Articles
The Blessed Man
In the first Psalm, the writer gives us a good picture of the man who seeks God and who is blessed by God because of his righteous heart. If we were willing to consider his example, we would find a man worth emulating! Let's take a look.
He Does Not Walk in the Counsel of the Ungodly. (Psa. 1:1) The blessed man is one who does not seek advice or direction from those whose minds are set on the earthly things; he, in fact, avoids their counsel. He realizes that, though sometimes it appears “there are no pangs in their death,…their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men” (Psa. 73:4, 5), and though it seems they “are always at ease” and “increase in riches” (Psa. 73:12), he also “understood their end” (Psa. 73:17) and knew that path was not worth his soul.
As disciples, we must acknowledge that seeking advice from those who have no love for God will not lead us down a path that is pleasing to God. I know that sounds obvious, but I wonder sometimes if we really make the connection between that truth and our actions! Far too many times, I see the people of God seeking counsel from ungodly men and women when they should be opening up their Bibles and seeking counsel from the one whose character is eternally righteous. Far too many times, we pick up books that are written by worldly-minded individuals to direct our lives, when we should be opening our Bibles and seeing what God has to say about our direction in life.
Why is that? Do we not trust God's counsel? Maybe we've been listening too much to the world when it talks about the Bible being antiquated, outdated, and irrelevant. Maybe we are even listening to men who present themselves as workers of God, but who are trying to introduce methods and actions of which God never spoke, claiming 'the old ways are just not effective enough anymore.' Are we afraid we might find our direction doesn't follow God's ways? Maybe we have been following the counsel of the ungodly for too long and don't think we are able to change direction or give up old habits. Or maybe we are just too enamored with the methods and counsel of men and, like the psalmist did for a moment, think they are passing us by and we're wasting our efforts.
Let us be more like the psalmist, who asked of God, “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments” (Psa. 119:35), who prayed, “Teach me to do Your will” (Psa. 143:10), and who would ask of Him, “lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa. 139:24). The end of this path is much more desirable than the one the ungodly would lead us down (cf. Matt. 7:13, 14).
He Does Not Stand in the Path of Sinners. (Psa. 1:1) The psalmist here speaks of a man who waits where he knows sinners will pass by, hoping to have some affiliation with them, and possibly to join with them in their sinfulness. He points to the fact the man who seeks to please God will not even consider the way of the sinner, for he knows “to be carnally minded is death” (Rom. 8:6), that “the carnal mind is enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7), and, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8). The man “who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning” (1 John 3:7, 8). The man who seeks righteousness knows he cannot find it while walking with sinners; he knows he cannot please God by contemplating the very way that is displeasing to Him!
The one who seeks righteousness knows one must “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2), because that is where righteousness will be found. As the psalmist wrote, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne” (Psa. 97:2). One who would be blessed by God must know that he must seek the things of God, and must seek to emulate the character of God, before he can expect His blessings. For this reason, the psalmist would write in another place, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” (Psa. 101:3), and, “I will not know wickedness” (Psa. 101:4), and would make it clear he wanted no part with them when he wrote, “I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked” (Psa. 26:5). Knowing “Salvation is far from the wicked” (Psa. 119:155), why would anyone desire their ways?
He Does Not Sit With The Scornful. (Psa. 1:1) The psalmist here points to those who are scornful — those who mock the existence of God and those who believe in Him — and the willingness to sit down with them in unity as they deride the faith and the faithful. [Please note that he has shown a progression of attitude from a casual walk, to seeking them out, to a point where he sits down with them an is in full agreement with their ways.] This is a dangerous position, for it reveals that the man no longer has respect for the things of God and is willing to openly defy, reject, and ridicule God, His ways, and His people.
Scorners, mockers, and skeptics have always existed, and we are beginning to see a rise in the number of late who are willing to openly declare their unbelief, their rejection of righteousness, and their contempt for anything related to God — including His people. They are not content in their foolishness of disbelief (cf. Psa. 14:1), but want to prevent others from believing and to ridicule the very idea that God exists. Failing at that, they will turn to ridiculing those who do believe.
Peter wrote [almost 2000 years ago] about some who mocked the idea of Christ coming again [and, implicitly, the Judgment] — men who would say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:4). They willfully forgot about the worldwide flood of Noah's day (2 Pet. 3:5, 6), but like those who likely mocked Noah in his day, they will be scrambling to find a means of salvation when the day of Judgment does come.
The one who seeks to please the Lord knows that this is no place to be! He understands the Lord is worthy of all honor and praise (cf. Psa. 89:7), and that he is to “serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28).
He Delights in the Lord's Law. (Psa. 1:2) As has always been the case, what pleases the Lord is not merely avoiding and putting away the bad things, but also that man has a love for the things that are righteous and holy. The man who is blessed by God delights in the law of the Lord and meditates in it day and night — it isn't something he "fits into" his schedule, or does only to prepare for a Bible class, or if there is nothing else to do. He is the one who can say with all honesty, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psa. 119:97), and, “My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word” (Psa. 119:148).
Do you “delight” in the word of God; that is, does it give you "a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment" when you hear of it, hear it, or read and study it? Friends and brethren, God knows, and He will know if our desire is for the things of this world or for the things of holiness and righteousness, and He will bless the one whose delight is in Him and His ways.
May our greatest joy be in the things of God, that we might be blessed. —— Steven Harper
