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.
The statement ‘Stand in the way of sinners’ describes a person’s stance. The sinner takes his stance in the way that sinners, those who ‘come short of the mark’, take, with the full intention of joining them. This is a matter of deliberate choice. He takes his stance on refusing to love his neighbor, and instead puts himself and his desires first. He fails to show compassion and mercy, and instead fights to ensure that he gets his rights, and that no one interferes with his liberties or his pleasures.
The righteous, on the other hand, do not take their stance in the way of sinners. They take their stance on the word of God, and on obedience to that word. They take their stance in the way of His instruction. They study His word and seek to live it out.
Can you see the difference here between a Christian and non-believers? We see total different ways of living our lives. Now, let me stop and say something. When we give our lives to our Lord Jesus Christ, we give Him our total being – body, soul, and spirit. We need to give up the world. We cannot be half in the world and half as a Christian.
The righteous man takes the high road. He rises above what is wrong. He keeps himself clear of anything that can taint his life. He delights in the law of God. In contrast the very sinful take the low road. They are the ultra wicked. They are mixed up in everything that is unpleasant. But most take the middle road, the way of ease and non-exertion, of compromise and self-consideration. They come short of God’s requirements. They come short of the glory of God. There is no middle ground. If you do not take the way of the righteous,then you default to the other position which is ‘the way of sinners’.
The question we have to ask ourselves is ‘are you in or out’? I like the statement ‘the world behind us and the cross before us – no turning back!’
The righteous also do not ‘sit in the seat of the scornful’. A lot of times we read something and take it for granted that we know what it means. Do you know what the word ‘scornful’ means? According to Webster it means ‘Contempt or disdain felt toward a person or object considered despicable or unworthy’.
There are always those who are full of contempt of those who choose to live biblically, of being particular to obey God’s commands, and of adherence to the word of God. They are often quite insulting and nasty towards anyone who does not see things as they do. It is the most difficult thing for the godly person to fight. It is not opposition or persecution, it is simply contempt. And that is hard to bear. The scornful make clear their contempt of anyone who dares to really believe that the Bible is the word of God. They reveal their contempt of those whom they see as ‘narrow-minded’, those who put God’s will first. They consider it foolish and old-fashioned. They mock the way of faith and trust.
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.
In this one verse I want us all to see what our Holy El Olam – The Everlasting God – will do if we but adhere to commit ourselves in seeking and following Him.
Here is a list of what He will give to each one of us;
. Prominence – Our Precious Holy Spirit refers to us as a tree. I like that. Trees are stately. I think many of us remember Joyce Kilmer’s wonderful poem, “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear a nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”
. Permanence – The tree is planted. It is rooted in a good place where is can obtain light and nourishment.
. Position – The tree is planted by rivers. Please note that it is not just planted by ‘a’ river but by ‘rivers’ [plural]. We have access to a never ending or falling source of life.
. Productive – I know we are talking about a tree but how can this fruit apply in reality to our lives? How about the ‘Fruit of The Spirit’, highlighted in the book of Galatians chapter 5, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” In case you are not aware, an apple tree does not eat its own fruit. Others passing by pluck one and get to enjoy the fruit that springs forth. Neat huh?
. Proper – The tree bears the fruit ‘in its season’. For us people in the northeast we get to enjoy all four seasons. Autumn is the harvest time where the fruit is picked. However, we see here something amazing. You will bring forth fruit continuously, all year long.
. Perpetual – Your leaves will not wither. You stay alive all year long. You do not have a down period.
. Prosperous – Now here is something I crave and I think you would also. No matter what you do or sink your hands into – it will prosper! [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.
The opposite is true of the wicked. They are not fruitful. They are not firmly grounded and planted. They are not good grain. They are rather chaff, the outer husk, the useless and lifeless part of the grain. They have no substance, they have no value, and instead of being rooted in the ground they are eventually blown away by a puff of wind as useless and worthless. They cannot produce fruit. They are chaff. So just as the chaff is blown away when the grain is tossed up, separated from the grain by the wind, so are the careless and sinful blown away in their frailty. They are blown away when God’s wind blows on them.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
When judgment comes those who choose not to follow the Lord will not be able to stand. They will have no place in the gathering of the righteous. The thought is not specifically of the final Judgment Day, but of whenever God’s judgment comes on them. It is a principle of Scripture that God continually judges the wicked, even before the day of His final judgment which finally completes that judgment. Because sin must be judged and must be condemned God deals with it continually in all kinds of ways. And in the face of that judgment the wicked will be blown away. They will not be able to prevent it.
In Psalm one we have read just seven verses yet they are powerful. Every one of us must choose the way in which we should walk in our lives, whether in the way of the word of God or in the way of sinners.
Our Great Master said these impacting words through His prophet Isaiah in chapter 1, “"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”
For all of us let us head His Wise Counsel. If we do He has promised to;
1. He will reveal Himself to us.
2. He will meet with us individually and corporately
3. He will Bless us
4. We will be His people
5. We will recognize and enjoy His presence
6. He will watch over us
7. He will guide our paths.
I close with this one point. Did you see the ‘Indiana Jones’ movies? I think the first and third am the best. In the third movie, - ‘The Last Crusade’ Remember when Indiana at the end of the movie comes into the room filled with grails. The old knight says that one must choose wisely. The evil guy grabs the diamond studded goblet from the pretty German lady and drinks from it. In an instant he disintegrates. The knight responds ‘He chose poorly’.
As your brother who also needs to head his own teaching and advice may we all learn from this Scripture that we must chose ‘wisely’? Let us all profess this day onward to be completely faithful to our Blessed and Holy Ruler, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His Way Is not only the Best Way, it is the only Way.
