Psalm 1 - an oldie and a goodie

Psalm 1:4, 6

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.

6 - For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."


You may remember me sharing that I was struggling with contentment and being angry over being in the military. And how I am not able to surrender this alone, that my help must come from God's word. I talked about the verse in Job about how he counted God's Word more important than his daily food. This is an extension of that, and I know it's no accident. (grin!) Like I said, God kept bringing me back to it and back to it.

Verse 1: I do pretty well at being careful who I seek counsel from... I search the Bible, ask older and wiser Christians whose walk I've watched for years, etc, and pray pray pray, etc. But the next part got me for the first time, really. "nor standeth in the way of sinners" - If I'm standing, I've quit moving. Growing spiritually doesn't happen by accident; it must be done on purpose. But notice... not standing in what I know to be right... standing in the way of sinners, standing in sin again, the way we sinners all do. I'd stopped doing what I knew to be right, and fell immediately back into my old familiar habits: thinking of self first and only. And once I stopped to stand... I wound up sitting in the seat of the scornful - I'd parked my tuckus to scorn. Scorn means means "open dislike and disrespect or derision often mixed with indignation" - eeek!! That was completely my attitude!! Open dislike and disrespect for my husband's decision to enlist and (oh my...) was there indignation. "How can he do this to me?" But God says I'm blessed if I *don't* do those things. I was missing out on His blessings because I'd let myself "stand" and "sit" spiritually.

Verse 2: There it is again - the reminder that to change my attitude, to truly surrender it and mean it, I've got to meditate on His Word constantly - "day and night!" And I must delight in His Word, in His rules, in His leadership. Delight means "a high degree of gratification" - wow. I must find a high degree of gratification. What is gratification? "reward, satisfaction or pleasure"

Verse 3: I love God's word pictures. A tree by the river is always hooked up to the source of water. The water makes the tree come to life, thrive. There is no chance for the leaf to wither because it is never without that refreshing water. My attitude can't wither or wander if I'm constantly hooked up to The Source by meditating on His Word day and night!! If I do start to wither, it's because I pulled away from Him.

Verse 4: Chaff - "the seed coverings and other debris separated from the seed in threshing grain, something comparatively worthless" It's dry and brittle, mere fragments that are dead and crumbling. And that is what God says the ungodly are like. They aren't hooked into the Source. And just like the chaff, I quickly become dry spiritually when I am not hooked into Him. What a neat comparison - be lush and fruitful with God, or dry and crumbling without Him. We are totally dependent on Him!

Verse 6: And here is my reminder: Lily... "for the Lord knoweth the way," girl. Notice the comparison... "but the way of the ungodly shall perish." It isn't those who trust in Him who perish. He knows the way, and it isn't the way to my destruction. He isn't going to send me out to my doom. He's got His own map, and it's a whole lot more detailed than mine! But why do I tend to tuck my map in my back pocket and at the first sign of something that isn't kosher with me, I whip it out to say, "Hey, uh... that's not on my map!" I need to burn that map in my back pocket. And perhaps rip out my pockets. LOL