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.
In this Psalm, the author contrasts the righteous and the wicked. I'll be spending a few days on this psalm, so I'll try to keep my focus to just these two verses.
The psalmist starts off talking about how I am blessed, or happy. First of all, I am blessed if I refrain from listening to the counsel of the wicked and from participating in their ungodly ways. In Proverbs, Solomon contrasts the wise with the foolish quite a bit, warning the wise to stay away from those who are wicked and foolish and not follow their paths. It's one thing to always "hang around" the ungodly; it's another to be friendly with them at times. I am called to share the gospel with those who are lost, and the only way I can do that is to associate with them on some level; however, I don't have to follow their sinful ways. Jesus is our greatest example of this. He associated with sinners, yet He did not allow their sins to influence Him. It can be uncomfortable at times to be around ungodly people, and I need to be extremely cautious about taking any advice from someone who lives a life of sin.
1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)
I can testify to this blessedness, or happiness, from these past 5 weeks of really digging into God's Word. It is something that is hard to describe in words, but it has been exciting to see how God meets me where I am. When I just take the time to open His Word and take time to understand what He's saying rather than just read through several chapters just to complete my reading plan for the day, God enriches my time with Him. There would be times where I would open to the verse(s) for the day and just look at it and hit a "blank," where my mind would just cloud over. I found that as I was patient and waited, God gave me the clarity I needed to understand what He was speaking to me through those verses, and thoughts would just begin to flow out. There is an inexplainable peace and joy that comes from spending time with God. I am beginning to understand that "delight" the psalmist is talking about.
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.
In this Psalm, the author contrasts the righteous and the wicked. I'll be spending a few days on this psalm, so I'll try to keep my focus to just these two verses.
The psalmist starts off talking about how I am blessed, or happy. First of all, I am blessed if I refrain from listening to the counsel of the wicked and from participating in their ungodly ways. In Proverbs, Solomon contrasts the wise with the foolish quite a bit, warning the wise to stay away from those who are wicked and foolish and not follow their paths. It's one thing to always "hang around" the ungodly; it's another to be friendly with them at times. I am called to share the gospel with those who are lost, and the only way I can do that is to associate with them on some level; however, I don't have to follow their sinful ways. Jesus is our greatest example of this. He associated with sinners, yet He did not allow their sins to influence Him. It can be uncomfortable at times to be around ungodly people, and I need to be extremely cautious about taking any advice from someone who lives a life of sin.
1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)
Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."
Just like a bad apple or rotten fruit of some type will turn the rest of the fruit bad, so being around the wicked on a consistent basis can have a negative impact on me. No matter how much I think I can resist, they will eventually rub off on me.
A second way the psalmist mentions I am blessed, or happy, is when I delight in God's Word and meditate on it day and night. The word "delight" that is used here means desire or pleasure. I found it interesting that the word "meditate" used here means "to utter" or "to speak" in Hebrew. To reword that verse with those meanings, it might say "But his [referring to the blessed man] pleasure is in God'sWord and he speaks it day and night." Speaking God's Word is one way to help get it in my heart and memorize Scripture. For me, it helps me to remember when I speak and not just read. My focus needs to be on feeding from the word of God, chewing on it, so to speak; really pondering what God is saying. God gives me all the advice I will ever need in His Word, but sometimes I have to take time to dig for it. I should find delight in opening God's Word and spending time with Him.
I can testify to this blessedness, or happiness, from these past 5 weeks of really digging into God's Word. It is something that is hard to describe in words, but it has been exciting to see how God meets me where I am. When I just take the time to open His Word and take time to understand what He's saying rather than just read through several chapters just to complete my reading plan for the day, God enriches my time with Him. There would be times where I would open to the verse(s) for the day and just look at it and hit a "blank," where my mind would just cloud over. I found that as I was patient and waited, God gave me the clarity I needed to understand what He was speaking to me through those verses, and thoughts would just begin to flow out. There is an inexplainable peace and joy that comes from spending time with God. I am beginning to understand that "delight" the psalmist is talking about.
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