Walk, Stand, Sit

Psalm 1:1

1 

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

Verse one contains a poetic progression. Walk, stand, and sit. Each is used in a negative context. The man who would be happy (blessed) does not walk, stand, or sit in the places mentioned. Lets take them one at a time.

The Hebrew word for “blessed” means “happy.” Certainly we all desire happiness, and we will go to great lengths to attain it. Our prisons are full of people who have tried to attain it by illegal means. Infidelity, separation, and divorce often occur because one or both spouses are not “happy.” People steal, cheat, and seek to obtain “stuff” by less than honest means because they believe “stuff” will make them happy. Others drink in excess or take drugs to drown their sorrows or bring about some artificial happiness. We covet thinking that if we only had this or that, then we could really be happy.

We read of people who have really made it big, and who, we believed, must have been very happy indeed. They are famous, rich, beautiful, and loved. And then comes the newspaper article, “So and So found dead in a hotel room from an overdose,” or, “So and So dead from self inflicted gun shot wound.” Why? Couldn’t they take all of the “happiness”?

Walking involves forward movement. It means that we are involved in the counsel of the wicked. We take part in it. We follow it believing that it will make us happy, and often there is some immediate gratification, some fame or fortune, something we have believed will make us happy. It’s end is always the opposite. The happy man, the truly blessed man is the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. He is the one who turns from that way and thereby avoids the pitfalls of sin and rejoices over victory.

One of the good things about age is being able to learn from the vast amount of experiences of your life. I am 62 years old and have many things in my past I am not proud of. Many times I have “walked in the counsel of the wicked,” often feeling overcome, as if I could do no other. I didn’t want to do this or that, but I did it anyway. It brought me immediate, albeit temporary, gratification.....and a lifetime of regret. The temptations still confront me in many areas of my past indiscretions, but now I find myself in control. I no longer walk in the counsel of the wicked when tempted and I am filled with lasting happiness each time I refuse that counsel. There is no immediate gratification followed by regret. There is immediate gratification from my victory over the temptation and continued happiness over the progress of my sanctification.

The second in the poetic progression is “stand(ing) in the path of sinners.” Walking in the counsel involves following. Once you follow that counsel you become identified with the one giving the counsel. To stand in the path of sinners is to identify yourself as one of them.

It always appears to be easier to “fall in line” with unbelievers on the wide path. It avoids ridicule and rejection from your unsaved friends and the world in general. However such compromise leads to destruction in every area of your life. It certainly does not bring about lasting happiness, but does bring about lasting sorrow. If you walk with them long enough, you will stand as one of them, and finally you will sit in their seat.

A seat implies position and power, like the throne of a king or the office chair of a boss. You know, when you enter an office, that the person in the secretary’s chair is the secretary. So to, when you have identified yourself as a fellow sinner, you take the seat of that designation, and you boast (scoff) of your position! You scorn, mock, and deride those who are not follow along. You do this to justify your position, not because you’re happy, but because you’re guilty.

Can you see the progression? First comes the temptation, “The counsel of the wicked.” It is followed by the sin itself, “The path of sinners.” And it culminates in false justification of that sin, “the seat of scoffers.” How happy is that man who avoids this progression! By contrast, how miserable is the one who follows it. 

Pleasure

1
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

Walking, standing, and sitting with sinners brings a certain amount of pleasure, but it is always followed by guilt and grief. In verse one we learned that the happy man, the blessed man, is one who avoids these things. In verse two we see that the blessed man finds his delight (pleasure) in the law of the Lord (the Scripture). He meditates on it day and night.

When I fell in love with Bettina she was always on my mind. It didn’t matter what I was doing or what else I was thinking about, she always occupied (and still does) a constant thought in my mind. Why? Because she brings me pleasure. She makes me happy.

We think about the things we enjoy don’t we? The scripture is like that too. If we delight in the reading of the Word of God it will be constantly on our minds and in our hearts. That brings with it great pleasure. Notice that verse two is in direct contradiction to the things the blessed man avoids in verse one.

The Scripture teaches us how to live and love as we were created to live and love. When the Word of God truly becomes part of us we begin, though the strength of the Holy Spirit, to be the creature God created us to be. We stop trying to be something we are not and glory in who we truly are. Our image of God-ness becomes more and more real and more and more personal. Our lives improve, both physically and spiritually. Our relationship with God is enhanced, and our prayer life becomes real communication rather than empty recitation.

We are not talking about a cursory reading of Scripture here. It is deeper than that. This delighting in the law of the Lord involves study and taking the Word deeply into your being. It becomes so deeply imbedded that it speaks truth to us even when we are not consciously considering it. It changes us from the inside out.

Do you feel unfulfilled? Do you feel further away from God than you would like? Are you weak when confronted with temptation? If you find yourself answering “yes” to these questions it’s time to dust off your bible, ask God to open your heart and mind, and drink deeply from that book. Take it in, deeply. Consider what you’ve read throughout your day. You will be changed. You will be blessed and experience the joy of the Lord you were created to experience. The more you take in the healthier and happier you will become.

When I first became a UPS driver I had to fill in on many different routes. Learning all the routes so consumed me I literally dreamt the routes through the night and woke up tired from all the work I did in my dreams! This is the way the word should consume us! Then we will understand what it is to meditate on it day and night. Instead of making you tired, it will give you strength, joy, and peace. 



Deeply Rooted

Psalm 1

1

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

4

The wicked are not so,

But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

5

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the wicked will perish.

Have you ever seen a tree growing where there is little water? It relies mainly on rain fall and dew for its sustenance. Consequently its roots grow close to the surface of the ground where the water source is. You often see these trees blown over by a big wind because of the lack of depth of their roots.

A tree that is planted by streams of water has deep roots growing down to the water source. Thus the tree receives constant nourishment and has the strength to withstand the storms.

The stream represents the law (the Scripture). When you plant the roots of your life deep within the Word you find yourself healthy, fully nourished, and able to withstand the storms of life.

The wicked is like the tree with little nourishment, but the righteous is like the tree that is firmly planted by streams of water. The wicked cannot stand against the storms of life, but the righteous not only withstand the storms, but flourish. They produce fruit at the proper time.

Each type of fruit has a season. They don’t all produce the same fruit, neither do the all produce at the same time. The righteous, regardless of what fruit God wants to produce through them, will produce the proper fruit in the proper season.

Do I want to produce fruit for the Kingdom? Yes! Therefore I must be well nourished and take in the good water (the Word) in order to do so.

Conversely, If I am following the path of the sinner I will be unhealthy and will produce bad fruit if I produce any at all.

You have fruit to produce, and only God knows what that fruit is and when its season will be. How will you produce that fruit? How will you know when the time is right? You needn’t worry about that if you are, and continue to be, firmly rooted in the Word of God. The tree firmly planted by streams of water does not concern itself with growing fruit or what season it is, it simply takes in nourishment and gains strength. The fruit comes naturally. It is the same with the righteous. Constant nourishment brings good health, and that health means the tree produces fruit at the proper time. The result of this is that you are blessed, and what a great blessing! 

Blowin’ in the Wind


Psalm 1

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.


The righteous man is like a tree with deep roots going down to streams which provide constant nourishment, refreshment, and strength. The stream is the Word of God in which the righteous mans life is firmly grounded. The results of this is that the righteous man prospers in all areas of his life! We are promised at the end of verse 3 that if we do what is required of the righteous man in verse 2, we will prosper in whatever we do. 


This is not a promise for “stuff” though. If you are rooted in the Word and meditate on it day and night, you will be fundamentally changed. The things you do change. The things you do will now be done in accordance with the Word of God and you will prosper. This may or may not involve “stuff.” It will most definitely involve being in the will of God for your life, and prospering there will bring you great joy and blessing. 


The next verse (4) contrasts this complete prospering of the righteous with the worthlessness of the things the wicked do. The wicked may “prosper” in worldly terms, but that prosperity has no value in the Kingdom of God. It brings a degree of gratification, but that gratification in and of itself is empty. The wicked are like chaff which is useless and is blown away with the wind. 


In Matt. 3:12 and Luke 3:17 we find that the wheat (the righteous) will be gathered unto the Lord and the chaff (the wicked) will be burned with unquenchable fire. That is the “prosperity” of the wicked.


Just as the chaff will not stand with the wheat, neither will the wicked stand with the righteous. 


“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement.” 


In bible school I was told to always ask myself what the “therefore” is “there for.” In this case the therefore shows that the wicked do not prosper and will not stand in the judgement because they are not rooted in the Word of God and follow the path of unrighteousness. Thus, they are condemned.


Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 say, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” This is the way of the wicked, the way of the unsaved.


Matthew 7:13 reads: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.”


I want to prosper. I want God’s blessing. Oh Lord, keep me on the narrow path! Draw my roots to the waters of your word. Cause me to bare fruit in due season and bring you glory.


Amen

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