A GREAT SETUP FOR THE PSALMS
Psalm 1:1-3 NKJV
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
Many of the Psalms have a personal feel to them. The Lord is my Shepherd. I will bless the Lord at all times. The Lord is the strength of my life. Many Psalms express the heart of David as he deals with challenges and appeals to God for help. But not this Psalm. This Psalm is a great setup for all the Psalms. This Psalm is very instructive regarding what to stay away from, how to approach God's Word, and the resulting benefits.
The blessed person is the one who stays away from the counsel of the ungodly. There is plenty of ungodly counsel available today. It may sound very convincing, but God is not in it. There is blatant wicked counsel available. That's the stuff where its anti-God content is immediately obvious. The counsel we have to be more aware of is that which sounds fine at face value, but a closer look reveals that it is contrary to scriptural truth.
The blessed person is not found on paths that sinners frequent. We are in the world but not of the world. Following the Lord will often look different. It may look strange to those outside of the faith, but we are followers of Christ. He is our Shepherd and leads us in paths that are right in His sight.
The blessed person does not sit with the scornful. Those who mock and scoff at the concept of a risen Jesus and those who belittle Scripture are not the ones we want to be around consistently. Their negativity can wear on us. Reach out, but don't hang out with the scornful.
The blessed person does delight in God's Word. If we delight in God's Word, ungodly counsel just won't fly with us. If we delight in God's Word, we’ll respond differently to life. And delighting in God's Word will cause us to live differently. It's not that we are trying to be controversial, but we have a different life source and motivation. We will look different, but it's a good different.
Because we love God's Word, we meditate in it consistently. The word meditate in this verse means to ponder by talking to yourself. I know conventional wisdom says we shouldn't talk to ourselves, but we are not walking in that counsel. Speaking God's Word to ourselves is Godly, smart, and a powerful force in our lives.
So, the blessed person is on this different God's Word-infused path. And look what the result is. Like a tree planted by rivers of water. Not a dried-out, parched life but a refreshed, abundant life. Bearing fruit or, we would say, being productive. Not drying up and spiritually malnourished but fresh and flourishing. This is good stuff, and the psalmist is not done.
"And whatever he does shall prosper." Keep in mind that no American preacher wrote this. Long before anyone got upset at the idea that God would prosper His people, the Bible was talking. And the Bible was saying that the ones who would follow God, delight in His word, and keep His word in their mouth and on their mind would be blessed and succeed.
This is such a great setup for the rest of the Psalms. As we read and think about what is written, we learn how to reject ungodly counsel, walk in right paths, stay spiritually refreshed, and prosper in all we do.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your wisdom and Your ways. Show me how to better avoid the ways that are not profitable and walk closer to You. I want to be that fresh, flourishing, fruit-producing tree.