Psalm 1

Psalms 1:1 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.

What does it mean to be blessed? The Hebrew word (lemma form) is אֶשׁר, 'esher; it means happiness or blessedness. The English signifies such things as happy, fortunate, satisfied, prosperous, preserved, protected, guarded, favored, provided for, cared for, loved, and generally enriched with the best things in life. In this case, we must add divine guidance, divine protection, and divine favor. The context implies that each of these attributes of blessing is indicated here. The inflected Hebrew rendered blessed is אֶשׁרי, 'eshery. It is in the plural construct form, and that causes the whole word to appear as an interjection. We could render it "O happy is…!" Or, "How blessed…!" Or even,"O how blessed is the man that…"

Additionally, the word 'man' can be used generically to mean a person. Though the Word was specifically addressed to the men of Israel because women had no emancipation at the time, we can now safely apply it to all Christians and anyone else affected by this scripture. The reason is, "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) Moreover, since the Gospel is made available to all (Mark 13:10, 16:15, Acts 10:28) then we can apply this to all persons, male or female, of any race. Therefore, how very happy is anyone, male or female, of any race, who follows the dictates of this Psalm!

Who is blessed? It is the man (or person) who follows the advice of God in this Psalm. This blessing applies to all of life, in every endeavor, and it is the standard against which all of God's promises will stand. If you want to be happy, fortunate, satisfied, prosperous, preserved, protected, guarded, favored, provided for, cared for, loved, generally enriched with the best things in life, and divinely guided, protected, and favored, then you must use this Psalm as your template for life.

Notice how the psalmist (not identified in this Psalm) uses three actions we take many times on a daily basis. They are walking, standing, and sitting. These are very common things we all do every day many times. Hence this Psalm is for our use every day in our ordinary lives. The psalmist uses negative imagery to exhort us to good living.

How is it that we may become blessed? We do so by following these dictates. To be blessed we must not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. We must not accept the advice of the ungodly, that is, of those who are wicked. Who is wicked? The Bible says that all of us are. In another Psalm (14:3 and 53:3), we are told that there is no one that does good. We have all turned astray from the will of God and become wicked. Christ has washed away our sins if we trust Him to do so. Those whose sins are not washed by His blood are still ungodly or wicked. Thus the unsaved are the wicked—the ungodly. We must not take the advice of the unsaved or ungodly, and, just as importantly, we must not follow in their footsteps. We must not walk with them, that is, we must not live in their ways. We must follow after Christ and not after the ungodly. One that walks in the counsel of the ungodly accepts their advice and lives the very same lifestyle they do. One cannot serve two masters. Walking in the counsel of the ungodly is living the way they do. We must not do so.

The Bible further defines the counsel of the ungodly: the counsel of the wicked (Psalm 1:1); the way of the wicked (Proverbs15:9); the path of the wicked (Micah 6:10); the tent of the wicked (Job 8:22); the life (literally, candle) of the wicked (Job 21:7). In order to receive the promised blessing, we must not follow in the ways of wickedness listed here.

When a person follows a particular profession or a particular way of life—like Christianity—that person is said to walk the walk and to talk the talk. To follow after a profession, such as the medical profession, one walks in that way of life. When one gives his life to Christ, he is said to walk in the way of a Christian lifestyle. In Pilgrim's Progress, Christian and Faithful are walking along the pathway that leads to the Celestial City. They are believers in Christ. They are saved. Their walking the pathway is an allegory for our Christian walk in life. To walk in the way of something is to be assimilated into it. If we walk in the counsel of the ungodly, we have assimilated their counsel and their ways into our lives. We must strive to be in the world but not of the world.

What does is mean to stand in the way of sinners? The way is the way in which they go. In other words it is their way of living their lives. Similar to the counsel of the ungodly, it is a lifestyle issue. The way of sinners is how they live every day…sinfully. What does it mean to stand? Literally it means to support oneself on one's feet and be erect, to stand up as opposed to sitting or lying down. But there are many more ways to view the verb to stand. It also means to take a position in an argument, in a political sense, morally, ethically, etc. It means to maintain a position regarding a particular course of action. It also means to resist. In this context, it means to maintain a position regarding a particular course of action, to wit, the way of sinners. We must not follow after the way of sinners.

Who are these sinners? Again, they are those people who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and been forgiven their sins. Look around you. Not many people in this world are saved. Like Jesus told us, "Many are called, but few are chosen." Statistically, only twenty percent of Americans attend church regularly. Of that group, at least 20% are not saved. So, only about 16-17% of Americans are truly saved. Of course there are those who do not attend church regularly but are saved, but they are very few in number and are statistically insignificant. Some do not attend because the do not wish to; some do not attend out of necessity. But, most Christians do attend; most saved people take the Bible as truth and do not forsake the assembling of themselves together with other Christians. That leaves over 80% of Americans that are not saved (of course many more that 20% believe they are saved but are not) and those folks are sinners who stand in the way of sinners and wish for all to stand in the way of sinners. Do not take their position on sin. If you do you are standing in the way of sinners just as the 80% do.

The Scriptures say this about the way of sinners: the way of sinners will perish (Psalm 1:6); the way of sinners is not good (Psalm 36:4); the way of sinners will be turned upside down (Psalm 146:9); the godly will be delivered from the way of sinners (Proverbs 2:12); the way of sinners is darkness—they don't know what causes them to stumble (Proverbs 4:19); the way of sinners is difficult (Proverbs 13:15); the way of sinners leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13); the way of life is narrow (Matthew 7:14).

To sit in the seat of the scornful is to take up their ways. Seat, in this sense, is like the seat of learning, or the seat of government. These seats are the center of their respective activities. The center is the place where things happen; where actions take place. The center of Government is where laws are made; the center of learning is where much learning takes place. For example, universities are centers of learning. Mordecai sat in the king's gate. He was a part of the government. Sitting in the gate was like sitting in the legislature. To sit in the seat of the scornful is to have an active place in the middle of the scornful. It is to become like them and act like them and live like them.

Who are the scornful? They are those that mock and speak against God. They are proud and arrogant. They do not need God. In fact, they actively seek out against Him and everything to do with Him such as Christians, church, the Bible, etc. Have no part of them or with them. One may see the scornful in his daily life. They are everywhere: In schools, universities, newsrooms, on the streets, in libraries, everywhere people gather. Many in the media are simply opposed to Christianity. They scorn it whenever they speak of it. You will see disdain for God, for Christ, and for Christians in the theaters of America. Most references to Christians and Christianity in the news are negative or at least not positive. When in conversations with people during the course of our every day lives, we can see that most do not have a true fear of God. Many profess to believe yet many do not accept the Bible as the Word of God, and many see no reason to attend church and refer to those hypocrites down and the church. Some do not like what the church does and believe that the church should be social workers and keep their "religion" to themselves. These are all scornful of God and God's people. To sit in their seat is to be a part of them. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Avoid becoming a part of the scornful. Certainly continue to treat them courteously and kindly and continue to witness to them. Just do not become a part of them.

The Scriptures have this to say about the sitting with the scornful: don't sit (spend time) with liars or hypocrites ( Psalm 26:4); don't sit with the wicked (Psalm 26:5); don't sit with evil doers (Psalm 119:115); don't sit in the assembly of the scornful (mockers of God) (Jeremiah 15:17); the scornful are mockers of God (Jeremiah 15:17); the scornful delight in mocking and hate knowledge (Proverbs 1:22); God scorns scorners or mocks mockers (Proverbs 3:34); if you scorn wisdom you will suffer (Proverbs 9:12).

David poetically used the common everyday actions of humans to express his point. We are not to walk, stand, or sit with ungodliness. In other words, we are to have nothing to do with it:

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Titus 3:10 A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject;

The blessed man will not be ungodly, and will not have even the appearance of evil.

Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

The blessed man will delight in God's word. The law is the revealed word of God. This includes commandments, instruction, direction, prophetic teachings, legal directives, Christian age instruction, and customs and manners acceptable to God. These are all definitions of the Hebrew תּרה, torah, or law. To delight is to take great pleasure or satisfaction in something. To delight in something is to desire it immensely. The delight of a man is that which gives him pleasure and satisfaction and a man's delight is his desire. A man will immerse himself in that in which he takes delight.

We are to immerse ourselves in the Word of God. It is to be upon our lips day and night. We are to think about it, pray about it, and put it into action in our lives. Our very being should be meshed in the word. The word is our play book. It is our blueprint for a blessed life. It is our handbook of life. It is the owner's manual for our lives. If we follow after the Word and entangle our lives with it, we will be blessed. To meditate is to ponder, consider, deeply reflect, contemplate, or dwell upon something. It is from a word meaning to growl, groan, sigh, mutter, speak. When we meditate upon God's word, it becomes an integral part of our lives. We are enmeshed in the Word.

Most of us delight in our families. How does this delight manifest itself? We constantly have our families on our minds. We look forward to being with them. We relish the time we have with them when it occurs. We selflessly do good things for them. We would give our very lives for them. We do give our lives to them. We love them deeply and care for their safety, health, and needs, as well as their wants. There is nothing we would not do to benefit them. All these things go without saying to a person who loves his family and thus delights in them. That is how we should feel about God's word. We should relish it. It should remain on our minds at all times. We should look forward to being in the Word. We should relish the time in the Word when we have it. We should give our lives to the Word, for when we give our lives to His Word, we are giving our lives to Him. We will receive nothing but good from delighting in His Word.

If we do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful; if we delight in His Word and mediate on it day and night, then we will be like the tree of this verse. A great tree that grows beside a running river will always have moisture for its root. Even in drought a tree next to a running river will have sustenance. It will always have green leaves in season and its fruit will always come forth. When other trees are withering in drought the tree by the waters will not suffer, but will stand. The withering trees will fall, but the watered tree will stand.

Like such a tree, the man who is godly and delights in God's word will always prosper. He will stand. His life will reflect that of Christ. He will bring forth fruit because of his silent witness. Others will see him and will marvel and will wish they could have what he has. His needs will be cared for. He will be a delight to His Lord. He will have eternal life in Christ and therefore will not wither in death. He will live forever.

I have gazed upon trees lining the Mississippi in Memphis. They are tall and stately. There leaves are green and their fruit is bountiful. I have observed trees thick in the valley of a creek near our church. It is amazing how verdant and lively the trees and scrub are right along the edges of the creeks and branches near our church. They are well watered, and hence have their nutritional needs constantly met. In a drought when the leaves of other trees are hanging, the leaves on the trees near the waters are upright, fresh, and healthy.

That is how we will be if we delight in the Word and stay away from the counsel of the ungodly, the way of sinners, and the seat of the scornful. We will always be strong and vibrant. Full of life, and well fed in the things of God. Our fruit, that is our good works, will be abundant. All will perceive our good works. This may lead them to seeking us out to find out why we do such good works. Then we will have the opportunity to witness to them. The fruit of our witness will also be abundant.

Psalms 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

While the godly man will not wither, but will remain strong and will bring forth much fruit, the ungodly will not. Their lives will be cut short by their death. Their lives will blow away in an ignoble manner like chaff in the breeze. Hold seeds and chaff in your hand. Open it to the breeze. The chaff will quickly blow away and will disappear into the surrounding nature. The chaff cannot be brought back to the hand for it will not be found. The godly have eternal life in the presence of their Lord. The ungodly, or sinners, will perish in the lake of fire. It will seem like they have blown away like chaff.

Psalms 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

The godly person will stand strong in the judgment like a tree planted by the rivers of water. The godly person will have the inputed righteousness of Christ. Not so the ungodly. They will not stand; they will fall like a rotting tree trunk for they are guilty of sin, will be found guilty by the Judge, and will be cast into the lake of fire. Sinners will not enter into heaven where the righteous will congregate. On Sundays, I see many folks out and about having fun. Some go to the beach; some play golf; others ride bikes in the country; some go for drives, etc. The one thing they all have in common is that on the day set apart for Christian worship, they are not at church. They are not worshiping God and therefore they seem to be unsaved. Of course some of them may attend church at a different time or on a different day; they are not all ungodly or unsaved. But many are. When I was a less mature Christian, I used to get angry at them for being obstinate. Now I feel for them. I know that they are headed for the lake of fire if they do not receive Christ. Therefore I am concerned about their souls. They are not obstinate. They simply do not know the truth. They seek it, but they have not found it. As a Christian, It is my job to live my life in such a way that they will seem me and wonder what I have and perhaps they will seek me out to find out. Then I may witness to them. I wish for the opportunity to tell them the truth. These people, if they do not become saved, will fall in the judgment and will not be a part of the righteous, that is, the saved, in eternity. They will be cast into the lake of fire and I do not wish them to be. Because of that I wish to be able to speak the truth to them. Let us pray daily for the unsaved.

God knows the way of the righteous for He knows the heart of the righteous. Nothing can be hidden from Him. He will see into the hearts of the ungodly and know their ungodliness. Those that have the imputed righteousness of Christ will receive eternal life, and those that do not will perish in the lake of fire. At judgment, God will already know whether or not we are justified by Christ or doomed to perish. What they say will have no bearing. God will look at their lives and will see what they did—He will see their works. If they did not receive Christ as Savior, then they lived sinful lives. If they did receive Christ, then their lives were lives of righteousness—Christ's righteousness which has clothed the saved. The unsaved will perish, and the saved will live forever with their Lord, Jesus Christ.