Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers

“Blessed” - this is the first word of the Psalms. It tells us that there is the promise of good that will come from these words. God desires to bless and not curse, but as we will see, the blessing is related to our actions as well. This is covenant language. Privilege and purpose, blessing and responsibility. Blessing isn’t bestowed willy nilly. It is conditioned on posturing our lives to receive the blessing by the way that we live and by the choices that we make. It begins by considering how our culture shapes us. 

The three verbs that follow the statement of blessing (walk, stand, sit) describe three different postures in relationship to three groups of people: the wicked, sinners, and scoffers. Walking in the Bible is a frequent metaphor for lifestyle, activities, and behaviors. There are some people mentioned in the Bible who walked with God (Adam and Enoch), and this suggests the image of a conversation between friends who are going nowhere in particular, just shaping one another’s thinking through discussion. Counsel suggests advice and wisdom. This “wicked wisdom” is sourced by the wicked, those who are guilty of breaking the law and who are opposed to God. It is advice on how to oppose God, enticement to live in ways that are contrary to the instruction of God. Apparently there is a blessing that comes from ignoring the advice of those that are walking away from God rather than with him. 

Avoid this kind of influence from the outspoken voices in our culture. Who are you listening to? What music, TV shows, movies, podcasts are shaping you these days? There is a blessing from turning those off and seeking the counsel and wisdom of God. This is certainly countercultural, but it is what the ancient wisdom calls us to do. What if you started to make note of the bad advice that you hear every day in the media you consume? How long would that list be? What behaviors are you practicing now that are contrary to the wisdom and instruction of God? These are robbing you of blessing. What personal friendships (or habits) do you have that are pulling you away from walking with God? The antithesis of this line would be to walk in the counsel of God. 

The second posture we may take is to stand in the way of sinners. “Way” is the typical word for path or road. Jesus spoke of two ways or roads, one broad the other narrow. The broad road is well-traveled, wide and filled with people on their way to destruction. It’s not a pretty sight. In fact, it’s heart-breaking. “Stand” suggests a level of certainty and firmness, as in “I’ll take my stand” or “I’m standing with him”. The picture here is of someone who has taken a firm stand in the path that sinners take. They’re not blocking sinners or urging them to turn around. They are firmly on a path that will lead to destruction. They’ve chosen the wrong road. The antithesis of this line is to stand firmly in the path of the righteous. 

Who do you find solidarity with these days? It’s one thing to be empathetic with others, but to embrace their worldview can be catastrophic. Can you stand with someone without agreeing with them? Can you love someone fully while being profoundly opposed to their lifestyle? I think here of the Christians who have embraced the modern sexual ethic out of love for the sinner -- attending pride parades, affirming same sex marriage and winking at sex outside of the covenant of marriage. They want to be loving and non-judgmental, but it’s not too long before the way of sinners becomes their own. This metaphor has faces and names for me, former students of mine who in the name of love have compromised truth. The move from this posture to the next is easily made. Once you’ve stood for a while, it’s only natural to want to sit, and this posture is the most deadly of all. 

The third posture is even more firm than the previous two. It is that of sitting. The image of one who has become firmly ensconced in his position, and it is a posture of mockery. It is the chair of the skeptic, the cynic, and the critic. He has a knee-jerk reaction to everything and it is shaped by a secular worldview. He lives as if there were no God and ridicules anyone who does. He thinks so highly of himself that he is unteachable. He is proud, unmovable and arrogant - the antithesis of a godly man. Three postures, one leading to the next as the level of flexibility in his position declines. He moves from listening to foolishness, finding solidarity with that folly, and then settling in as a permanent resident in its house. He becomes the fool of Psalm 14 who says in his heart, “There is no God”. 

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

If the first verse tells us what to avoid, the second verse tells us what to embrace -- the knowledge of God. The law of God is not merely rules and regulations, but it is the entire revelation of God in written word. To the psalmist this was the Pentateuch and whatever books (if any) might have been canonized at this point. The psalmist delights in the knowledge of God and meditates on it day and night. He murmurs these words to himself. He turns them over in his mind and contemplates their meaning and application. They are a source of nourishment to him. That seems to be clear from the metaphor that follows, that of a tree planted by streams of water. Taken together, the first two verses suggest that there are two sources of wisdom -- that from the world and that from God. Which are you consuming? Which are you taking pleasure in? The word “delight” is particularly significant because we understand what this is in the physical realm. There are lots of things that are delightful - food and drink, beauty, creativity, music and other art forms, accomplishment, and companionship. These are a reward in themselves and we readily seek them for fulfillment. We are hungry until these are satisfied. So is the soul without God. The application is pretty clear - entertain thoughts of God throughout the day and night. To what are you applying your mental energies? What are you consuming mentally? These things are transforming your brain, but in what direction and to what end? This is clearly a choice, just as surely as the choice of your companions in verse 1.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

The blessed person is likened to a tree. The one who desires to flourish will intentionally plant their life by a source of life -- a running stream of pure, clean water. Because of the way that we are made, we can’t help but grow if we are nurtured in the right way. It’s in our design, our DNA. If you plant something in the right conditions it will grow. And at the right time, when it has matured, the plant will produce fruit (again, unless something is wrong with it). Fruit-production is normal and a result of growth. This fruit then nourishes others who feed on it, and as it is harvested, shared and consumed, the seeds within it are spread to others as well. When the trials of the dry season come, the leaves of this tree will not wither. They will continue to be a source of healing and shade to those who rest under her. The final statement doesn’t seem to fit the tree analogy, but is simply a blanket statement: All he does prospers. This can’t mean that hard times and failures will not happen. “Consider my servant Job.” But it does mean that a person who is rooted in the knowledge of God will have the ability to withstand them, live through them, and come out all the wiser. Am I such a person? Have I intentionally placed myself in a position to be nourished by the constantly flowing stream that is the Word and Spirit of God? Am I bearing the fruit of that Spirit (love, joy, peace…)? Am I reproducing myself in the lives of others (my children, my family, my students) so that the truth fleshed out in my life has become life for others? Can I endure difficulties -- not just surviving but providing shade and healing to others in the midst of it? When I die, I’d like for someone to say that I was like a tree. 

4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

The tree is fully described in four lines: planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in its season, whose leaf does not whither, and whatever he does prospers. The antithesis of the blessed person is the wicked person and they are likened to chaff that the wind blows away -- just one descriptive line. As in the previous two verses, a sharp contrast is drawn with regard to the outcome of two lives that play out according to two different orientations. The one oriented toward the knowledge of God flourishes and the one oriented away from God is brief, lifeless, unrooted, and worthless. We can’t carry the analogy too far, but I’ve known people of both types. We are living in an age of increasing rootlessness. Surveys show that people in our culture suffer from a lack of meaning and purpose, driving self-destructive behavior. I don’t mean to be arrogant, prideful, or judgmental here, but it’s not too difficult to see the chaff in our world. They are in the news every day: people who have lived for nothing more than themselves, placing their pursuit of self-defined happiness above all else. And look where it has gotten them. At the end of their days, a long list of regrets and life strewn with relational wreckage. Rootless, lifeless, worthless. Of course, if you feel strongly about this, do something. Speak, confront, teach and orient people toward the knowledge of God and with the power of the Holy Spirit, plant them by the water. It doesn’t do them any good for you to sit back and judge, watching them waste from life to death. Speak the truth in love. 

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

“Therefore” indicates that what follows is the result of what preceded. The wicked will not stand in the judgment and sinners won’t stand in the assembly of the righteous. There’s that verb “stand” again, taking your position and being resolved not to move. The wicked will have nothing to stand on in the justice system on earth or in heaven. This is probably not talking about future judgment, but rather the judgment that occurs in human courts or in the context of judgments on this earth, that is, the tests of this life. And sinners won’t even be found among the community of the righteous. There is a separation, just as the wheat and chaff are separated, just as the chaff is totally unlike the tree, just as the blessed person is headed in a completely different direction than the wicked, the sinners, and the scoffers. This is a statement about holiness. That’s the term we used for separate. A blessed person is a holy person. No one is holy except God, but He invites us to follow him so that we will stand in the judgment. We will endure the trials of this life and we will stand before God when we pass through to the next life. We will stand in the company of the righteous. We are part of this wonderful community known as the church. 

6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

There are two ways. The way of the righteous is known by God. The NIV translates this as “watches over carefully”. YHWH is familiar with the way of the righteous (it’s the way that he designed us to live), and in Christ he experienced it firsthand, experientially. But the way (lifestyle) of the wicked will perish. It is temporal, it has an end point and it is as the chaff, blown by the wind, fruitless and unsatisfying. The final word of the psalm contrasts with the first: blessed/perish. Two outcomes of two ways of living. YHWH knows my ways (and yes, I’m including myself in the company of the righteous), and this should bring me comfort. He is with me as I am with him. There is a unity here as I align my life with his will. When I leave that path I’m on my own. I move from walking with God to walking away from Him, and I get what I have chosen: isolation. This reminds me of C.S. Lewis’ view of hell in The Great Divorce. God gives us what we most desire. For some that is to be left alone to do as they please. For me, I desire the blessing that comes from union with God. I don’t want to be alone, so I’ll choose to walk with God (and we’re back to the Garden of Eden imagery with this psalm).