Lessons from Psalm 1

Psalm 1 begins with the following list of actions that cause a man to be blessed:

Psalm 1:1-2

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.

These are instructions on how to “position ourselves for blessings,” as some have said. There are three things a blessed man does not do: if you want to be blessed, then stop taking advice from the wrong people, don’t live your life the same way that sinners live theirs, and don’t mock God with your attitude. Also, there are two things a blessed man does do: delight in the law of God and think about it all the time.

But how can you do any of this if you don’t first know the law of God? While some may argue that the “law of God” in the New Testament is not the same as the “law of God” in the Old Testament (see Do you need God's law?), it is indisputable that the psalmist is here talking about the law found in the latter part of Exodus, as well as Leviticus and Deuteronomy. God does not change, and neither does His will or His law. God’s will is for you to delight in the law and to meditate on it constantly. If you’ve never sat down and read the law, I strongly encourage you to. And when you read it, don’t just mull through the stuff that doesn’t sound important to you: think about what your God wanted you to learn about Him through it.

Psalm 1 goes on to describe the difference that these things will make in your life:

Psalm 1:3-4

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

God desires that we become a tree, with strong roots in His law and His Word, unmoved by the winds of life’s trials; unlike the wicked, who do not know God’s law, who are blown about by the slightest breeze. You need look no further than the celebrity magazine rack to see the truth of these words. All that we do will prosper, if we will submit to God and keep His commands.

The Psalm ends with a refrain about the final outcome of the righteous and the wicked:

Psalm 1:5-6

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor the sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The blessing spoken of in verses 1-2 goes much further than our physical lives. We desire to stand in the judgment and be in the assembly of the righteous; therefore, we must not be wicked or sinners. God's law defines what a sin is (1 John 3:4). If we know God’s law, delight in God’s law, meditate on God’s law, and do God’s law through the power of His Spirit dwelling in us, then we will obtain eternal life. As for those who don't: even the way of the wicked will cease to exist. Notice though that if we walk in the way of righteousness, then God watches over us, as it is written: "the LORD watches over the way of the righteous."