BOOK ONE Psalms 1–41
The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
God has allowed this Psalm to be the first, not because it is the longest but because it makes such an important point: bad company corrupts. “Walking in the counsel of the ungodly” means to follow advice from people who have no fear of God or His commandments. One of our friends used to have a poster that read, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.”
“nor stands in the path of sinners” Sometimes we are tempted to “walk on the wild side,” forgetting that there is always a price for such behavior. Sleep with enough people and you will wind up with HIV or Hepatitis B, C, D, E, or even some new strain that will devour your liver. Many young people have attempted to remain on the fringe of gangs because they think it is brave or glamorous, only to die from gunshot wounds. Several years ago, a gifted young basketball player had just matched with his dream program. A “friend” gave him cocaine to celebrate; that celebration resulted in the young man dying from an overdose, his dreams in tatters and his family’s hearts broken.
It’s a common sight in African, Asian, and Middle Eastern villages at certain times of the year. Women pour grain from one container into another, allowing the wind to carry away the chaff, leaving only the good grain. Nobody cares about the chaff, and it’s so useless that the goats might not even eat it.
How can we stay focused? “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” The more we read God’s Word, the Bible, the more it will speak to us and the more sense it will make to us. God is really sneaky! Reading God’s Word changes us without our even being aware. God will never override our free will, but when we read His Word, our “want-to’s” change. Notice one thing: God’s idea of prosperity is not ours. Many times, we think only of financial prosperity, while God wants us to be spiritually prosperous.
APPLICATION: GIGO! This phrase stands for “garbage in, garbage out,” and it first became popular in the 1980’s when computer use was on the upswing. Computers are wonderful; however, you will only get out of a computer what you put into it. Here God is telling us that we are like computers. If we want our lives to be fruitful and positive, we must study God’s Word. Put garbage into our minds and we will get out garbage and failure. Binge on Netflix series or become addicted to games on your cell phone and you have wasted time better spent in something else. (I have a list of games I have had to remove from my phone because I became addicted.)
Nowadays, Bible apps for cell phones are everywhere, making it easy to study God’s Word. Last Sunday, we visited a friend’s church in a small village and half the people there were reading the Bible from their cell phones. I keep one English translation and versions in two different tribal languages on my phone as a means of studying those languages as well as studying the Bible. If you’re not fond of reading, there are audio versions to which you can listen while driving or doing other things.
How much of the Bible should you read at a time? Years ago, Evelyn Christensen, a wonderful teacher on intercessory prayer, suggested that we should read until God stops us and then ask God what He wants to show us with the verse or verses. How do you know when to stop? Stop when it quits making sense to you. Go back to the last verse where it made sense and ask God for insight. You can trust God to enlighten you.
Jesus told his disciples in John 10:10 that “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” God wants us to have wonderful lives, and to see His purposes fulfilled in them.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to take this Psalm to heart and to follow Your leading throughout our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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