Blessed is the man...

by Bill Krause

The opening line of Psalm 1 tells us, “Blessed is the man.”  The last line of that Psalm tells us, “But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”  Within the six verses we are told how to be that blessed man and that we should not be with the ungodly any longer, so that our blessing cannot be lost or stolen.

What a great way to start the book of Psalms.  God, in His great simplicity, can take six verses and sum up the way for us to live life to the fullest.

These are very simple instructions that will keep you planted in the blessed column of life. We are told what to avoid and what to do.  If we want to be blessed, we need to make some clear choices.  This Psalm tells us what to do to be prosperous and who we are to avoid to stay free.

This lays out a great principle for us to follow in any and all areas of life.  If we want to succeed, there are definite steps that must be taken to achieve our desired result.  On the other hand, we need to accept the fact that there are negatives that need to be eliminated in order for us to be successful and to remain successful.  One of our steps to success with God is to remove the ungodly counsel from speaking into our lives.  We also need to leave the path, or way, of the sinners and be sure not to sit in the seat of the scornful.

Definitions

• The Hebrew word translated sit, means to sit down, to dwell, to remain, or to marry.
• The Hebrew word translated scornful means to make mouth at, to scoff.

We need to eliminate those people from our lives who are not on the right path.  It is time to let go of the past way of life, and stop associating with people from our life who will keep us from going forward.

A major opposition to forward motion in Christianity is trying to hang on to old friends and still walk close to Christ.  We cannot keep the old associates that we used to do our wrong things with.  Our old friends were the wrong counsel, the ones we walked with on the wrong path and the scornful that we sat with.  We need new friends, with God’s wisdom and ability, who can help us to learn and grow so we can be planted on the path of righteousness.

Your new friends will have knowledge and understanding which will enlighten and encourage you to delight in the law of the Lord.  This will give you the ability to meditate on the right things.  This meditation will make you like a tree planted by the rivers of water.

The words of Psalm 1 tell us that you are a blessed man or woman of God with a strong and powerful future.  Your meditation on Psalm 1, over and over, will bring you to a powerful and strategic place where you will remain rooted and grounded for your entire walk.