1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD: and in His law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season: his leaf also shall not wither: and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
There are two kinds of people in this world and the differences are marked by their perspective of God’s Word, their relationship with God, and their final end.
We delight in the law of God, which means that we are excited about it. We feel the close presence of God as we read His Word. For it is only those who love God’s Word that are known and loved by God.
Verse 1. Two kinds of people are defined and contrasted in this psalm: the ungodly and the righteous. This categorization will be repeated throughout Psalms, and later, in the New Testament, Jesus Himself distinguishes the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares, and the wise and foolish virgins.
The Psalmist begins with a flat, unequivocal statement—the righteous are blessed. What a beautiful way to begin the first psalm! We are a blessed people if we are the ones who do not take counsel from the ungodly. That is, we do not take on the ideas of the ungodly and walk in those ideas. Here the psalms introduce two different ways or walks in life, another pattern you will find in almost every psalm. You can walk in the way of the ungodly or you can walk in the way of God. Ungodly teachers give us their way of life when they teach us on television programs or in today’s schools and colleges. But the righteous man does not walk in this counsel. And neither does he stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful. From the book of Proverbs, it is clear that a scornful person is one who is rebellious and will not listen to counsel and refuses to be corrected by the Word of God. This exactly fits the picture of the rebellious teenager or the teacher that refuses to teach the fear of God. A blessed man will be careful not to listen to these scornful, rebellious men. He does not conform to the scornful (other rebellious young people), or their rebellious habits and attitudes. He refuses to sit in the schools of those that are rebellious to God, to be taught unrighteous ways of thinking and living. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we do not hear ungodly suggestions now and then. But it does mean that we should answer these suggestions with a biblical response.
Verse 2. The way of God is laid out in the words of the law of God, and the godly man or woman is defined as one who delights in the law of the Lord. Some children get excited about a television program or a trip to an amusement park like Disneyland. But what really delights the heart of the righteous man is the law of God. When he hears the law of God from the Old or New Testament, the laws that convey the will of God for our lives—laws which tell him to honor his father and mother, or to be kind one to another, or to forgive others—he will appreciate those words, embrace those words, and live by them.
Moreover, the godly man meditates on God’s law day and night. His focus is not on the ideas of the ungodly. Our minds wander to many different things throughout the day, but what are the things upon which our minds really focus? A godly man will continually think upon the law of God day and night.
Verse 3. Here is a beautiful verse that describes the blessed state of the righteous man who loves God’s law and meditates on it both day and night. He will prosper like a tree planted by a river. Have you ever been on the plains of Colorado, Kansas, or Nebraska where there is very little vegetation? As you drive, you will occasionally come upon a river or creek bed. You can generally identify the outline of the waterway, because there are trees that grow beside the water as far as the eye can see. These trees grow strong and tall because they are fed by the water flowing in the river. Even so, we will grow strong and tall spiritually as we are constantly fed by the Word of God.
God’s Word provides life. Wherever God’s Word is read and loved, you will find life. True life. Spiritual life. Over years of nourishment from the Word of God, you will see a little sapling turn into a large, beautiful, green tree, bearing fruit and often seeds that will produce even more trees. God promises prosperity to this man who delights in God’s law. Prosperity in whatever he does. While this may include financial prosperity, there are more important kinds of prosperity than just wealth. Even the martyrs produced lasting accomplishments affecting thousands of years of God’s kingdom and hundreds of generations. Their lives continue to produce fruit, even after their deaths.
Verses 4–6. Now the psalm brings in the contrast of the wicked. The ungodly are like the dust on the driveway that blows away and the righteous are like the concrete that stays there. According to Jesus’ story about the house built on the sand, the ungodly are like the house that comes tumbling down when the storms come. That is because they will not listen to the words of Jesus in the Bible, and they will not build their lives on His Word. The ungodly will be judged by God, and they will perish in hell. On the other hand, Yahweh knows the righteous. This means that He has a relationship with the righteous and takes careful note of us, and makes sure that everything that happens to us along the way will be for our good and for His glory.
1. Where your mind’s eye sets itself is the direction in which you will walk. If our minds are filled with fiction novels, movies, music, and worldly ideas that have little to do with the law of God, we will live by these things. But if the core content of our thoughts consists of the Word of God, then we will live out that Word. As a family, we should work on meditating on what we study from the Word throughout the day.
2. If we are going to avoid the way of the rebellious and the ungodly then we must be very careful how much time we spend listening to these men and women who obviously do not fear God. This must include our use of the television or ungodly teaching that we might find at a college or university. As a family, we must commit to walk as the righteous man and avoid the way of the rebellious and ungodly.
Our worship must be based solidly upon the Word of God. Our thoughts in worship must be set by the truth of God’s Word. Inevitably, churches tend to wander from God’s Word, and in the end, they give way to compromise and worship some other god of their own making. You will always recognize solid worship when the preaching, the songs, and the prayers are filled up with the truths that come directly from the pages of the Bible. The true worshiper of God will delight in the sermon, especially if the sermon consists of rich portions of God’s Word and a good explanation and application of it.
1. Give an example of a Didactic psalm.
2. According to this psalm, what are the differences between the righteous and the wicked?
3. What is a scornful person?
4. If the ungodly are like the dust that blows off the concrete in our driveway, what are the godly like?
5. How do the righteous gain spiritual strength?
1. What are some of the ways we may walk in the ways of the ungodly or sit in the seat of the scornful?
2. Do you love the Word of God? Do you love to sit and listen to the Bible as we read it? Do you love to hear the Word of God preached? How much do we think about God’s Word throughout the day? Are you learning to focus on the law of God?