Psalm 1

 

Actions of God:

• He will make the righteous prosper (v. 3) 
• He will know the way of the righteous (v. 6)

Commands to me:

• Do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful (v. 1)
• Delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on that law day and night (v. 2)
• Bring forth fruit, do not wither (v. 3)

Take away:
This is some great scripture that is very blunt about the fact that there are godly people, and there are wicked people. As much as people don't want to believe it, you are one or the other. Although you may be a very good person in my eyes, if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ you are wicked in God's eyes. Plain and simple.

So a person who walks in God's ways is blessed. This person won't take advice from an unbeliever, or stand in the same path as an unbeliever, or sit down beside an unbeliever and cozy up to them. Matthew Henry has a great commentary about this (here) that spells out verse one.

"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."

The ungodly simply neglect God. They have no use for him. The sinners are in open rebellion against God, basically choosing Satan over God. The more sin that takes hold hardens a person's heart and then they become scornful, which means they openly defy religion and joke about sin.

Basically we don't need to mess around with people who we know will bring sin into our lives. Verse two says that we are supposed to delight in God's law and learn more about it day and night. Studying scripture and talking with God isn't a chore. It's something we should desire and delight in and if we skip a day of devotions we should crave it.

If we are in God's word, in that relationship with him, we will be like a tree. I just think of these huge, thick tree trunks that are totally immoveable. That's what I want to be. Solid, unwavering, so thick and sturdy and so sure of myself because God has just taken root in me. What gorgeous scripture!! And then if I am a sturdy tree that is thriving, I will show fruit. If I am a Christian, and if I am affected by what God is doing in my life, I will show fruit, which means I will show these characteristics of Christ. I will make others want to grow closer to Him. I will be humble and meek and think before I speak and help the needy and be selfless and most importantly, lead others to a relationship with God. These are fruits that we want to bear. So God is planting us like trees, and in verse 3, it says that God will prosper whatever we do. I believe whatever we do in His name will prosper. It will affect someone.

The ungodly are not like that. They are not like sturdy trees by a beautiful river, with plump fruit. They are like chaff. You know what chaff makes me think of? Little dust bunnies... little bits of nothing... that are just blown away by the wind. Pretty meaningless. Just get tossed around because there's nothing to stand on.

And someday that will blow up in the face of the ungodly. Those who have rejected God will not stand in the judgment or sit in the congregation of the righteous (verse 5). I believe there will be two judgments at the end of time. One will be to judge if you are saved or lost. The lost, those who rejected God, will ultimately end up in hell. Revelation 20:15 pretty plainly says "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Then a judgment will take place for those who are saved, and at that time we will be judged for our works. I believe this verse is saying that the ungodly won't stand in that judgment and they won't be allowed to stand in the literal congregation of the righteous. I think there will come a time when all those who are saved will stand together, in the biggest congregation you will ever see, and the lost will watch all of us enter into God's Kingdom, and they will be forever separated from God.

I would love to know if you have any thoughts to add to this beautiful scripture! Something I missed? Something I misinterpreted? Something I should take note of?