Psalm 1
Jesus encouraged believers not to look and act like the world, but to be different, to stand out, and to walk the narrow road to Life instead of the wide road to death. John 15:18-19 says,
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
The first Psalm talks about being separate from the world. We are not separated by space or walls but we are distinguished by our genuine tangible love, our attitude, our humility, and our nobility. We are children of the King of kings. We are not children of wrath. Our Father is the LORD not the father of lies. We bear our Father’s Image. We carry His Spirit. We are made righteous by His blood.
There is no capacity in Love for hate. There is no occasion in truth for lies. Verses 1-2 read,
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.”
In Christ we are free. But we also do not desire to live the way we did before He saved us. When we live a life of faith in God we are free to choose not to sin. It doesn’t read ‘blessed is the man who doesn’t talk to the wicked.’ It reads “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked” we do not conspire with or huddled up with the wicked. We don’t listen to the advice of the sinful. They may think they are wise and we are fools. But we know we have The Counselor to guide us. We have wisdom when we ask for it. We have the mind of Christ. Why would we take advice from the person who has rejected our Lord for Hell? To stand in the way of sinners means to walk the same path they do, to be among them as a lifestyle choice, to do and be the way they are and not the way we are called to be. So also to sit in the seat of scoffers is to do as they do to sit on the sidelines and ridicule and mock the choices that others make.
Believers have a different path. It is a path of deep and intimate relationship with The Lord. We get to know Him. One of the ways we get to do that is by reading the Living Word, by spending time meditating on it, considering it, reflecting on it, praying it, and letting Him speak to us through it. His law is Love. His Law is Truth. 2 John 1:4-6 says,
“I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.”
The first Psalm continues to describe the man of faith in verses 3-4.
“He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”
These verses do not promise a life of wealth, they promise that we will not live ineffective lives. Because we live seeking God, seeking His Kingdom and His will live in obedience to Him, delighting in what delights Him. The Lord promises that we will bear fruit n everything we do. That fruit is borne in us as we transform to Christ’s image. It is evidenced by the disciples we make. It is evidenced by the service we do affecting lives. We make a difference. God’s will is manifested in us. He provides our every need both our personal and our ministerial needs. He is the living water and He flows through us and out of us to the world.
Though the lost may become rich, their wealth is only good while they live on this earth. It is temporary at most it will last 120 years and then they’re dead, rotting in the dirt until The Day of Judgement. On that day, like chaff they will be burned. Chaff is the covering of the seed. There is no good fruit from chaff. The fruit comes from the seed inside the covering. The Holy Spirit, our Holy God makes the seed bear fruit. When they rejected Him, they became like chaff, just empty shells that fly away in the breeze. They may make money but they can’t manifest God’s will on Earth as it is in Heaven. Their riches are on earth. Our treasures are in Heaven. Their wealth is temporary. Our prosperity is everlasting, ever-flourishing in Heaven, and living on Earth.
One day everyone will face Judgement. For the redeemed this is a day we eagerly await, but the lost will be shocked to realize their fate. They will perish. Verses 5-6 read,
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Believer, you and I can make a difference for them. We can love them enough to tell them the Truth, the wonderful Gospel. God doesn’t want anyone to perish. We don’t either. He told us whatever we do will prosper. So how about getting to our Great Commission and making disciples? Let’s live and walk in Jesus’ ways and love people like Jesus loves us. How many will be thrown into eternal fire because we didn’t act? How many have we doomed because we walked in the counsel of the wicked, stood in the way of sinners and sat in the seat of scoffers? How many of the lost would know Jesus if we walked in Love and Lived by the Spirit?