart, set to music, designed to tune our hearts to God. It is given to inspire our response to God and His revelation. Just like the Torah, it is divided into 5 books. The first book is Psalms 1-41. There are many different kinds of Psalms – Psalms of Praise, Psalms of Thanksgiving, Psalms of Lament, Psalms of Confidence, Psalm of Kingship, Psalms of Wisdom and Messianic Psalms (which were written under prophetic inspiration). King David wrote over half of them (including almost all of the first Book). Other writers were Moses, Hezekiah, the sons of Asaph, and the sons of Korah. Psalm 1 is a special Psalm, described as the Entrance Hall into the Mansion of the Book of Psalms – a Wisdom Psalm, contrasting the nature, way and destiny of the righteous and the ungodly, who ignore God and go their own way in life. In the Bible, all mankind divided into these 2 groups and Psalm 1 spells this out in the strongest way, pointing out you are either righteous or ungodly, either part of God’s people or not, and only the righteous qualify for the blessing of God. God makes this point in Psalm 1, because the rest of the Psalms are only for the righteous, so its pointless reading the other Psalms (like 23), if you are in the wrong camp, as it does not apply to you. So, Psalm 1 is saying, before you enter this Mansion, make sure first that you qualify. Placing Psalm 1 first also tells us that our WORSHIP (represented by the Psalms) is based on mediation on the WORD of God (the emphasis of Psalm 1). Psalm 1 describes the righteous as being characterised by holiness – being devoted to the Lord and His Word, and separated from evil, whereas the ungodly follow the way of the world (1:1-3). Whereas the righteous are blessed (with God's life), and are stable, strong, and fruitful, like trees (v1-3), the ungodly are cursed (cut off from God's life), unstable, weak and empty, like chaff (1:4-5). Whereas God watches over the way of the humble, and walks with them, and gives them His grace, so that they will reach their final destination (glory), the way of the ungodly will result in destruction, because God resists the proud (1:6). Psalm 1:1 describes the BLESSED man by contrast with the ungodly man, who starts by following the counsel of the ungodly world, which then leads to him hanging around sinners, and developing a sinful lifestyle and convictions. Thus, he becomes hardened in his heart, and stands for things that are ungodly. The next stage, if he continues on this path, is when he sits in the seat of the scornful, is even worse, for this is when he becomes one who is settled in his views and teaches others to reject God and His Laws, actively promoting his world-view, which mocks God and sacred things, and undermines His Word. These ones do not just live wrong, but encourage others to live wrong (Romans 1:32). These are now fully hardened in sin. The blessed man is marked by the fact that he says 'No' to this worldly viewpoint 91:1). Instead, he delights in God's Word, and meditates in it day and night, with the intention of basing his life upon it, seeing that it is the Law of the Lord (it carries the full authority of God). Thus he allows it to form his beliefs and lifestyle (1:2). We discuss what Bible meditation is and how to meditate (Joshua 1:8). The result of being a godly man who meditates on God's word, rather than following the world is that the blessing of God causes him to become like a strong, upright "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" (1:3). When we receive Christ, we are PLANTED into Christ, by the RIVERS of WATER (the grace of the Holy Spirit, who now lives in us), and we become a TREE of righteousness (Isaiah 61:3). Then, the more we meditate in God's Word, the stronger our ROOT-system (FAITH) becomes, enabling us to draw upon more of the WATERS of the HOLY SPIRIT.