PRÉCIS ON WHAT GOD WANTS II: A SIMPLE DEFINITION OF THE MAN OF HONOR – (MUST READ FOR EVERY PASTOR!)

SCRIPTURE. “Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. But his delight and desire are in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.” – PSALM 1:1-2, AMPC

KEY TERM: “DELIGHT.” ‘Chephets’ [חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ]: “From a primitive root meaning, ‘To be inclined toward that which is pleasing or gives pleasure;’ one’s most valuable thing or matter; that which is acceptable or deeply satisfying.” NOTE: “The Hebrew word ‘chephets’ primarily conveys the idea of delight or pleasure, often in the context of what is pleasing or desirable. It can also refer to a purpose or matter of interest. In the Biblical context, it is used to describe both human desires and God’s Pleasure or Will.”

QUOTATION. ““Christian Hedonism is a philosophy of life built on the following Five Convictions: (1) The longing to be happy is a Universal human experience, and it is good, not sinful. We should never try to deny or resist our longing to be happy, as though it were a bad impulse. Instead, we should seek to intensify this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction. (2) The deepest and most enduring Happiness is found only in God. Not from God, but in God. (3) The Happiness we find in God reaches its consummation when it is shared with others in the manifold ways of Love. (4) To the extent that we try to abandon the pursuit of our own pleasure, we fail to honor God and love people. Or, to put it positively: (5) The Pursuit of [Godly] Pleasure is a necessary part of all Worship and Virtue. That is: ‘The Chief End of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.’” ― JOHN PIPER, Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, 2011; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘He walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.’ So also it is in regard to the persons with whom they associate. They are, first, Irreligious Men in general; then, those who have so far advanced in Depravity as to disregard known duty, and to violate known obligations; and then, those who become confirmed in Infidelity, and who openly Mock at Virtue, and Scoff at the claims of Religion.

It is unnecessary to say that, in both these respects, this is an accurate description of what actually occurs in the world. ‘He who casually and accidentally Walks with the Wicked, listening to their Counsel, will soon learn to place himself in their way, and to wait for them, desiring their society, and will ultimately be likely to be feared identified with Open Scoffers.’ And he who indulges in one form of Depravity, or in the Neglect of Religion in any way, will, unless restrained and converted, be likely to run through every grade of Wickedness, until he becomes a Confirmed Scoffer at all Religion. ‘The Sentiment in this verse is, that the man who is truly blessed is a man who does none of these things.’ His associations and preferences are found elsewhere, as is stated in the next verse.

‘But his delight is in the Law of the Lord’ — In the study and practice of it, as appears from the context. Having described the character of the truly blessed man negatively, in the preceding verse, he, in this, speaks of it positively. The ‘Law of God’may be here understood of the Whole Doctrine delivered by God to his Church, consisting of doctrines, precepts, promises, and threatenings, &c. Or more particularly of the preceptive part of it, which is commonly called His Law. And so this is recorded as the particular ‘Character of a Good Man,’ that he takes delight, not only in God’s Promises, which a bad man may delight in, but even in his Commands, which are unwelcome and disagreeable to the wicked. 

‘In His Law doth he meditate’ — The word יהגה, ‘Jehgeh,’implies that he exercises a deep, serious, and affectionate thoughtfulness about it; and by this it appears that his delight is in it, for what we love, we love to think of. ‘Day and Night.’ —Not seldom and slightly, but diligently and constantly. Thus, the Psalms, ‘Like the Sermon on the Mount,’ says Dr. Horne, ‘open with a Beatitude;’for our comfort and encouragement directing us immediately to that Happiness which all Mankind, in different ways, are seeking and inquiring after. All would secure themselves from the incursions of Misery; but all do not consider that Misery is the offspring of Sin, from which it is therefore necessary to be delivered and preserved, in order to become happy, or ‘Blessed.’”

DK’S TAKE. This is one of the most all-encompassing, powerful and definitive passages in the entire Bible that exquisitely and clearly lays down the MARKS OF A GODLY MAN. Not a Pretender to the Faith, nor an Hypocrite, nor a Slacker. This is the Genuinely Honorable Christian, of which there are precious few in America today.

• COURAGE. They refuse to associate with so-called believers or leaders whose Doctrines are unsteady, and worse, false.

• INTEGRITY. Neither will they traffic in the ways and lifestyles of sinners, whether inside the Church or outside.

• FIDELITY. These individuals are loathe to even listen to the Scorners chastise the Righteous and are not afraid to confront them if they claim to be “Christians.”

• LOVE. They are, at their core, in love with God and His Truth. It is what animates their zeal and demonstrates real, Biblical Love.

• WISDOM. Thus, such believers virtually ‘Soak in the Law of God, day and night,’ seeking His Wisdom and Instruction by dwelling in the Deep Thoughts of the Lord. Therefore, they place all other presumed biblical sayings beneath this Highest Standard, testing all by it.

CODA. Beloved, these “Five Steps,” if you will, have radically and revolutionarily changed the entire course of my Theology and consequently, my Life and Work for God as a serious Student Teacher of the Law. Please, I fairly beg you – ‘especially you Pastors’ – to well consider these FIVE DISCIPLINES in Sacred Preparation for the Days of Trial ‘just down the road.’

‘And the Joy of the Lord shall be your strength!’