The Contrast

The Bible is a book of contrasts. There is a rich man and a beggar. There is

Paradise and Hades. We began to see yesterday in the first Psalm that there

is a blessed or happy man and an ungodly man. We saw in the Godly or blessed

man that his walk is not in the counsel of the ungodly, he doesn't stand in

the way of sinners nor does he sit in the seat of the scornful. He has

delight in the word of God. He bears spiritual fruit.

The contrast is seen as we look at the ungodly. The ungodly are like the

chaff which the wind drives away. (Psalm 1:4) As a little boy I accompanied

my dad as he followed the wheat thresher to the different locations of grain

on the neighborhood farms. I remember the straw stack that was formed as the

grain was separated from the straw. The grain was deposited in burlap bags.

The straw was stored and would be used for livestock bedding. Then, there

was chaff. If one could have gathered it and saved it, it is doubtful that

it would have been good for anything The wind blew it away as fast as it

came from the thresher. Being mostly dust, it was worthless. What a picture

God gives of the ungodly! Verses five and six of the first Psalm tell us of

the separation of the sinners and the righteous. The Lord knows, or

approves, of the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall

perish. (Psalm 1:6)  It is not only a contrast, it is a warning to those who

live an ungodly life. 

What a tragedy to come to the end of life and realize that your entire life

was totally wasted.  But, God can take your nothingness and turn it into

usefulness as you surrender your all to the Lord Jesus Christ.