I have been meditating on Psalm 1 and thought I would share
some of the things God has been showing me.
It is a beautiful Psalm with many nuggets to be considered.
Psalm 1 First Part
Blessed is the man
who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the
way of sinners,
nor sits in the
seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he
meditates day and night.
Psalm 1 contains the formula for happiness....
"Blessed" means to be happy and at peace. So, the psalm notes that it is what a man or
woman does or does not do that gives him or her happiness/peace. First the psalmist reveals that a happy
person does not listen to the counsel or advice of the wicked person and follow
it. Now we must define "wicked
person." I would submit to you that
all people are wicked. All deserve hell.
There is none righteous, no not one.
But those who believe in Jesus Christ, trust in him for salvation, and
obey his commands are credited with the righteousness of Christ and therefore
are no longer wicked. They sin
accidently until the end times, but are counted as righteous. So the wicked are the people who do not trust
in and obey Jesus Christ. We should not
follow their advice. Second, the blessed
person does not "stand in the way of sinners." This means they do not stand as if a sinner
or act like a sinner. In other words,
they do not keep sinning. They will fail
but they are different from the people around them who stand as sinners
do. Next, the believers do not sit in
the seat of scoffers. To scoff is to
compare oneself to another and think less of that person. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and
in reality, practically all comparison of one person to another leads to sin.
We should avoid it. We should not even gather with those who scoff. These are the things the happy person does
not do, but then the psalmist tells us what we should do.
The blessed person delights in the law of the Lord. The law in this case means the word of
God. So, the blessed person loves the
bible and likes to read it. This is not
necessarily something that happens the first time someone picks up the
book. It may take time. But with familiarity and consistency a deep
affection for God's word develops in those who believe and obey. This can lead to meditation which is a type
of prayer where a person considers and thinks about what God is saying in his
word about people/me and about Him. It
is not that a happy person does these things.
It is that a person who does these things is made happy. For it is God
alone who gives peace and satisfaction in life.
Just as we look to Him for salvation, we should look to him for
satisfaction.
