By: Tyler Montgomery
Psalms is a collection of many different prayers and hymns. One of the most prominent Psalms is the first one. In Psalm 1 we are given two very distinct descriptions of men. One on the side of light, and the other on the side of darkness. For right now let us focus on the first half; the part of the man on the side of good. The Psalm reads, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:1-3). There are many things we can take just from these three verses. That first word, blessed, means in the Greek to be happy. Thus, it can also read as, “happy is the man.” Let us now go through it as, “Happy is the man who WALKS not with the UNGODLY.” That word, walk, pretty much sums it up, does it not? A great synonym we can use to explain its meaning is “to be among.” In the second sentence it states, “nor stands in the path of sinners.” Many may read this passage as if it were saying that we are not to get in the way of another person’s sin but, if we are sticking to the context, we can see that it is talking about not being on the same path as those who have sinned. We may have friends, family, neighbors, or acquaintances whom we know are in darkness; men and women who are purposefully and continuously sinning! Yet, we have our own free will and knowledge recognizing those things as wrong which grants us that liberty to not follow them on that path. Matthew 7:13-14 give one of the best examples to use on this matter stating, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” I beseech all who read this: Stay on that difficult path, because it is far better in the end. In the next sentence the Psalm says, “nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1b). Those who are scornful are usually unhappy, complaining people who do not have any joy in their own work, fruits, or lives. If someone is remaining stagnant, or sitting down and doing nothing, over time they will become scornful toward this world and those who are in it! They will begin to have a terrible demeanor and attitude throughout everyday no matter what they are doing. Therefore, how do we become the blessed man? In Psalm 1:2 it tells us that “his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law, he meditates day and night.” The blessed man is constantly working, constantly focusing on what God wants him to do, how God wants him to act, and what God wants him to say! When we are meditating on the Law of the Lord it does not have to be only on Sundays. Everywhere we go, we should have God in our hearts and in our minds. In the third verse, it tells us that the blessed man “shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). Something that I have found interesting about everything in these verses is that every single one of these is a choice. We choose whether we walk with the ungodly or not. We choose whether we will stand in the path sinners have walked or not. We can choose if we are going to remain stagnant or not. We can also choose if we are going to delight in God’s Word or not. We can Choose if we are going to meditate on His Law or not. That very first part of verse three is a decision we can make! A tree may be able to grow where it wishes, but it cannot choose where in the ground to be planted. Only we can choose what our lives are to look like. Now to the other side of things, the last three verses of Psalm 1 paint a very clear and dire picture. It states, “the ungodly are NOT so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:4-6, emphasis TM). Each verse, though all intertwined, have a very deep meaning. When it begins “the ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away” it is valuable to think of chaff as the dust of wood after cutting a tree down. The ungodly will be gone in a matter of seconds, they will disappear and fade away as soon as the wind blows. If we continue, “therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement” this portion of the Psalm reveals that God already knows their ways! He knows their heart! He knows all the wicked things that the ungodly have done, and they will be punished. It continues, “nor the sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Now this one is interesting, because we know that there are wolves in the Church as it says in Matthew 7:15-20. If we, who are human, will know them by their fruits then God, who is divine, will undoubtedly know these people! God knows who the hypocrites are who sleep among us in the church, who sit in the pews and hear the words of God and continue to ignore them! They will be separated from us, as it concludes in the last words of the Psalm, “for God knows the way of the Righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:6). If you pay attention to those words, it says way; not ways. Not multiple, but rather singular. There is only one true way that we should go. There is only one path that is worth us sticking to and pushing through on this world. I plead with you all, stick to that straight path. Stick to that difficult way, for though the gate is narrow, we may be the few who find it.