How To Live A Successful Life Series

Psalm 1

How To Live A Successful Life

1 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. 4 The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

I once heard someone say that the book of Psalms represents us human’s prayers to Jehovah Elohim – The Lord Most High. The book of Proverbs is El Shaddai’s words back to us.

This psalm is introductory to the whole collection. The entire psalm extols the blessedness of the one who avoids the path of the sinful people, and delights in the instruction or Law of our Adoni Yahweh, walking in its truth. Such a person chooses the way of righteousness.

The Psalm initially declares what the way of the righteous is by describing what it is not. We will note that the book of Psalms is filled with opposites;

. Love and hate

. Joy and sorrow

. Hope and fear

. Peace and strife

. Faith and unbelief

1 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.

To begin with the Christian man and woman’s path is separated from the world. The Christian follows our Lord Jesus Christ by communicating with our Adoni Father God on a continuous basis; finding out His Wisdom and Direction from reading our Precious Holy Spirit’s written Word; and by hanging out with other believers.

In the book of Isaiah we learn that our Great God Is also called ‘Wonderful Counselor’. Now let me ask you something. If you have any concern or problem, do you want to go to some unbeliever who has theories of man’s wisdom or go to the One Who Is The Best Counselor?

Looking at this question is pretty much answered. Yet, some people think that our God Is too busy to be bothered with all our issues. Wrong! He loves you and wants you to come to Him all the time for everything. In the book of Exodus chapter 18 we read, “"Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.”

Look at some of these encouraging Scriptures;

Psalm 37: 40, “And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, because they trust in Him.

Psalm 40: 13, “Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me!

Psalm 50: 15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."Psalm 91: 15, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I [will be] with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.”

The psalmist first declares that the righteous are blessed. To be righteous means to be in a right relationship with God, having a heart that responds to Him and His word. The righteous are blessed because they do not ‘walk in the counsel of the wicked’. To walk is to go deliberately along in a certain way. It is to have an attitude that determines the direction that you take, and then to follow that attitude through continually. Thus the righteous do not listen to the advice and planned purpose of the wicked, that is, of those who choose to disobey God’s laws, who behave ‘wickedly’, and who are willing to do anything to advance themselves or to find enjoyment at the expense of others, and who counsel others to do the same. So while the wicked are set on a determined course which means ignoring God’s commandments, thinking that it will result in prosperity, power, freedom and fun, the righteous take up another position. The righteous take up the position of obedience to God. They walk with God, knowing that this will bring them blessing, spiritual power, true freedom and fullness of joy. Each of us has to choose which way we walk.