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The Two Ways That Shape Every Life (Psalm 1) | John Calvin · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are stepping away from
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  the rush of current events to focus on something really
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  foundational. We're going to be looking at
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  some core scripture and its deep interpretation.
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  We are. We're opening up John Calvin's
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  commentary on the 1st Psalm, which is, I mean, it's just a
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  classic text. It's been a guide for
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  generations on how to live a godly life.
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  That's a great way to put it. So our mission for you, the
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  listener, is pretty clear. We want to pull out the most
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  crucial insights from Calvin on Psalm One The big question
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  question is what is true blessedness?
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  And maybe even more to the point, what does it require of
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  us? Right.
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  And Kelvin's central argument is that you can't get there without
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  first separating from worldliness.
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  It's not optional, it's a necessity.
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  So it's the absolute starting. Point it is, Calvin saw Psalm 1
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  as a preface to the entire book of Psalms.
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  Its job is to teach, to instruct the godly on how they should be
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  meditating on God's law. And it does that by setting up
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  this immediate, stark contrast. A contrast between what exactly?
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  Between the blessed life of someone who pursues heavenly
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  wisdom and, well, the miserable end that's waiting for those who
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  despise God's counsel. OK so right from the get go the
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  psalmist isn't giving us 2 slightly different options for a
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  good life. No, not at all.
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  He's laying out 2 completely different paths, 2 destinations,
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  and the path you're on determines everything.
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  It sets the whole framework for the rest of the Psalms.
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  Let's get into that first verse. Then it starts, maybe a little
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  suprisingly, with what you shouldn't do.
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  It's a series of negatives. Blessed is the man who walketh
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  not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way
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  of sinners, nor sitteth in the seed of the scorner.
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  It is surprising, isn't it? But what's so fascinating about
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  Calvin's take here is his insistence that this avoidance
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  is the precondition for everything else.
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  Before you can even think about meditating on God's law, you
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  first have to actively withdraw. You have to separate yourself
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  from the Society of the ungodly. So it's like you have to clear
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  the ground before you can plant anything.
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  Why is that separation so absolute?
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  So primary? Because Calvin had a very
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  realistic view of the world, he called it a place of deadly
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  corruption. He believed that if you don't
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  proactively build some walls, the world's pollution is just
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  going to infect you. It's inevitable.
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  He. Saw people just sort of
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  wandering into danger without realizing it.
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  Exactly, he says. People throw themselves
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  carelessly into Satan's snares, so the very first step toward
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  any kind of spiritual stability has to be putting up those
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  boundaries. So let's look at the structure
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  Here we have 3 terms, Counsel, weigh, and seat, and they're
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  paired with three actions, Walk, stand, and sit.
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  Is Calvin seeing this as a kind of required progression of sin?
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  He very much is. This is where his insight is so
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  helpful. He calls it Satan's crafty way
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  of deceiving people step by step.
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  It shows how people turn away from God gradually.
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  You know, it's not usually some big dramatic leap into evil.
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  It's a slow slide. Slow slide, so let's trace that.
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  Step one is the Council and the action is walking.
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  Yes, this is the very beginning. And notice it starts in the
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  mind, not with an action. Calvin defines counsel as a
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  wickedness that isn't even open yet.
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  It starts just by listening to bad advice, giving an ear to
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  evil counsel. So walking is that first
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  tentative movement in the wrong direction.
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  It is. It's following after your own
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  corrupt desires or that bad advice you've just heard.
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  You're not fully committed yet, but you're moving.
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  The Hebrew word Calvin points to here is reshame, the ungodly.
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  These are the morally weak, the unprincipled.
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  Their wickedness is still just a whisper.
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  But if that walking continues, it leads to the second step the
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  way and the action here is standing.
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  This sounds more permanent. It is the practice of sinning,
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  he says infatuates him. The person goes from walking
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  along the path to actually standing in it.
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  Standing implies a fixed position.
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  It's become your customary mode or manner of living.
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  You stop moving and you sort of set up camp on the wrong Rd.
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  That's a great way to put it. The person becomes forgetful of
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  himself, hardened in that wickedness.
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  The Hebrew term here changes to cheteim.
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  These are the openly wicked. Their sin is now visible.
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  It's a habit and they probably even defend.
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  It and that leads to the final and I guess most serious stage.
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  Step 3, the seat where the action is sitting.
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  This sounds like comfort, even defiance.
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  Calvin uses his strongest language for this one.
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  He calls it the top of the climax.
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  This is about desperate obstinacy.
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  The person has gone from listening to bad advice to
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  practicing sin, and now they're actually resting in their
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  rebellion. They're comfortable in it.
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  And what does that person looks like?
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  The one sitting in the seat of the Scorner.
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  They've thrown off all fear of God.
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  They sin without any restraint. But the key thing is their
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  attitude. They sport at God's judgement.
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  They mock holiness. They're cynical about the very
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  idea of God's justice. The Hebrew word is letsim, the
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  scorners. So the path is really clear.
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  Then it goes from listening to practicing to mocking, which
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  makes that very first step, just listening, just walking, the
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  most important place to intervene.
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  It really does, and that's why Calvin lays out this
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  progression. It's a warning.
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  Very few people start out as full blown scorners.
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  They get there by making that first small compromise.
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  Now, for you listening, this goes beyond just, you know,
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  avoiding the wrong crowd, Calvin, as this whole other
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  layer of internal vigilance. He does.
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  He warns that you have to be careful not to corrupt himself.
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  It's possible to become ungodly even if you're a hermit, just by
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  following the corruptions of your own heart.
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  So the separation has to happen inside your own mind and heart
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  too. You have to learn to abhor that
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  whole way of life. OK, so you've made this
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  withdrawal, the separation. You've created a kind of
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  spiritual vacuum. But that can't be the end goal.
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  What does Calvin say needs to fill that space?
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  What's the positive action? That's the pivot in verse 2.
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  After all the negatives, we get the positive.
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  But his delight is in the law of Jehovah, and in his law doth he
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  meditate day and night. So this is it.
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  This is the standard. Blessedness isn't just avoiding
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  bad things. It's an active, focused devotion
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  to God's Word. Unquestionably, Calvin says,
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  godliness is defined by the study of the law.
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  This teaches us that God is only served correctly when his law is
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  obeyed. And that's a cornerstone idea
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  for Reformed thought. It puts God's revelation, not
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  our feelings or traditions, right at the center.
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  You can really feel the Reformation context in that
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  statement. He's pushing back against any
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  kind of self invented religion. He is absolutely, he says
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  plainly. It is not left to every man to
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  frame a system of religion according to his own judgment.
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  The standard has to come from the Word of God.
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  Otherwise we're just making it up as we go along.
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  We're back to the counsel of the ungodly without even realizing
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  it. Calvin says the law.
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  Is he just talking about, you know, the 10 commandments or the
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  books of Moses, or is it broader than that?
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  It's much broader. This is a key part of his
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  interpretation. He says that the whole of
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  Scripture is nothing else than an exposition of the law.
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  The history show the law being broken, the prophets show the
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  consequences. It's all built around the law.
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  So under that heading of law, he's really including the entire
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  inspired body of writings, everything God has revealed.
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  Exactly the whole counsel of God, and that's what the blessed
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  man is supposed to engage with. And the nature of that
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  engagement is so important. It's not just study, it's
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  delight. There's an emotional component.
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  This is fundamental for Calvin. He stresses that forced or
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  servile obedience is not at all acceptable to God.
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  You can follow the rules because you're scared of punishment, but
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  that's the obedience of a slave. God wants the heart of a son.
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  The motivation has to be joy, the action has to flow from a
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  place of pleasure. Precisely.
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  The true student of the law comes to it with a cheerful
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  mind. They should find it so
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  delicious, so desirable, that they can't get enough of it.
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  And that genuine love, that deep delight, is what makes the
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  second-half of the verse possible.
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  The meditate day and night part. Yes, the meditation is the
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  natural result of the delight. If you really love something,
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  you think about it all the time, Day and night.
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  Doesn't mean you literally do nothing else, but it means a
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  constant, diligent, active engagement.
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  It's the food that sustains your spiritual life.
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  It's the complete opposite of the wicked man who becomes
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  forgetful of himself. It's the absolute antithesis.
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  The wicked man forgets a God and hardens his heart.
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  The righteous man constantly remembers God's law, and that
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  keeps his heart soft and his mind focused.
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  And for Calvin, meditation isn't just reading.
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  It's chewing on the text, turning it over in your mind,
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  really wrestling with it. So for you at home, the
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  application is clear. The blessed life isn't passive.
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  It's this active, joyful study. You separate from the world's
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  noise, and you feel that quiet with the richness of the word.
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  And that's what gives you stability.
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  That's what makes you strong against all the things the world
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  throws at you. Which is exactly where the
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  psalmist goes next. Right to that famous metaphor,
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  the one that gives so much comfort, we go from the
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  instruction to the result. He shall be like a tree planted
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  by the rivers of waters that bringeth forth his fruit in his
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  season, whose leaves shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth
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  shall prosper. It's such a powerful image.
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  Calvin sees it as a confirmation that the godly life isn't some
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  fleeting or empty happiness. It's a secure, stable, lasting
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  condition. Let's break that down.
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  A tree planted by the rivers of waters.
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  What's the significance of planted and watered for Calvin?
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  The word planted is intentional. It suggests God's providential
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  care. This isn't just a random tree
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  that happened to grow in a good spot.
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  No, God has deliberately placed it, fixed it in a location that
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  guarantees it will be nourished. And the rivers of waters.
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  That represents the constant, unending supply of divine grace.
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  It's the secret influence of God's Spirit that continually
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  waters the soul of the believer and.
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  This is such a contrast to the wicked.
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  I mean, they can often look very successful, can't they?
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  They can look like giant flourishing trees.
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  Oh, absolutely. The psalmist knows that the
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  ungodly can look like the Cedars of Lebanon.
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  With all their wealth and honors, they can seem so much
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  happier. But the metaphor shows us the
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  truth. They may look good for a while,
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  but they have no root. They don't have that guaranteed
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  water source, so their. Prosperity is an illusion
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  because it lacks a stable foundation.
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  Exactly. Calvin says the only source of
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  true, lasting stability is the blessing of God alone.
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  The godly person is secure because they're constantly being
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  watered by this unseen grace. That's what keeps the leaf from
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  withering even when there's a drought in the world around
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  them. This really?
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  Reframes what we mean by prosperity, then.
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  It's not about wealth or success in the world's eyes.
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  Not at all. To read it as a promise of
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  financial success is to miss the whole point.
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  The prosperity is spiritual security.
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  The person is stable even if they're poor or sick or being
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  persecuted, because their foundation is secure in God.
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  Let's talk. About the timing aspect that
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  bringeth forth his fruit in his season, People can get very
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  speculative about what that means.
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  They can. And Calvin warns against that.
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  He dismisses the idea that it just means the righteous are
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  really good at timing things, that they have great human
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  prudence. It's reading too much of our own
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  effort into it. So what's the?
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  Real meaning of in his season. For Calvin, it's.
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  About the full maturity of the fruit.
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  The point is that because the tree is constantly nourished,
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  its fruit actually ripens. It comes to perfection.
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  The ungodly, on the other hand, might have a quick, flashy
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  bloom, what he calls precocious fruitfulness, but it never leads
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  to anything real or lasting. So the.
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  Righteous person's life, their works of piety, their spiritual
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  labor, all of that reaches its intended maturity because the
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  source of life is constant. Which then?
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  Helps us understand that last phrase.
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  Whatsoever he do with shall prosper.
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  This isn't a guarantee that every business deal will succeed
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  or every plan will work out It means that whatever happens to
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  the righteous person, good or bad, is conducive to their
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  salvation. So even.
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  Their failures, their suffering, is used by God as part of this
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  prospering plan. Exactly.
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  God works all of it together to bring their spiritual fruit to
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  maturity. The prosperity is defined by
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  God's sovereign purpose for their eternal good.
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  It's an internal, guaranteed prosperity that the wicked, no
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  matter how rich they are, can never have.
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  OK. So after painting this beautiful
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  picture of the righteous person's stability, the psalmist
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  has to return to the contrast. Verse 4.
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  Yes. And the counter image is just
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  devastating. The ungodly are not so, but are
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  like the chaff which the wind driveth away not.
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  Even a withered tree. Something much, much less.
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  Something worthless. Calvin points out how severe
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  this is. He says that even comparing them
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  to a withered tree wasn't strong enough.
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  Chaff is worse. It's the refuse, the garbage
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  leftover after the harvest. It has no value and is destined
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  to be blown away or burned. That forces.
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  Us to look past appearances, doesn't it the ungodly man might
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  look like a mighty oak, but in reality he's as flimsy as chaff
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  it. Requires what Calvin calls the
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  eye of faith. The whole point of this image is
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  to get us to focus on their final destination, their
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  destruction, and to ignore their temporary success.
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  The ungodly man might look like a stately tree, but in God's
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  eyes he is just chaff, waiting for the breath of God's
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  judgement to blow him away. And that.
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  Leads right into verse 5, which is all about the certainty that
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  judgement. Therefore the ungodly shall not
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  stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of
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  the righteous, the Word. Stand is key here.
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  To stand in judgment means you're acquitted.
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  You're found righteous. The ungodly will not stand.
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  They have no defense. And Callen links this directly
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  to conscience. He does.
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  He says true happiness depends on a good conscience.
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  He's not naive. He knows that right now the
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  ungodly seem to be having a great time.
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  They triumph during the reign of moral disorder in the world.
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  But that. Disorder is temporary.
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  It's. Temporary things will not always
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  be this confused. When the day of judgement comes,
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  they'll be stripped of all their pleasures, and they will
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  realize, he says, that they were merely dreaming.
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  When they imagine themselves to be happy, their conscience,
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  which they suppress their whole lives, will rise up and condemn
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  them. So there's an.
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  Internal judgement, their own conscience and an external one
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  being excluded from the community, the righteous.
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  Yes, the exclusion is a huge part of it.
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  And Calvin says we see glimpses of this even in this life when
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  God acts in judgement. The wicked are awakened out of
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  sleep and they're forced to see that they have no real part with
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  God's people. That's a.
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  Terrifying thought, that moment of awakening it is.
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  And because that final separation is only partial right
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  now, we still see good and evil mixed together.
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  We have to wait patiently for that final day when Christ will
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  separate the sheep from the goats.
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  That's when true order will finally be restored and the.
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  Whole system. The whole certainty of this
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  rests on the big theological claim in verse 6, the grand.
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  Principle for Jehovah knoweth the way of the righteous, that
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  the way of the ungodly shall perish.
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  To understand any of this, you have to start with the fact that
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  God is the Judge of the world. That one truth changes how you
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  see everything if God. Is the judge then The outcomes
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  for both groups aren't random, they're guaranteed by his very
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  character. It has.
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  To follow them that it will be well with the just Why?
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  Because it's God's job, his peculiar office to defend them
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  and keep them safe. Their safety doesn't depend on
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  their own strength, but on God's protection.
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  They are happy because he knows them and.
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  The opposite is just as certain for the ungodly just.
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  As certain, since God is the certain avenger of wickedness,
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  their destruction is guaranteed, even if he seems to be ignoring
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  them for a while. Their way, that whole path from
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  walking to sitting that way will perish.
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  It leads to nothing, it dissolves.
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  So the. Knowledge that God knows the way
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  of the righteous. That's the ultimate comfort when
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  we look at the world and see chaos, that's.
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  Everything. We can't let ourselves be fooled
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  by the temporary success of the wicked.
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  We have to keep our eyes on the Providence of God who is in
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  control and who will bring order out of all this confusion.
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  His care for his own is guaranteed.
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  That's a. Powerful framework so to recap
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  for you listening we started with that need for separation
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  understanding that slow slide from walking to standing and
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  sitting and why we have to stop it early then we.
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  Move to the positive side. That blessedness is found in a
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  joyful delight in God's Word, which Calvin understands as all
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  of Scripture. Right.
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  And that delight leads to the stability of the tree, ensuring
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  our spiritual fruit matures in total contrast to the wicked who
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  are just chaff. And it all rests on the
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  sovereignty of God. The fact that God knows the way
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  of the righteous is our ultimate security, no matter what things
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  look like on the surface. So that gives us a final thought
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  to leave you with. Calvin connects that deep
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  delight in the law directly to the stability of the tree,
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  knowing that real flourishing isn't about what people see, but
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  about that hidden nourishment you get from God's grace.
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  What's one way you could refine your daily habit of meditation
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  this week? How can you seek not just
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  information, but that genuine, heartfelt delight that produces
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  lasting fruit? That's our deep dive on Calvin
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  and Psalm One. We hope you'll continue to seek
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  knowledge guided by the Word.