Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. --Matthew 5:6
One of the earliest prayers uttered by a child might be, "God bless Mommy and Daddy." This simple supplication might be the purest expression of both faith and love--entreating the Almighty (the Giver of life and Creator of all things) for favor and happiness to those whom the child holds most dear.
This simple word "bless" holds a great deal of meaning. After all, who among us does not want to be blessed? According to The Discovery Bible by HELPS Ministries, the biblical definition of the word "blessed" comes from the Greek word makários. This describes a believer as being in an enviable position for receiving God's provisions (favor)--as being an extension of His grace.
When Jesus began His public ministry, one of His first soliloquies is called The Sermon On The Mount, and it begins with what we call The Beatitudes (see Matthew 5:1-12). Jesus listed nine ways to pursue the blessings of God and happiness in His holiness. We must remember, however, that instruction in the blessings of God did not begin with Jesus. Many references to blessed living are found in the Old Testament; 25 of them are in the Psalms alone.
Today we want to examine Psalm 1, the first of perhaps many devotions to be found on this platform from the Psalms. This chapter starts with the same phrase as the Beatitudes: "Blessed are." However, the instruction that follows is a negative command, as in "thou shalt not." It lists ways to avoid wickedness, for, as we will see in a few minutes, the wicked are not blessed.
The holiness and happiness of the Heaven-bound--Psalm 1:1-3
Let's read what the Scripture says.
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 on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields it's fruit in season, and it's leaf does not wither. In all that he does he prospers.
Actions To Avoid
Please note the three main verbs in this warning, especially the natural progression. When dealing with the wicked world, walking in their counsel is dangerous, for it may lead to standing in the way of sinners. "Going along to get along" may lead not just to our associating with sinful people, but becoming like them, listening to them and becoming like them. Soon, we may be in danger of the third peril listed, sitting with those who scoff at Christians, and by extension, their Christ.
C.S. Lewis, in his Reflections on the Psalms (1958), writes, "I am inclined to think a Christian would be wise to avoid, where he decently can, any meeting with people who are bullies, lascivious, cruel, dishonest, spiteful, and so forth. Not because we are 'too good' for them. In a sense because we are not good enough. We are not good enough to cope with all the temptations, nor clever enough to cope with all the problems, which an evening spent in such society produces. The temptation is to condone, to connive at; by our words, looks and laughter, to 'consent'."
You may counter that we are to be like Jesus, and that Jesus ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners of all stripes. The difference here is two-fold: first, we are not Jesus; and second, Jesus did not condone the sins of those He sat with. To the first point, as Lewis pointed out, we are much more prone to be drawn into worldly thinking and sinful conduct than Jesus was. To the second, the world may look at us, as the Pharisees looked at Jesus, accusingly. "This man eats with publicans and sinners," was an accusation levied against Christ to get the people to turn away from Him. Anybody who listened to Jesus preach knew that His aim was to call those "sinners" to repentance, to leave their sinful ways. We may also preach the same message, but guilt by association is so much easier to convey these days. What do you think when you see a photo of a Christian evangelist with a notorious criminal, womanizer, pornographer, or atheist? Photos were not available in first century Rome when Jesus lived, much less all the print and electronic media available today. Guilt by association is so much easier to come by in the 21st century.
Attitudes We Aspire To
Rather than spend our time with sinful people, we should set our minds on higher things. Psalm 119:9 and 11 says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word. I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."
Again, from C.S. Lewis in Reflections on the Psalms:
In chapter 1 verse 2 we are told that the good man's 'delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he will exercise himself day and night'. To 'exercise himself' in it apparently does not mean to obey it (though of course a good man will do that too) but to study it, as Dr. Moffatt says to 'pore over it.' Of course 'the Law' does not here mean simply the ten commandments, it means the whole complex legislation (religious, moral, civil, criminal, and even constitutional) contained in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The man who 'pores upon it' is obeying Joshua's command (Josh. 1:8), 'the book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.' This means, among other things, that the Law was a study, or we should say, a 'subject'; a thing on which there would be commentaries, lectures, and examinations. There were. Thus part of what an ancient Jew meant when he said he 'delighted in the Law' was very like what one of us would mean if he said that somebody 'loved' history, or physics, or archaeology."
Do you remember your favorite subject in school? I'm not talking about the one with the prettiest teacher on whom you had your first crush. I mean the subject which you couldn't get enough of. You couldn't wait to get to class, and after class you might look for other sources on the subject. According to the Psalmist, in order to be good (meaning to avoid being wicked) and to ultimately be blessed, we must make Scripture reading our favorite pastime. If we love Jesus, we will read more of His words. The more we read the words of Jesus, the more we find that He often quoted the Old Testament. The more we read the Old Testament, the more we realize that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law. Praise God for His unspeakable gift!
We are to be grounded, rooted like a mature tree, bearing much fruit. If we stand near the source of pure water (the water of the word, Ephesians 5:26), our "leaf does not wither" and we are assured success in our spiritual life. There is then no chance of a non-believer accusing us of associating with sinful men, or of being "inclusive" of their sinful ways.
The Woeful Way of the Wicked--Psalm 1:4-5
Let's go back to our text.
The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Poetically the psalmist uses a parallel idea with verse one. The righteous and blessed man is to avoid walking with world, because the world is blown about by "every wind of doctrine." (Ephesians 4:14). They are not guided by the Truth, but define truth within themselves with absolutely no moral compass. We are not to stand with sinners, because sinners will not stand in the judgment. We are not to sit with scoffers, because sinners would never sit in our congregation.
As C.S. Lewis wrote, "What makes this contact with wicked people so difficult is that to handle the situation successfully requires not merely good intentions, even with humility and courage thrown in; it may call for social and even intellectual talents which God has not given to us. It is therefore not self-righteousness but mere prudence to avoid it when we can. The Psalmists were not wrong when they described the good man as avoiding 'the seat of the scornful' and fearing to consort with the ungodly lest he should 'eat of' (shall we say, laugh at, admire, approve, justify?) 'such things as please them'. As usual in their attitude, with all its dangers, there is a core of very good sense. 'Lead us not into temptation' often means, among other things, 'Deny me those gratifying invitations, those highly interesting contacts, that participation in the brilliant movements of our age, which I so often, at risk, desire'."
The Justice and Judgment of God
Let's read the final verse of Psalm 1, verse 6
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
The wicked are not like a tree, firmly planted by streams of water. They are dried up husks, mere chaff driven away by the wind. When Jesus spoke of separating the wheat from the chaff (Matthew 3:12), He foretold the judgment awaiting the wicked. "His winnowing fork is in His hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." Wheat and chaff both are grown on the same stalk. How much better to be fruitful, useful, nutritious wheat than to be useless chaff, of no benefit to anyone.
God knows your heart. Do not lean your heart to sinful ways or sinful men. "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33), and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). Make the study of Scripture be your favorite subject.
