Psalm 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the last four weeks we have been going verse by verse through my favorite Psalm, Psalm 1. Up to this point David has compared the Godly and the wicked. Last week I finished with talking about how black and white things are. Those who have accepted Christ will be gathered with Him for eternity. The wicked who reject Him will spend eternity in hell. Spend some time reading Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus Himself tells us what will happen.
We come to verse 5 this week. The word therefore connects this verse to the previous verse. “Therefore (or on account of their inner worthlessness and instability) . . . the wicked will not stand in the judgment.” This doesn’t mean they won’t face judgement it means they won’t be able to stand up to the judgement. They will not have any defense they can stand on. Understand the wicked/ungodly will stand before God at the Great White Throne judgement but they won’t have a leg to stand on as we say. God requires perfect righteousness and only those whose sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus meet that requirement. Not by what they have done but what Jesus did for them!
The final part of the verse “nor diners in the assembly of righteous” tells us that only those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior will assemble together with Him. When the goats and sheep are separated the goats won’t be with the sheep. In heaven only the saved will be there.
I pray for those who have never accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I pray they will understand that God keeps his word and will do what he says he will do. 2 Peter 3:9 tell us, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God is a loving God he doesn’t want anyone to spend eternity away from Him, that is why He sent Jesus to die for us.
I also pray that those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior understand how important it is to remember that we need to share Jesus with others. We can have an impact on someones eternity if we are willing to share the Good News with them. Pray God gives you those opportunity and when he does that you will have the strength, wisdom and courage to step up and speak out. Just like the Lord we should want none to perish and do what we can to keep it from happening!