The Blessed Man

A passage so familiar to all of us, yet so wonderful:

Psalm 1
Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so:
but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:
but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

David simply explains doesn't he what he Blessed Man DOESN'T DO and what is DOES DO.

He walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. It is so easy to do that. Who are the ungodly? Well, it is hard to find those who ARE godly. Look all around you and think of all the people that deny the very existence of God, listen to the people who talk on television (the majority), the commentators, actors in general, people living as they please without any fear of God.

Walking not in their counsel means: we don't take onboard their world view, we don't imbibe their language, we don't adopt their attitude, we don't emulate them. We go somewhere else for counsel.

Sinners are those who miss the mark, not living as they should. The Blessed Man does not stand with them, on their road (ie. Way).
"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,but the end thereof are the ways of death." Prov 14v12

Scorners are those who are in denial. Deny Christ, willingly ignorant, atheists. Scorners SIT, adopt a settled position, criticising others, especially those doing God's will or seeking to do God's will. Remember: "And sitting down they watched him there;" Matt 27v36.

Recall: "Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly." Prov 3v34

Notice progression: walking, standing, sitting. It is easy to walk amongst the ungodly and end up sitting in their seats.

The Blessed Man is not scorning, he is delighting. Delighting in the law of the LORD - in the Scripture, the Teaching. He meditates on it, day and night. He takes time in it, makes time for it. He doesn't fill up every spare moment on consumption of social media posts, television updates or other vain distractions. No, instead time is made everyday to "Be still, and know that I am God" Ps 46v10.

No doubt David, as he penned the first Psalm had the LORD's words to Joshua on his mind: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." Joshua 1v8.

In a later day, Jeremiah would experience the same delectation: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts." Jeremiah 15v16

While Jeremiah was God's prophet in Judah, God also had a prophet in captivity in Babylon, Ezekiel, and God said to him: "Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness." Ezekiel 3v3.

Meditation is to the soul what digestion is to the body.

Healthy food produces great results and "he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season." v3.

In great contrast, the ungodly are not like this, they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away, v4. In your mind compare the stability and security of the established tree to the chaff. Chaff has no root, it is useless to the plans of God, it is neither beautiful nor fruitful.

In His great harvest from the earth, God will separate the wheat from the chaff.

Remember the words of John Baptist: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt 3v11-12.

In contrast again, the ungodly will not stand in the judgement, nor in the congregation of the righteous v5.

The LORD knoweth, that is, He has intimate 'knowledge of' and 'approbation for' the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish v6.

In closing, let us recall the plea of Joshua 24v14-15 "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."