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8.29.21 Psalm 1 Tim Sigler · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  We have a guest speaker this morning, and I'm privileged to introduce him. He is becoming a greater and greater friend, not only to me personally, but also to our church, to Highland Baptist. It was a year ago that at the end of the summer last year, some of you will recall, we hosted a one-evening conference on consecutive Friday nights. One Friday was for men, one Friday was for women. We called it the Renew Conference. And that's where I met Tim Sigler. Tim Sigler is...
• 0:27
  dean and provost of Shepherds Theological Seminary in Raleigh, North Carolina. He and I met that evening because he happened to be in town staying with Henry in Valsalia. He brought his son Asher with him to our conference. I met him there and I had heard of Shepherds, but I really hadn't gotten a lot of information about it, but he was wearing an STS polo shirt. And so I saw that insignia on his polo shirt and I said, hey, do you know anything about Shepherds? I didn't know.
• 0:52
  I mean, he's like the president of the seminary. So I was like, well, he said, yeah, I can answer some of your questions. What would you like to know? And little did I know that seven weeks later, not only would I be a student, I would actually be in Raleigh, North Carolina, attending for my first kind of course work toward another degree. And so I have very much appreciated the role of shepherds in my life. It has stretched me and is even now continuing to formulate kind of my thinking regarding God's word and as a pastor.
• 1:21
  I'll let him introduce himself and his family and all of that, but I am so pleased to welcome Tim Sigler from Shepherds. Would you guys welcome him with me? Thank you, brother. So good to be here. Yeah, thank you for the warm welcome and greetings on behalf of Shepherds Seminary. Pastor mentioned my family, my wife, and I will celebrate 30 years of marriage in October. We have three kids, 18, 19, and 25, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them late tonight as I...
• 1:51
  I think I arrive in Raleigh about 11.15 this evening. After a week of teaching at our teaching site in Laramie, Wyoming, just close by here. And I'd love to tell you more about Shepherds Theological Seminary, but I'm going to preach from God's Word instead. Though, I'd really invite you to follow us on social media. Check out our website at shepherds.edu. And also, on your way out or near the coffee, there are a number of brochures you can pick up.
• 2:21
  and you can learn about Shepherd's Seminary yourself. In fact, what I'd like to do is ask in just a moment, like don't raise your hand yet, how many of you have either taken a class at Shepherd's or have studied under one of our professors at another institution, or perhaps you've been to Israel with one of our Shepherd's faculty, like Dr. Doug Bookman. So raise your hand, because I know there are several. So thank you so much, and I think it's your pastor's goal to take...
• 2:50
  all of you to Israel at some point, and we hope that can happen. Well, in addition to that, I have often asked people to raise their hand if they've been a student of mine, because on one strange occasion, I was in this church speaking in the Chicagoland area when I was on faculty at Moody Bible Institute, and there was a student who was looking at the bulletin in some churches where they list out everything that's going to happen so there are no surprises, and he got down to the point where it said,
• 3:19
  the speaker for that day, and my name was listed, and he just blurted out loud, oh, no, not Dr. Sigler. He's the most boring lecturer we have. And the woman sitting next to him said, do you know who I am? And he said, no. And she said, well, I'm his wife. And he said, oh, well, do you know who I am? And she said, no. And he said, good, see ya, and he was out of there. So I like to ask people ahead of time to raise their hand. Maybe I can spot them.
• 3:49
  Well, I'd like to share with you from God's Word today from Psalm chapter 1, the first psalm. In fact, the book's title in Hebrew is Tehillim, and it means praises. And I bring that word up, Tehillim, because you actually know the root word, and we sang it this morning. It's the word hallelujah. That term, hallel, means praise. And the hallelu part, that's the...
• 4:20
  Here, some grammar. The second common plural that makes this a command phrase, hallelu, you all praise. Everyone prays. And then yah, this is the shortened form of Yahweh. This is asking you to praise ye the Lord. And so this book, Tehillim, is a book filled with praises, the praises of God's people that have been sung in good times and in bad.
• 4:49
  The praises of God's people where, as one commentator suggests, at times you open one of the Psalms and you see everything is right in the world. God is on his throne. He is being praised, and you want to praise him. But then you read along with the psalmist as well, and you find that the Psalms are also quite honest. About every human emotion that you can imagine is captured within the Psalms. And this writer says that...
• 5:18
  then the psalm can move to a time of disorientation, acknowledging that in this sin-filled world, during this time period between the perfection of God's creation and the perfection of his new creation, we have the fall of sin, of mankind into sin, and this world is disoriented. So the psalm may move from orientation to disorientation,
• 5:46
  disorientation, but thankfully, it doesn't leave us there. Many of the Psalms circle back around and remind us that even in the midst of our deepest and darkest valleys, God is still on his throne, and he is worthy to be praised. And it reorientates us to God on his throne, even in the midst of our trials.
• 6:16
  orientation, disorientation, reorientation. In fact, Psalm 1 introduces the entire collection of 150 tehillim or praises by describing the type of person who will sing them, who will memorize them, who will ponder their lyrics, who will obey them, who will pray them back to God, who will tell them to others, and who will apply their truths to the deepest struggles of their lives.
• 6:44
  If Psalm 1 and 2 then even open up the 150 Psalms like double door entries to the Psalter, then Psalm 1 is the first handle that you grab on the door set. Psalm 1 opens this book, and I love to think about how when we come to the Psalms in our time of need, we are not the first one to go there for help. As Gerald Wilson in his commentary on the Psalms puts it so well,
• 7:14
  Whenever you read the Psalms, when you sing them or pray them, you are praying, singing, and reading alongside a huge crowd of faithful witnesses throughout the ages. The words you speak have been spoken thousands, even millions of times before in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, English, Arabic, and a myriad of other languages. As you read or sing or pray, off to your right.
• 7:47
  Stand Moses and Aaron and Miriam. And in front of you, David and Solomon kneel down. To your left, Jesus, Peter and Paul, Priscilla and Aquila. While from behind come the voices of Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, Joseph of Arimathea, even those throughout church history, whether Augustine or Luther or Calvin, and maybe even more importantly to you, a godly grandmother or...
• 8:16
  a faithful grandfather, and more, and so many more who have turned to these psalms to find encouragement in a time of need. And that's what I'd like to think about today from Psalm 1. How can we survive the storms of life? Because I find this an ever-relevant issue. Look, either you're in a trial right now, or you just came out of one, or guess what's going to happen soon?
• 8:47
  It's coming. It's coming your way. And when it comes, what will be your anchor for your soul? You see, when we think about how to survive and stay steadfast, how to succeed in the storms of life, God's wisdom is the path to survival. God's wisdom, as it's found here, let's begin reading in Psalm 1.
• 9:10
  Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. In fact, he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and in all he does he prospers.
• 9:39
  to survival survival here is described really by what we intentionally avoid if you look with me at verse one we see actually three things that the blessed man and of course that's setting us up for a big contrast for someone who is not going to be on the path that leads to blessing a little later in the psalm but right away when you hear
• 10:02
  Blessed is the man. It almost sounds like you're reading the book of Proverbs because the book of Proverbs sets up this huge contrast between two ways to live. The way that leads to God's blessing or the way of the fool that leads, well, to not God's blessing. And the opposite of being blessed, of course, is being cursed. The opposite of enjoying God's rest is...
• 10:29
  that misery of life on your own, untethered from him and his word. Survival here then is described by looking at the blessed man who intentionally avoids three things. Perhaps you see that word not three times in the text. Who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor...
• 10:55
  Not or nor. These negations are listed three times. You see, he does not walk. He is intentional about avoiding bad advice. He does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. How many of your friends give you good counsel all the time? Haven't you heard some trash talk out there?
• 11:21
  evil counsel, some bad advice that if you were to follow it, it would ruin your life. You know, I've often said people don't wake up one day and say, I think I want to go to prison or I'd like to ruin my marriage and have my kids hate me forever. You know, most people don't wake up one day and think that, but maybe it's a little bad counsel here and it's a little pondering of a temptation there. And what do you know? That's where they're going.
• 11:52
  They're going down the path that leads to destruction. And maybe it's because they heard some bad advice and, like fools, they followed it. That's what the Proverbs would say. But this person is intentional because he wants God's blessing and he does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Friends, next time you hear the counsel of the wicked, can you spot it? Can you compare and contrast it with the truth of Scripture that would lead you to God's blessing?
• 12:21
  The Psalms would encourage you to intentionally avoid bad counsel. Don't walk in the counsel of the wicked. Further, this person does not stand in the way of sinners. Now, our English might be a little confusing there. It doesn't mean to stand in the way of sinners like, hey, wait, you're a sinner. I'm going to stand in your way. No, no, no. This is a path. This is a...
• 12:50
  life directional indicator this person is not on that path that sinners are on this person intentionally avoids the bad associates who live life with him and really drag him down into the evil that happens when you're on that path when you're on that way when you're on the road that leads to destruction
• 13:18
  So when you see other people who have already woken up that day and said, I want to go to prison, ruin my marriage, have my kids hate me, maybe you should not be on the same road with them, going in the same direction with them, but you should intentionally avoid bad associates. Further, we see here that the blessed man walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.
• 13:49
  scoffers, you know who they are, the constant complainers, the grumblers, those who, when they hear the truth of God, mock it, think it, the way of wisdom is foolishness. They might say it right out loud. That's nonsense. And they're talking about the truth of the one true God. The blessed person is going to avoid such bad attitudes and recognize them as the falsehoods that they are.
• 14:26
  To sit actually means that you have become comfortable with them. You're going to sit right down with them, but not only comfort, because you can do that standing, hang around with them, feel comfortable with these bad associates, but sitting in Scripture often also implies that you have become one of the leaders of the pack. This is what people did in the city gates in ancient times, to sit in the gates.
• 14:55
  meant that you were a decision maker. You were a maher. You were important. And you were deciding what was allowed in the city and what could come out of the city. This was the seat of trade, of commerce, even of judgment. It was like you were holding court. And maybe that's what you do near the coffee stand at your work. You're there holding court, deciding what...
• 15:22
  that was made by the bosses was a good decision or a bad decision, and when you do, are you a trash talker? Are you a scoffer? Scripture warns us about scoffers, and it reminds us that they are on the path that leads to destruction, especially those who scoff and mock at God himself and his wise counsel.
• 15:49
  You see, the blessed man is going to intentionally avoid bad advice and bad associates and a bad attitude and will not walk. Think about that. You're just getting to know them. You're walking with them. But to stand, that's even more serious. You're really comfortable now. But then to sit, notice the progression of evil.
• 16:21
  away from god's blessing now you're you're passing judgment you're one of them and that's where you have cast your lot that's where you have decided to be but you see the blessed man will not do any of these things but intentionally avoids them further we read that survival is determined not only by what we intentionally avoid but what we are deter is determined by what we intentionally
• 16:53
  Notice this huge contrast in verse 2. If blessed is the man who does not do these three things in verse 1, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
• 17:07
  He intentionally delights in God's word. He takes pleasure in it. He desires God's word. He wants to be in God's word. He wants his life oriented around God's word. He wants his decisions informed by God's word. He wants to submit himself to God's word. And not only does he delight in God's word, but he meditates on it. He meditates on God's word. In fact, this word, to meditate, is also found...
• 17:32
  in chapter 2 of the Psalter, where, again, like double doors, you open the introduction to the book by first reading Psalm 1, a Torah psalm, if you will, that points us back to the law of the Lord, His instruction, His Torah, but also Psalm 2 that points us to His Messiah. Why do the nations rage, Psalm 2 asks, and the people plot in vain?
• 18:00
  The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed one, his promised Messiah. This word in Psalm 2, to imagine, to plot, is the same word to meditate in Psalm 1, verse 2. You see, it's God's word that the blessed man is going to imagine.
• 18:36
  In fact, this is the same word for that verb that describes when a cow chews its cud, when it brings back up the grasses it has eaten and rehearses them, if you will. Not a real pleasant thought. But as the cow would mull over and re-chew, this is what is being encouraged of the believer through meditating on Scripture. This is...
• 19:08
  Such a distinction between Eastern forms of meditation and biblical meditation. While Eastern meditation might encourage you to empty your mind of all thoughts, the Scripture is encouraging a meditation where you are meditating on God's thoughts found in Scripture, that you meditate on them day and night. Now, this figure of speech, day and night,
• 19:34
  is what is known as a merism by literary scholars, and it is mentioning one side of a spectrum and another side of the spectrum to encourage you to think about everything in between. In other words, hey, well, it's not day and it's not night, so I'm not going to meditate on God's word. No, no, no. Day and night is mentioning two extremes, like the heat of the day and the darkness of the night.
• 20:02
  and really everything in between. It's like when Scripture mentions that Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. Alpha is the first Greek letter of the alphabet. Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. And it's not meaning that, well, hey, if your name starts with a letter somewhere in between there, you know, forget it. No, Jesus is our all in all. He's the alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and on and on and on, clear to the end.
• 20:32
  He keeps the omega. He's the beginning and the end. He's everything in between. He is our all in all. In a similar way, the blessed man is going to delight himself in the law of the Lord, in God's instruction. And on his law, on his instruction, he will meditate day and night. All the time. God's law. You see, while you're refusing those evil associates and those evil attitudes
• 21:02
  evil advice. You are taking God's advice. You are seeking godly associates. You are seeking God's attitude to think his thoughts after him. In fact, the psalm goes on to say that when you do that, you're like a tree planted by rivers of water. You're going to be steadfast. I'm reminded about what one of my students posted online. He said, took a financial hit today and it shook me. So after a moment of panic,
• 21:32
  I went to the Lord in prayer. I opened the word and read. And the now was overshadowed by eternity. The promise shone light upon my problems. And this is what I like the best. He says, nothing has changed. He means like I didn't just find an extra check somewhere or my parents didn't bail me out or I didn't win the lottery or, you know, it wasn't like my situation changed. No, no, no. I still don't know what to do next, but I'm no longer afraid.
• 22:03
  The cheesy truth calms my soul. I have Jesus, and that's enough. It really is enough. You see, when a person is grounded in the truth of God's word, then they're going to be like a tree, the psalmist goes on, to speak of that survival that is demonstrated by an impressive tree in verse 3. This impressive tree.
• 22:39
  It's not just a little weed that's going to be pulled up. And it's not a little shrub of sagebrush that's going to blow away in a strong wind. I like this outline that is provided by one commentator on the Psalms, John Phillips. He says in his book, Exploring the Psalms, that the blessed man is like an impressive tree. And he speaks of his permanence. He's like a tree.
• 23:07
  firmly planted and well-rooted. You see, the secret of every tree is its roots. It does not matter where our life is planted, lived, or what kind of weather you meet. If your roots find his water, they're not going to go down deep. And it speaks of his permanence. Further, Philip speaks about his position by water streams. Probably a reference to the...
• 23:36
  artificial channels for irrigation. In ancient Egypt, it was quite well known that you could extend all that water from the Nile because if you look at, I love looking at Google Earth and focusing on Egypt, it's one big, giant, sandy, rocky, God-forsaken, barren wasteland. Except, snaking up from central part of Africa, you have the Nile River.
• 24:07
  this big, lush, green area against a sandy, rocky, God-forsaken wasteland, and you have this greenery. And the ancient farmers learned how they could extend the water of the Nile so that through canals they could push that water out and farm from 5 to 15 miles on either side of the Nile River. And as we think about that,
• 24:39
  The position of this tree was by the water streams. I look across the landscape of Israel at times and observe how, man, look at all those trees kind of following one path, but there's no river there. And it's not the river, it's these underground aquifers where the water had once flowed during a time of the rainy season and the flash floods, but now...
• 25:09
  After the top of the water has sunken down, there are still these paths. And it's the roots that go down to these deep paths. His position by streams of water. His productivity. Notice, it yields its fruit. Its perpetuity. Its leaf does not wither. Thus, he's like an evergreen tree.
• 25:34
  Most fruit trees shed their leaves annually after the fruit-bearing season, but not this tree. The godly person here is described as staying ever green and ever faithful. And finally, his prosperity. In whatever he does, he prospers. The idea here is one that this person turns out well, like the tree, because of God's blessing. I want to be a tree, not a shrub.
• 26:04
  I don't want to blow away with the first strong wind, untethered, unattached to God's saving truth in his word. These streams of water that you can often see in the desert landscape of southern Israel in the Negev, take a look how they snake by. Can you see that in the photo? These are those paglemayim, as they are called, the streams of water where...
• 26:36
  There's no river there, but the roots go down deep to get the water. And I wonder about you, and I wonder about me. In my times of trial, am I going down deep to get God's word? When life is no longer feeling oriented but is disoriented, am I seeking the reorientation that comes from the Lord and his word? As verse 4 goes on, oh, oh, forgive me.
• 27:12
  Jeremiah puts it the same way as Psalm 1. We shouldn't miss this. Jeremiah 17, verses 5 through 8. Look how similar this sounds to our text. Thus says the Lord, cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a shrub in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes.
• 27:44
  but will live in stony waters in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. It goes on to say, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord, for he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes.
• 28:10
  but its leaves will be green and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. What's the difference? You see, one trusts in man, the other trusts in the Lord. One of my most cherished family heirlooms is a copy of my great-grandmother's Bible on my mother's side. I inherited it when I was 13 years old.
• 28:41
  It's not because it's the only copies of Scripture I had, but because it was near that time in my own life that I was experiencing a significant personal moment of truth that resulted in a significant personal revival. I had already professed Christ. I already had come to know the Lord. But age 13, you know.
• 29:06
  It's a time when you're kind of deciding what path you're going to go down and what kind of person you're going to be and what kind of friends you're going to be listening to and who you're going to hang out with. You have some new freedoms and you have new choices to make and new influences that could pull you one way or another. And I began to see that in my own life, I was going down an unhealthy path.
• 29:31
  I remember opening her copy of the scripture and seeing at the end of the book of Malachi, she wrote, I finished reading the books of the Old Testament on this date. And I fast forwarded to the end of Revelation in the New Testament, and she said about a year and a half later, I finished reading the books of the New Testament on this date. I think, wow, I'm not the first one in the family to read God's word.
• 29:58
  and to hear about its truths, and actually then to need to make some decisions about the kind of person I need to be. She was a godly example in the family. She was a consistent believer, if there was one in the family line. She really loved the Lord, and her life was anchored in the Word. It made all the difference. Well, His Word makes all the difference.
• 30:28
  in our lives as well, whether we accept it or whether we reject it. You see, and that is the contrast found in this psalm, because we read not only about the righteous, but we read about the wicked. Not only about the blessed is the man who's like a tree firmly planted, but look at the contrast in verse 4. The wicked are not so. Or I like how some translations front the contrast by saying, not so the wicked.
• 30:57
  Like right up front, the not is a contrast with everything that we've read before about the person who is rooted and grounded, who is in the word, who is guided by the word, who avoids bad counsel, not so the wicked. In other words, all those things that we've been learning about, about a grounded person who's like a tree.
• 31:18
  A blessed person who doesn't walk, stand, or sit in the counsel of the wicked in the way of sinners in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, not so the wicked. They're just not like everything that we just learned. They are different, and their lives come out differently. In fact, we read about the wicked in verse 4, but they are like chaff that the wind drives away. The chaff is the refuse. It's the worthless chaff.
• 31:48
  grain refuse. Maybe think of it like you've got the popcorn, and then you've got the holes, but then you've got that little shell, that little stuff that if you blew in the bottom of the bowl, it would go everywhere. That's chaff, friends. It's the hole on the outside. It's the worthless part that needs to be thrown away from the grain. I love taking people to a little site called Nazareth Village up in the Galilee.
• 32:17
  where it's like a living history farm of biblical times. They're in biblical clothing. They're using tools from the biblical period. They even give you some samples of foods from Bible times. And as they're working with the animals and the agriculture, if you're there in the right season, the threshing season, if you're there when they've got the grain on the ground,
• 32:46
  Then they have these forks that they pick it up with and throw the grain into the air. And then the wind simply drives away the chaff. And you keep doing this a couple hundred times. And pretty soon all you've got left is the good stuff that keeps falling back down. The weighty stuff, the kernel of grain and the chaff is gone. One pastor put it like this. You're either a tree that grows.
• 33:14
  or you're the chaff that blows. You are untethered. You are not driven down deep into the truths of God's word. The wicked are not so. They are not planted by streams of water. They do not yield their fruit in its season. It is not as though their leaf will not wither. Their leaves wither.
• 33:42
  And it is not as though in all they do they prosper. The wicked are not so. But they're like chaff that the wind drives away. Further, we read about the wicked that wickedness is the path to suffering, not the path to blessing. Because as we read here, the wicked will be driven away and the wicked will not stand in the judgment.
• 34:10
  You see, there really are two ways to live. One way that leads to God's blessing and the other that leads to the curse. In fact, therefore the wicked will not stand in the day of judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous for the Lord knows the way of the righteous. Remember that word way? The same word for path or a road.
• 34:42
  a directional indicator of your life? Which way are you going? You see, there really are two ways to live. And this psalm puts it ever so clearly. They, the wicked, will not survive God's judgment. They will not share in God's salvation. But verse six puts it ever so starkly, they will perish. I have this sermon that I've never preached, but I love the outline. The title is, You're Gonna Die.
• 35:19
  And it's a very simple outline. There are three points. It's you're going to die. Second point, you're going to die. And the third point, you're going to die. It's a rather clear and straightforward, not so happy sort of sounding message. But it's easy to follow. You know where you're going. You're going to die. It's a message to those who need to contemplate.
• 35:54
  The two ways to live. Because scripture is ever so clear. Again, I mentioned how Psalm 1 is very much like everything you read, really, in the book of Proverbs. Two ways to live. Where you read in the book of Proverbs about the righteous, wise person who is on the straight path that leads to life. And then you read about the foolish, wicked person who is on the crooked path that leads to death.
• 36:24
  forward a very stark contrast, leaving the reader of Proverbs with a decision to make. Which way? Because these are both ways. These are both roads. These are both routes. These are both directional choices that you have to make. Which way are you going to go?
• 36:49
  There is the way of the righteous wise and there is the way of the wicked fool. The wicked fool will not experience blessing but cursing. He will not be one who is obeying but is one who is rebelling. He is not godly, he's ungodly. He's not on the path to life, he's on the way to death. He will not experience God's salvation, he will experience God's judgment. You see, this psalm ends not the way it begins. Do you notice the first word of the psalm? Blessed someone.
• 37:20
  But the last word of the psalm, perish, perish. But the wicked, the way of the wicked will perish. And so I'd ask about you. Will you stand in the day of judgment? What does being steadfast mean? Maybe as an employee or as a business owner or in your marriage or as a parent or as a child, as a student. What does it mean to be steadfast in times of plenty?
• 37:58
  versus in times of want. When you are stronger than you've ever been or when you're sick and weary and worn. What does it mean to be steadfast? Please understand that being steadfast through the storms of life is not a matter of you being a high-capacity individual. This is not what the psalmist is speaking about here. It's not about you pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps and saying, I'm going to be strong.
• 38:28
  I'm a survivor. I'm good enough. No, no, no. In John 10, verses 28 and 29, Jesus referred to his followers as those who are secure, not because of themselves, but because of him. He says, I give to them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.
• 38:53
  My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. You see, are you in Jesus' hand whose hand is in the Father's hand?
• 39:09
  You're rooted in him, in his word. In the end, you see, Psalm 1 points us to the ultimate blessed one. It points us to the son who is identified in Psalm 2 as the one we are invited to kiss in Psalm 2, verse 12. Kiss the son, the one whom God will give. It points us to the son of God whose cross of death became a tree of life for all who trust in him. It points us to the one who is the true vine.
• 39:38
  to whom we can cling, to the chief cornerstone. You see all these terms that relate to his steadfastness, to the one who is the light of the world, our deliverer, our stronghold, our one foundation, our anchor for the soul. But wow, aren't there some false foundations out there? Building our houses upon sand, trusting in false ways, whether it's our hard work, our money, our material possessions, our jobs, our relationships, our status, our health, our, you see,
• 40:11
  When all of these things are gone, we have to ask ourselves, as the chaff is lifted, you know, what's going to be left? The trials of life seem to reveal the worthless chaff for what it is. Job said, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return. You see, the righteous and the wicked, we experience the same trials of life. But Psalm 1 says,
• 40:48
  We just respond differently. In the trials of life, do you go back time and time again to the anchor of God's word, to the savior of your soul? I hope you do, because that's the only way to stay steadfast. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word today. Thank you for the encouragement from scripture, even the encouragement about scripture. Let us be those who are steadfast in the storms of life because our trust
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  is in you. We give you thanks in Jesus' name. Amen.