Psalm 1 vs.1 – Blessed is the man/woman 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.”
When I was young (pre teen) I would watch adults, observing their lives. Most of them were the parents of my friends. I would ask them about their moral beliefs and it was always an interesting conversation. Most 13 and 14 year olds would not have such conversations, but I found them very insightful. As I continued to ask, I began to see a pattern emerge. Many of the parents beliefs were very similar to the Ten Commandments, whether they themselves were “religious” or not. It became increasingly evident that those who adhered to more of the commandments, as opposed to less, were the happiest. So my conclusion became,”why not just obey them all?” The happiest man I found was Jewish, and he obeyed all the commandments. Though being Jewish, he did not believe in Jesus Christ, and because of that I saw the “disconnect” with God in his life. God was up there, and I am down here and hopefully I’ve lived a good enough life so that some day we’ll meet. Which was very interesting and sad in and of itself; to be so close and yet so far. However, his life and his family were blessed nonetheless because of his obedience.
So in studying these next verses I want you to understand the terms “ungodly, sinners and scornful” as degrees of rebellion from God’s laws. We are all ungodly, and hence all sinners, and some of us have active dislike towards the scriptures, being “scornful” of them. We think very little about God, except when we are in need, or we blame him when something terrible happens to us. This reaction is interesting as well. It would be like me blaming my cousin, who lives in Ohio, for something bad happening to me here in California? How could I blame him when we never see each other or even talk?
Also the terms, walketh, standeth and sitteth, need to be understood from a poetical application. Most of the Psalms are written as such, truth spoken through poetry and such is Psalm 1. If we imagine a specific area where advisers congregate and I go there, “walk” to receive instruction, and then leave “walking out” their instruction, this would explain the usage of the word. As I continue to visit this area, I start hanging around,”standing” and conversing with them, and soon, because I frequent them so much, I now become one of them, “sitting” with them.
There is a saying we tell our kids, ” bad company corrupts good morals,” so choose your friends wisely. This Psalm in a broader sense, is conveying the same message. Two roads, choose one, is ultimately the point of this Psalm. Next week we will see why it is important to choose the road of faith, but let’s conclude with a statement, then a question. Statement, I don’t know anyone except for people who do not believe in God, that would not want God to bless their lives. So since that is true, is their something we can do on this side of heaven to receive God’s blessings? We’ll see next week.
Father God,
Thank you for this study and for your scriptures. There is much practical advice that if followed will bless my life. But even beyond that there are blessings that come from being in right relationship with you. Let my heart be willing and pliable, valuing your blessing in my life above things that I seek that would take me from you. Thank you and Amen.
Dios lo Bendiga –