A Christian on the Mount - The Saint's Spiritual Delight - Part One Thomas Watson

Extract
A Christian on the Mount — Part One
Thomas Watson

The Saint’s Spiritual Delight

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD” Psalm 1:2.

Chapter I — Shewing that Negative Goodness is but a broken Title to Heaven

As the book of the Canticles is called the Song of Songs by an Hebraism, it being the most excellent, so this Psalm may not unfitly be entitled, the Psalm of Psalms, for it contains in it the very pith and quintessence of Christianity. What Jerome saith of St. Paul’s epistles, the same may I say of this Psalm; it is short as to the composure, but full of length and strength as to the matter. This Psalm carries blessedness in the frontispiece; it begins where we all hope to end: it may well be called a Christian’s Guide, for it discovers the quicksands where the wicked sink down in perdition, verse 1. and the firm ground on which the saints tread to glory, verse 2. The text is an epitome and breviary of religion, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Every word hath its emphasis; I begin with the first word “But.” This “But” is full of spiritual wine, we will broach and taste a little, then proceed.

“But.” This is a term of opposition. The godly man is described, I. By way of negation, in three particulars. (1). “He walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly;” he is none of the council; he neither gives bad counsel, nor takes it. (2). “He standeth not in the way of sinners.” He will not stand among those who “shall not be able to stand in the judgment,” verse 5. (3). “He sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.” Let it be a chair of state, he will not sit in it, he knows it will prove very uneasy at last.
The word sitting implies, 1. A habit in sin,—“Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother,” Psa. 50:20. 2. Sitting implies familiarity with sinners—“I have not sat with vain persons,” Psa…