Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Blessed Man and the Two Ways of Life (Psalm 1) | Charles Simeon

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The Blessed Man and the Two Ways of Life (Psalm 1) | Charles Simeon · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to Reformed Thinking, the brief intro before we take
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  the plunge into the deep dive. Today we're opening up a
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  theological landmark, Charles Simeon's Hora Homiletic A.
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  It's this massive collection of his sermon outlines that he used
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  for decades. We're going to focus on his
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  thinking on Psalm 1. And this isn't just a
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  commentary, is it? It's more like a systematic
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  framework for understanding the moral universe right from the
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  first page of the song. It's a great way to put it, a
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  framework. So that's our mission today.
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  We want to move past the, you know, the beautiful poetry of
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  Psalm One and really get into the mechanics of Simeon's
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  thought. We want to pull out the nuts and
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  bolts of what separates humanity into these two great parties,
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  the righteous and the wicked. Right.
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  How does he define their character?
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  What's their condition now, and what's their final, inevitable
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  fate? Exactly, and we need to find
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  some practical takeaways from this that can really force an
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  honest self examination even for us today.
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  Well, Psalm 1 is the perfect place to start.
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  It's like the Gateway. But before we dig into Simeon's
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  application, maybe we should just quickly situate the Psalms
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  themselves. Good idea, most people just
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  think David wrote them. And he did write the majority
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  for sure, but we have to remember the collection actually
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  spans centuries. I mean, some psalms were written
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  hundreds of years before David you're.
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  Talking about Moses maybe? Possibly Moses, yeah.
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  And then several were definitely composed long after David's
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  death, especially after the Babylonian exile.
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  So you have this incredible chronological range which.
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  Brings up the question of how it all got put together.
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  It wasn't just a random collection.
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  No, not at all. And Simeon really leans into the
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  widely accepted idea that Ezra the scribe and priest was the
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  key figure in organizing all these individual hymns and
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  prayers into the book we have now.
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  And that organization was purposeful.
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  The placement of Psalm One right at the start.
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  As a preface, that's completely intentional.
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  Completely. And the reason these poems have
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  so much weight, theologically speaking, is their authority.
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  I mean, think about it. They're quoted constantly in the
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  New Testament. Right by Christ himself, by the
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  apostles, always as inspired Scripture, the very word of God.
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  And Simeon takes it even further.
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  He points to their Christological centrality.
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  He basically argues that the Psalms talk so fully about
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  Christ, his life, his death, his work, his offices as prophet,
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  priest and king. I think I remember this part.
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  He says you could almost compile a biography of Jesus from the
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  Psalms alone. Almost as clearly as from the
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  Gospels themselves, it's this deep spring that feeds the whole
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  New Covenant story. So that context really sets the
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  stage for our deep dive. Psalm 1 is put first for a
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  reason. It contains this immediate, non
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  negotiable summary of the two human characters, the righteous
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  and the wicked. Their conduct now and their
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  state later. It's the gatehouse to the entire
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  Temple of Scripture, laying out the only two paths available.
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  OK, let's unpack this systematically, following
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  Simeon's structure. We'll start with Section 1, the
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  description of the godly from verses one through 3.
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  And Simeon starts by saying, you know, this description is brief,
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  but it's enough. It's more than sufficient to
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  distinguish the Saints from everyone else on Earth.
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  And their character is defined first by what what they avoid,
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  and then by what they love. Let's start with that avoidance.
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  The first mark is negative. It is the Psalm opens.
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  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
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  ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
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  seat of the scornful. And Simeon sees this as more
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  than just three random things to avoid.
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  He sees a progression, a fatal progression.
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  A fatal progression of decay. Exactly.
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  Sin doesn't just show up fully formed.
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  It's a slide and it's captured perfectly in those three
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  actions, Walking, standing and then sitting.
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  Let's break that down because it's, yeah, it's a bit
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  terrifying. The first step is walking in the
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  counsel of the ungodly. Right.
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  And for Simeon, the ungodly here are just people who are, as he
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  puts it, destitute of any religious principle.
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  So they're not necessarily hostile to faith, they just
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  operate without God in their worldview.
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  Exactly. And the sin begins with just
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  receiving their advice, their counsel.
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  It's not even about action yet. It's about adopting their plan,
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  their way of seeing the world and intellectual closeness.
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  So today that could be the media you consume, the podcast you
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  listen to, that shape your narrative, but just leave God
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  out of the picture entirely. That's a perfect modern example.
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  It's that occasional contact, that tentative exploration of
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  their thought patterns, just walking alongside them in your
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  mind. But it doesn't stay there, does
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  it? That casual mental contact
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  hardens into the second stage, standing in the way of sinners.
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  And notice the subjects have changed.
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  Simeon distinguishes sinners here as gross, open sinners.
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  Their conduct is openly transgressive.
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  And the action changes from walking to standing.
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  Which indicates A lingering A settling down.
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  You're not just passing through anymore, you're accepting and
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  maybe even participating in their practices.
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  It's moving from hearing the council to adopting the conduct.
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  That posture change is so key. Walking is movement.
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  You could just be passing by, but standing means you've
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  decided to stay. You're willing to be identified
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  with that group. A psychological barrier has been
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  lowered, or it's just gone. And then comes the final, most
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  hardened state, sitting in the seat of the scornful.
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  And these aren't just irreligious people anymore.
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  They're antagonists. They actively despise and deride
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  true piety. They mock it.
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  They reject it. And sitting, Simeon says that
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  suggests A settled habitation, a comfortable judgement.
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  You've made yourself a judge over morality and you're
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  actively ridiculing those who hold the God standard.
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  It's an awful slide, isn't it? From curiosity to conviction,
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  from walking alongside to sitting in judgement.
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  And it shows that spiritual decay rarely starts with some
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  big catastrophic collapse. It starts with a slow, almost
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  invisible shift in whose advice you accept and whose company you
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  keep. So that raises a question then,
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  does Simeon mean we have to become total recluses?
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  How do we balance this with being salt and light in the
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  world? Right.
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  Are we supposed to just create a self-righteous bubble?
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  He addresses that really well. The godly person understands the
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  danger. They know that, as Scripture
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  says, evil communications will corrupt good manners.
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  They see the risk of spiritual infection.
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  So the separation is about self preservation, not a sense of
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  superiority. Exactly.
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  They fear that spending too much time with the wicked will lead
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  them to adopt their principles and conduct.
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  So they either withdraw or they they contract their interaction
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  as much as possible. But he gives a boundary line,
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  right? There's a limit.
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  Yes, and this is the essential part.
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  This limitation has to be consistent with a due discharge
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  of their social and relative duties.
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  The goal isn't to abandon your neighbors or your colleagues.
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  It's to refuse to partake in their ungodly counsel, their
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  sinful ways, or their mocking scorn.
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  The separation is of the spirit and the character.
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  You can be present in the world physically while remaining
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  internally distinct. So it's about vetting our
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  sources of advice, refusing to just stand around in
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  transgressive spaces, and rejecting that cultural posture
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  of sitting in judgement. And if that's what the godly
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  person runs from, Simeon then shows us where they run to.
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  This is the positive side of the character.
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  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law does he
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  meditate day and night. This is the counter action,
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  isn't it? While the ungodly progress
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  outward into the World's Council, the godly person
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  progresses inward toward the Word.
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  Their affections are completely redirected.
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  Simeon says that privacy and reading the scriptures are just
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  more agreeable to them than the noise and vanity of the world.
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  Their happy place, so to speak, is the word.
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  We should probably clarify for you, the listener, what Simeon
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  means by the law of the Lord. He's not just talking about the
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  10 commandments. No, he's using it in that older,
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  broader sense. It means the instruction, the
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  entire body of inspired scripture that reveals God's
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  will, the whole Bible, right? So why is the Bible so
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  captivating? What does the godly heart find
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  there that's better than the World's Council?
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  Well, Simeon breaks it down first.
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  They see all the wonders of redeeming love.
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  That's the central story, the one that grips them because it
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  solves the main problem of their existence.
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  It's the story of salvation, and it captures their imagination.
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  Second, he says, they find the charter to their everlasting
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  inheritance. The word charter sounds a bit
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  legalistic. What does he mean?
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  It's a term of total assurance. A charter is an official
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  document that grants rights or property for the righteous.
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  The Scriptures are the verifiable proof, the title
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  deed, that they've been adopted as sons and daughters.
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  It makes their inheritance certain.
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  Not just speculative, it's confirmed.
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  Exactly. And 3rd, they find thousands of
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  exceeding great and precious promises.
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  Simeon says these are like marrow and fatness to their
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  souls. It's real spiritual nutrition.
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  Rich and satisfying, not the empty calories of worldly
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  advice. And beyond the comfort and
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  assurance, the Scriptures also mark out the way to please and
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  glorify God. It's the operational manual for
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  an obedient life. And this leads right into
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  meditation. They don't just read the words,
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  they ruminate on them. They turn them over and over in
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  their minds. And in doing so, he says, their
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  souls are cast, as it were, into the very mold of the gospel.
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  That's such a strong image. It suggests that this process of
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  becoming holy isn't self generated.
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  It's the Word and the Spirit exerting pressure, forcing the
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  soul to conform to the shape of the gospel.
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  Yes, and that's how they're gradually changed into the image
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  of their God. It's a patient process, and it's
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  driven by this intense desire. Simeon even compares it to Job,
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  who said he esteemed God's words more than their necessary food.
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  An appetite that's stronger than physical hunger.
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  It shows a completely rearranged set of priorities.
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  And all of this, the avoiding of sin, the delight in the word, it
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  culminates in the flourishing condition we see in verse 3.
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  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water
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  that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.
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  His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall
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  prosper. It's a picture of deep, stable
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  life. Simeon grounds this image for
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  us. He says to think of a tree
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  planted by the irrigation canals in eastern countries.
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  In a dry land, access to water is everything.
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  It's life or death. O This tree has constant
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  greenness and fruitfulness, while other trees that rely on
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  inconsistent rain are just parched and withered.
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  And then he immediately spiritualizes it.
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  He points out that the godly are trees of righteousness of the
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  Lord's planting. The source of the planting is
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  God Himself. And the root system is what's
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  essential. It's constantly watered by this
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  divine source, which Simeon identifies as that river which
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  makes glad the city of God. This is the continuous influence
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  of the Holy Spirit. The stability of the righteous
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  person is guaranteed not by their own efforts, but by their
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  connection to this endless source of life.
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  And that divine watering produces the expected result,
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  fruit, the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus
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  Christ to the praise and glory of God.
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  The fruitfulness is the natural outcome of being well rooted and
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  nourished. But here's where we have to be
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  careful. Simeon knows the Christian life
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  isn't easy. He says they experience a
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  diversity of seasons. There are winters, there are
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  droughts. That's a critical point.
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  The external challenges, the winds and storms and heat and
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  cold, they don't destroy the tree.
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  Quite the opposite, he says. They all tend to further their
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  stability and fruitfulness. The trials are used by God to
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  make the roots go deeper and they yield greater.
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  The struggle is actually the mechanism for growth.
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  Which changes how we should read that last phrase.
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  Whatsoever he do with shall prosper.
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  It's not a promise of wealth or an easy life.
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  Not at all. He explains this prosperity in
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  purely spiritual terms. Whether it's what they do or
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  what is done to them, persecution, difficulty, they
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  prosper because their conduct shows they belong to Christ.
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  The ultimate prosperity is spiritual faithfulness, no
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  matter the outward circumstances.
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  Their stability comes from the root being fixed in that living
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  water. And that absolute life or death
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  stability is what makes the transition to the next section
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  so incredibly stark. It's so abrupt, the Psalm just
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  pivots with a few simple words. Two forceful words, really.
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  The ungodly are not. So it's a full stop.
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  It just pulls the rug out from under that whole picture of the
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  flourishing tree. And they are not so first in
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  their character, where the godly person shuns the company of
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  those who don't fear God, the ungodly actively prefer it.
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  Simeon paints this dramatic picture of preference.
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  He says the ungodly would far rather associate with an avowed
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  infidel or a notorious libertine, than with one who is
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  distinguished for the most exalted piety.
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  Their choice of friends reveals what's inside.
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  And the reason is that they love darkness rather than light.
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  Godly company is uncomfortable because it shines a light on
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  their path. And as Simeon says, they won't
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  come to the light less their deeds should be reproved.
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  It's a resistance to accountability.
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  So that's the contrast in society.
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  What about their relationship with the word?
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  It's a total contrast in employment.
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  They'll prefer any other book, science, amusement, whatever,
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  before the sacred volume. This is a huge point for you
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  listening today. In our world of information
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  overload, Simeon admits, the ungodly might study Scripture.
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  Sure, for head knowledge or historical context, or to be
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  critical, but never with a desire to imbibe the spirit of
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  it or to have their lives reformed by it.
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  They treat it like an object, a piece of literature, but not as
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  the living instruction of God. Which is why the Bible is
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  insipid to them. It's tasteless.
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  The wonders of redemption don't move them, and the moral
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  commands are just not palatable to their souls.
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  They might appreciate the culture around it, but the
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  message itself leaves them cold. And Simeon offers these two
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  marks, the company you keep and the book you delight in, as the
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  primary tools for self examination.
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  He says if you're honest about those two things, you'll quickly
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  discover which party you belong to.
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  And if the ungodly are not so in character, they're also not so
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  in their condition. They have no resemblance to that
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  rooted, flourishing tree. No, Simeon says.
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  Their root is fixed in the world.
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  They try to get nourishment from sources that are temporary and
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  ultimately poisonous. So their fruit is worthless.
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  Grapes of Sodom and clusters of Gomorrah.
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  But the Psalm gives an even better comparison for their
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  nature. They are like the chaff which
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  the wind driveth away. Chaff is defined by being light
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  and worthless. That imagery instantly
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  communicates a lack of spiritual substance.
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  Right. Unlike the tree, which is heavy
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  and solid, the chaff has no internal weight, no solid
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  principle of piety. It's hollow.
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  And Simeon reminds us that on the surface, they could look
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  like wheat. In this world, they're all mixed
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  together in the field. But that's temporary.
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  He warns that the fan or sieve will soon discover how empty and
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  unsubstantial they are. He's talking about the winnowing
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  process. Where you toss the grain into
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  the air and the wind just carries the worthless light
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  chaff away, leaving only the heavy grain behind.
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  It's a perfect analogy for the spiritual separation to come.
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  And that separation is going to happen speedily and infallibly
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  in the world to come. It's a certainty.
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  And it's tied directly to the return of Christ as Judge
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  Simming quotes that passage. His fan is in his hand, and he
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  will thoroughly he purge his floor and gather the wheat into
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  his garner, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable
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  fire. And he stresses the purity of
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  that separation. It's not messy, it's absolute.
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  Not an atom of chaff will then be found with the wheat and nor
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  amongst the chaff, 1 grain of wheat.
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  The two destinies are completely separate.
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  So, moving away from the metaphor, the Psalm just states
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  the destiny in stark judicial language.
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  The ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in
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  the congregation of the righteous.
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  That phrase shall not stand carry so much theological
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  weight. The righteous will stand
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  approved because they're clothed in Christ's righteousness, but
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  the wicked won't be able to maintain their position before
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  the judge. They'll just be exposed.
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  So Simeon clarifies the final conditions.
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  The righteous are approved by God and get everlasting
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  Felicity, which is just ultimate unending happiness in God's
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  presence. And the wicked, they are
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  abhorred of him and plunged into everlasting perdition, utter
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  destruction, eternal ruin. It's the final consequence of
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  being light and rootless. So the two pictures, the tree
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  drawing life from God's river, the chaff driven by the passing
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  wind, they really summarize all of humanity's possible outcomes.
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  Which brings us out of the theological framework and right
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  into the immediate daily challenge of application.
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  Right. Having laid all this out, Simeon
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  immediately gets practical. This isn't just an academic
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  study, it's a call to action. And he starts with guidance
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  specifically for young people. He recognizes that when you're
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  young, the choice of friends and associates can seem like a small
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  thing, you know, based on convenience or shared hobbies.
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  It feels minor. But Simeon says to be cautious
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  because that whole progression of sin starts with counsel.
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  The influence of other people's sentiments and examples is
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  severe. It shapes who you become.
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  And if you consider the awful consequences that follow leading
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  to that judgement we just talked about, then you see how
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  necessary it is to be selective choosing for friends only those
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  who are the friends of God. That's a hard calling.
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  It means completely redefining what you value in a friend.
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  He warns against being attracted by superficial things.
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  Things like rank, talent, gaiety, dissipation, he says.
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  Those things are the chaff of friendship.
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  They're light and fleeting. Instead, the highest
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  recommendation should be the piety of their hearts and the
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  holiness of their lives. That's the only thing that
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  offers real spiritual stability. And we have to apply this to
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  right now in our digital age, we get counsel not just from our
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  peers, but from anonymous feeds and online influencers.
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  That's a great point. Our choice of associates now
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  includes the sources of information we submit ourselves
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  to. If your main intake is from
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  those who mock piety or promote principles that have no
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  religious foundation, then you are walking, standing, and
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  eventually sitting with the scornful even if you go to
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  church every Sunday. We have to see our digital
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  consumption as a form of companionship.
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  Simeon uses the ultimate example.
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  Just as the Lord was not of the world, you, the listener must
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  come out from among them and be separate.
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  That takes real courage, especially when you're young, to
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  deliberately set yourself apart from the cultural tide based on
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  a dedication to holiness. That initial choice of
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  companionship, physical or digital, is either the first
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  step towards scorn or the beginning of meditating on the
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  law. There really is no neutral
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  ground. And what about for those who
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  already profess to be godly? Simeon has pointed counsel for
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  them, too. The challenge is figuring out
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  the true measure of your spiritual state.
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  And he says it's not to be judged by speculative notions.
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  Meaning it's not about just having the right theology in
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  your head or knowing all the right words, no.
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  It's judged by your spirit, your temper, your whole conduct and
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  conversation. It comes back to that simple
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  analogy. The tree must be known by its
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  fruit. Professing faith is easy.
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  Demonstrating that character Simeon let it out is the real
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  daily test. And since he showed that the
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  ungodly are a perfect contrast to the godly, the standard for
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  the believer is clear. Your spirit and conduct have to
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  be a perfect contrast to theirs. The distinction has to be
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  visible. So if the ungodly are following
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  the course of this world, chasing vanity, minding only the
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  things of the flesh. The believer must make sure it
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  can be said of them without any qualification they are not so.
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  Their whole orientation has to shift from earth to heaven,
• 19:47
  Simeon says. Their conversation is in heaven.
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  Their thoughts, ambitions, even their daily talk should be
• 19:52
  directed toward divine things. And their delight has to be all
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  together in spiritual things. Their fellowship, their chosen
• 19:58
  intimacy is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
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  They don't just know about Him, they are in communion with Him.
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  That is the daily definition of being a planted tree.
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  The goal is to be as different from the ungodly world as a
• 20:12
  verdant and fruitful tree is from one which is withered and
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  dead. But maintaining that contrast
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  takes more than just human willpower, right?
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  The pressure from the world is constant.
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  It is so how do we persevere in that state of distinction?
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  Samin says the path is entirely external and dependent.
• 20:28
  It's a matter of grace. We have to continually look to
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  the Lord Jesus Christ for fresh supplies of His Spirit.
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  So you don't generate this internally through moral effort.
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  The stability of the tree is continuously supplied by the
• 20:39
  river. Exactly.
• 20:41
  And he assures us that these communications of grace will be
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  abundantly sufficient for you. The flourishing is maintained by
• 20:47
  that constant flow from the divine river.
• 20:49
  It puts the burden firmly on the spirits continuous provision,
• 20:53
  not on our own self-sufficiency. And that constant drawing of
• 20:56
  life is the only thing that distinguishes the planted tree
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  from the rootless chaff. It's the only guarantee that we
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  will stand in the judgement. It really calls us to examine
• 21:05
  our plumbing system, so to speak.
• 21:07
  Are we constantly drawing on the source?
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  That's a good way to put it. So this deep dive into Simeon on
• 21:14
  Psalm One, it gives us this really clear, uncompromising
• 21:18
  summary of spiritual life. You've seen the two paths.
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  The life sourced by the river. Avoiding Wicked Council,
• 21:25
  delighting in the law which leads to stability and
• 21:29
  fruitfulness. And the life fixed in the world,
• 21:31
  seeking worldly company, despising the word which leads
• 21:34
  to being light, unsubstantial and finally destroyed like
• 21:37
  chaff, unable to stand. You'd encourage you, the
• 21:40
  learner, to use Simia's criteria as a mirror.
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  Focus on those two internal measures.
• 21:46
  What do you truly delight in when you have quiet time?
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  And will you let your mind meditate on day and night?
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  Your honest answers to that will reveal where your roots are
• 21:54
  truly fixed. And here's something we found
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  fascinating. The final thought for you to
• 21:57
  Mull over on your own. We talked about how the
• 21:59
  stability of the righteous tree doesn't depend on avoiding
• 22:02
  hardship. The winds, storms, heat and cold
• 22:05
  it. Depends on the fixed source of
• 22:06
  water, the river of the Spirit. So if the external challenges
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  are just tools God uses to make our roots go deeper.
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  Then our response to difficulty becomes the real test of our
• 22:15
  spiritual planting. What if the very trial you're
• 22:18
  facing today is just the necessary wind that reveals the
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  depth of your root system? Does your daily practice of
• 22:25
  meditation and your choice of fellowship reflect a soul that
• 22:28
  trusts its root is truly planted by that divine source?
• 22:32
  Does it help you see external challenges not as threats but as
• 22:35
  instruments of God's kindness meant to make you more fruitful?
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  Something to think about what stands out to you.
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  We look forward to seeing where this truth leads your thinking.
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  Until the next deep dive, keep growing.