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; but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. – Psalm 1:1-2
The book of Psalms provides you with instructions on the pathway to receive God’s blessings. Theologian Charles H. Spurgeon said Psalm 1 is the preface to the contents of the entire book. Warren Wiersbe writes, “God wants to bless His people. He wants them to be recipients and channels of blessing. God blesses us to make us a blessing to others, but He has given us certain conditions for receiving blessings.”
The first verse of Psalm 1 is cautionary. As you look at it again, you will see that the actions warned about are progressive in nature. “Watch the first step,” pastor and author Ray Pritchard said. Walking in the counsel of the ungodly, as the King James puts it, may occur out of curiosity, but this opens up the potential for you to engage in what the wicked are doing. When you stand in the path of sinners, you have moved from curiosity to contemplation and, by the time you sit with the scornful, you have become comfortable with their ways. This is not the pathway to receiving God’s blessing, which is stated repeatedly, in various ways, throughout the Psalms.
God wants to bless you by calling you out of sinful ways into His path of righteousness. When you make reading and meditating on the Word of the Lord your first order of activity in the morning, you begin to carry His words in your thoughts all day long, and they become the things you think of at night. Proverbs 4:14-15 says, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it, do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.” You will receive blessings from the Lord as you submit yourself to Him in obedience to His Word and abstain from ungodly things (Psalm 24:4-5). Pray for the people of the United States to seek the Lord and withdraw from the culture that promotes ungodliness. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).
Today’s Verse: Psalm 1:1-2
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;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Psalm 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;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
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.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
