The very first psalm in the collection of songs in the Scripture offers us 6 short verses that describe life according to God’s prescribed way and the benefits therewith. It also alerts us to the price to be paid when we disregard His way and seek our own way. The Psalmist offers instruction for allowing our lives to be presented as an act of worship. I must point out here that the one writing this psalm is familiar with falling into the very traps he describes, which result in taking a wrong path that culminates in bad consequences. So, David is not writing about a theory that he read about, but about life’s circumstances he actually lived.
Walter Brueggemann, in his book, The Message of the Psalms, shares with us that “The primary agenda for Israel’s worship life is obedience, to order and conduct all of life in accordance with God’s purpose and ordering of creation.” To the degree that we order our lives and conduct in accordance with God’s design, it is to that same degree that we experience joy, peace, and contentment in our lives.
In this psalm we see the contrast between the righteous and the wicked; those who adhere to God’s purpose and those who ignore His order. We want to fall on the side of those who adhere to God’s way of life and living, and avoid the pitfall of allowing personal desires and opinions to direct our journey into a ditch.
Interestingly enough, David begins with our being blessed for what or who we do not follow. If we begin in the wrong direction, it is difficult to correct the course. We understand that the influence we allow over and in our lives will determine, to a large extent, our destiny in our walk in the Holy Spirit. He begins with the admonishment to not walk in the counsel of the wicked. The wicked or ungodly described here are those who have lost their way, or never had a way, and are attempting to bring us along in their waywardness. When we seek the advice of the morally wrong or corrupt, we will find a path that is corrupted by the world system and the spirit of the age.
Certainly seeking counsel can be a good thing. The Proverbs state that there is safety in a multitude of counselors. Before we receive counsel though, we need to consider the source, as to whether or not they are seeking God’s way or their own. The ungodly described here are those who are hostile to God and conduct their lives as if God does not exist and they do so with no regard for Him. There is certainly a price to pay for this lifestyle and while some will feign delight and happiness, God Himself said in Isaiah 57:21, “There is no peace for the wicked.” Attempting to live life minus the influence of the Maker, with disregard and contempt, only results ultimately in confusion for the ungodly.
The Psalmist writes that blessing is awaiting those who do not stand in the path of sinners. Meaning, we do not take part in their godless actions and we avoid settling in the path they are following. If you will allow it, the enemy will use anyone and anything to cause you to rationalize a departure from God’s design and follow what “makes sense” to you. Solomon’s advice to his son, David, rings true to us as well. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.”
He also writes that we should avoid sitting in the seat of the scoffers. The scoffers are those who have contempt towards God’s ways and are scornful of His direction. Obedience is the furthest thing from their minds. “Sitting in the seat” of the scoffers is the same as taking residence in their folly and adopting the mindset of the world system. The prophet Jeremiah wrote in his book, “I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because Your hand was upon me” Better to sit alone than to join the company of those who are scornful towards God and His prescribed ways. Those who refuse to follow God’s design and purpose for living, would ultimately, by David’s definition, be described as wicked – sinners – and scoffers. The man described in Psalm as “blessed” is one who does not follow the moral orientation (or disorientation) of these people groups.
It is important that we pay attention to what we are loading into our 3 lb. computer that sits upon our head. It does matter what we take into our lives. As a matter of fact, Jesus said it was what comes out of us that defiles us, and what comes out of us has been first uploaded into our minds and hearts. Jesus actually said, “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.” So the questions are, who or what has your ear? And are you influencing others or are you being influenced? The answers to these questions will determine your level of blessing and stability in your life with God.
Now, David moves into the area of being blessed by the placement of our pleasure. “His delight is in the law (or ways) of God.” To realize the blessing from God that brings peace, joy, and fulfillment, we aim our attention towards delighting in God’s hand of direction. The word “delight” in the Old Testament is a word that could be defined as having a “bent” or being inclined toward something or someone. If our inclination is in the proper direction, that “someone” should be capitalized, noting our referencing the Lord Jesus.
Our delight is in the law of the Lord. By that, we do not mean just a set of rules and regulations, but direction or instructions for our lives. The entirety of the law communicates to us the character and nature of God. It also points to a way of living that pleases God and attention to God’s pleasure will surely deliver happiness to us.
In encouraging us to delight in the law of the Lord, he is really admonishing us to see where the words of God point and follow that path. Solomon in giving instruction to his son, David wrote, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” The root word in Hebrew for “Torah” is the word “Yarah.” Now, this is not a lesson in the Hebrew language, but understanding the nature of this word will help us understand the necessity to delight in what God says. The word “Yarah” means “to shoot out the hand as pointing.” The symbol for the letter “Y” in the Hebrew alphabet is the hand…a hand that is pointing in a particular way. Therefore we could agree with the Psalmist when he wrote, “I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.”
David wrote that if we are going to receive the full benefit of following God’s ways, we should meditate on them day and night. For us to meditate on God’s words, it requires our abandoning outside distractions and voices. There are plenty of outside noises in the culture today that would attempt to redirect our thinking and lifestyle. To meditate day and night on God’s word does not mean that we think of nothing else throughout our day. That would be impractical and get a bunch of us fired from our jobs. But as we go about our lives and make choices of life, we do so with the truth of Scripture forever in front of us – day and night. In other words, there is no Christian life vs. secular life. There is only life that is influenced by God’s ways and directions; and by that I mean every aspect of our lives. This was God’s instruction to Joshua as he assumed the leadership role that had been vacated by Moses.
Joshua 1:8 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
As we consider the idea of delighting in God’s words and ways, I am reminded of Jeremiah’s stance regarding this.
Jeremiah 15:16 – “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts.”
Do we really delight in what God says about each situation in our lives? Let’s take inventory of which way we are leaning as we go forward with our lives.
Another source of blessing in our lives is identified by the Psalmist when he mentions where we are planted. In other words, we are blessed because of our place of planting. So, instead of standing and sitting in the seat of the scornful and the sinners, we are planted by the living water. From where are we drawing our resources? How do we determine our proximity to the living water, of which Jesus said that everyone who drinks of the living water that He provides will never thirst again? We do so by delighting and meditating on God’s word – which is the same as delighting and meditating on God, because you cannot separate God from His word. Jeremiah describes this in a little more detail than does David in Psalm 1.
Jeremiah 17:8 – “He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
David points out that each tree is fruitful “in its time.” This reminds us that a tree bears fruit for the benefit of others. As we are tapped into the root source, the living water of God’s stream, our lives – in due time – become a resource for those around us.
He even uses the word “prospers” to describe the result of our being planted by the streams which God provides. In the Scripture this word is not limited to financial gain, but rather it describes our realizing success along our journey. Psalm 128 promises that we shall, “…eat of the fruit of the labor of our hands; we shall be blessed and it shall be well with us.” Now that sounds a lot better than following the ways of those who are hostile and contemptuous toward God. As a matter of fact, David finishes this psalm with the idea that ungodly will be like chaff driven by the wind. They cannot stand in that day, and that sinners will not be found in the congregation.
Now allow me to wrap this up with some explanatory words. What this psalm is addressing is not those moments when we falter, or succumb to the wiles of the flesh. Those are certainly serious and we must ask God to help us not fall to carnal inclinations. But rather, David is talking about those who make conscious decisions to follow a path that is not one illuminated by God and allow the voices of the spirit of the age to direct our steps. There is a difference between stumbling in our walk because of a momentary decision or allowing our anger to cause us to make bad choices (I can certainly relate to that phenomenon), and a willful setting of our course that is blatantly and obviously apart from what God has prescribed for us.
Remember that God’s prescription of life for us is not one to protect us from enjoying life and having fun. As a matter of fact, true happiness and joy can only be found as we align our lives with His way of living, in holiness and ongoing sanctification. Who better to direct our lives and to communicate how we shall then live than the one who created us? There is a reason God condemns certain sins in the Scripture and that is because He made us to not function to the utmost of our potential if we follow another path. Think what happens when you put sand in the gas tank of your vehicle, simply because that way makes sense to you and the ungodly. One may be successful in determining their own way, but their way will be marked by walking rather than riding. You can rant about how you think sand will work just fine, but at the end of the story, it just doesn’t work.
In the same manner, we can rant that God doesn’t understand us and just wants to prevent us from having fun, or we can determine to follow His directions and prescribed way of life, and then truly realize authentic satisfaction, peace, joy, contentment, and yes, fun! Remember, Jesus’ desire for you is to enjoy life and to enjoy it abundantly.
Let’s live our lives according to God’s design and we will most definitely love the outcome.