Life's Biggest Choice

READ Psalm 1

This psalm makes some very black and white statements, so I have put them in black and white so we can see the contrast. The white text describes the lifestyle of the righteous person, and the results of that lifestyle. The black text describes the lifestyle of the wicked person and the results of that lifestyle.

Actually, there is also a grey section. V.1 is about the righteous person but it says what he/she does not do and, by implication, what the wicked person does do.

This psalm is not very politically correct. Is it OK to label some people righteous and other people “wicked”? Is it OK to make such a sharp demarcation between them? Well, this is what the Bible says. These two ways of life are poles apart. The psalm is a series of contrasts and, therefore, present us with a choice. Which do we choose?

Verse 5 and 6 talk about the eternal consequences of this choice. But the choice also has major implications for this life, not just the next one.

It starts by saying who is blessed. “Blessed” describes the person blessed by God; the person experiencing God’s favour; the person on whom God is smiling. People look and say, “Wow, God is with that person. God is blessing that person.”

Who is this person? V.1 tells us what this person does not do. V.2 will describe what he/she does do. So, firstly what this person does not do.

Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinner, nor sit in the seat of mockers.

There is a progression there. It gets more and more serious. Look at the verbs: walk, stand, sit. Walk implies movement; stand implies being stationary; but sit implies a more permanent, deliberate decision. If you go from walking to standing to sitting, you are becoming more settled, more embedded, more at home in this position.

Look at the next words. Counsel means the teaching or advice. It is about ideas and words. The “way” is about lifestyle, a way of life. This is about actions. It has gone beyond just ideas; it is being lived out. The “seat” implies sitting in the home of, or at the table of, the scoffer. The seat implies fellowship or partnership with the scoffer. So, again there is a progression from listening to ideas, to living by those ideas to identifying fully with the wicked.

I am not sure if there is the same progression in the next set of words: the wicked, sinners and scoffers. Certainly scoffers are those who not only do evil but are proud of it and mock the ways of God.

Those three lines of the psalm indicate the dangers of being sucked into evil. It starts with the ideas we listen to, the things we take in. It becomes action; living it out. And, ultimately, it becomes full identification with evil, and contempt for the things of God.

That is what the blessed person does not do. He/she does not listen, is not open to, will not adopt, the ideas and teachings of the wicked. He doesn’t even take that first step. He certainly does not start living out those ideas and becoming part of the fellowship of the wicked.

He doesn’t do that; what does he do? The word ‘but’ in v.2 introduces one of the big contrasts in this psalm. He doesn’t listening to the ideas of the wicked instead he delights in the law of the Lord. He does not listen to the wicked; he does listen to God. In fact, he delights in what God says. “Law” here is quite general. It does not mean just the commands of the law. It means the instruction of God, the teaching of God in all its dimensions. Blessed is the person who delights in the word of God – delights in the scriptures – delights in hearing God speak.

The wicked reject God’s ways, choosing to do what they want to do. The scoffers go further and mock God’s word. But other people delight in God’s word. Those people are blessed by God.

He meditates on it day and night. Meditates? Isn’t that part of Eastern religions? Meditating is very biblical but biblical mediation is different from Yoga meditation or anything like that. In eastern religions the idea is to empty your mind and let whatever happens happen. Christian meditation is about filling your mind with the word of God and pondering it. It is about reflecting on it; thinking about it; letting God speak to you through His word as you turn it over in your mind.

The righteous person thinks about the word of God, day and night. He/she constantly wants to do what is right and please God. Asking “What would Jesus do?” is one way of reflecting on the word of God. The righteous person walks through life wanting to obey God.

Obey: is that the right word? This psalm doesn’t say anything about obeying God’s teaching; it simply says the righteous person delights in it and meditates on it. It would be possible to think that this is simply a case of what we think about. Do we have to actually do it or is it sufficient to think about it?

That is a silly question, really, isn’t it? We know the answer. Delighting in the law of God means finding God’s ways delightful. It is far more than thinking about them. The righteous person delights in living according to what the Bible teaches. God’s ways are found to be very good not just in theory but in practice.

It wouldn’t make a lot of sense if I said, “I love exercising. Exercising is my greatest delight. I love watching the ads of TV for exercise equipment. I love reading about exercise. I write a regular blog about exercising. Oh and if I manage to get it into a conversation, and urge others to exercise, I feel so virtuous. The most fulfilling thing in my life is exercising.”

You know where I am going with this, don’t you? “That is fantastic! What sort of exercise do you do?”

“Oh no, I don’t do any. I just love thinking about it. It is so fulfilling.”

Likewise, it would be ridiculous to say that I delight in the law of God but I don’t follow it. I delight in the word of God but then I ignore it. I delight in the word of God. I choose to disobey it but I do love it. The righteous person meditates on it day and night because he/she wants to live in the way that God prescribes. As James says, “Do not merely listen to God’s word. Do it. Those who merely listen deceive themselves.” (Jas 2:22)

The rest of the psalm is all about that distinction: those who live righteously because they delight in the word of God in contrast to those who disobey: the wicked, the sinners, the mockers.

He/she is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither. Everything he/she does prospers.

The big strong healthy tree, well-watered, luxuriant, green leaves and fruitful. It is a picture of health and strength and vitality. The fruitfulness is very important. This tree is productive. Its fruit means it provides for others and that it reproduces. It is doing exactly what God designed trees to do.

Then there is another huge contrast in the psalm: Not so the wicked. A very different picture is used. The wicked are like chaff, the dry husk of the grain useless for anything. The farmer tosses the grain into the air to separate the seed head from the chaff. The wind blows the husk away. It is useless; no one wants it.

Could there be a greater contrast than that between the beautiful, fruitful tree by the stream and the chaff? That is a contrast God sees between the person who loves Him and loves His ways and the person who rejects the ways of God. The contrast is that stark.

You might be thinking, “But it is not always like that. It says, “Everything he does prospers”  but not everything does go right for the godly person. Christians suffer as much as others. Sometimes it seems that non-Christians are blessed with the easier life. The distinction in this psalm is too simplistic.”

That is true! Some of the other psalms address that. Psalms 37 and 73, for example, ask why it is that the ungodly seem to prosper. In fact, Psalm 37 uses this same image.

Psalm 37:35

I have seen the wicked and ruthless flourishing like a luxurious native tree.

But they also answer the question by saying that it can appear that way for a while but ultimately there is always a price to pay. Sin has consequences. The wages of sin is death. Listen to the next verse.

Psalm 37:35-36

I have seen the wicked and ruthless flourishing like a luxurious native tree, but they soon passed away and were no more; though I looked for them, they could not be found.

Conversely, the godly might suffer in this life but, again, ultimately, justice will be done.

Psalm 37:37-38

Consider the blameless, observe the upright: a future awaits those who seek peace. But all sinners will be destroyed; there is no future for the wicked.

Psalm 1 does not address the injustices that are often apparent in this world where things seem upside-down and God appears to be failing His people. Instead, it addresses the overarching principle that says that God blesses those who obey Him and, sadly, there will be judgement for those who reject Him.

There is one choice: we delight in God’s instruction or we reject it? The psalm finishes with the eternal consequences. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The principle is that God will save the righteous for eternal life but the wicked will be judged. Which group are you in? The consequences are too terrible to not be sure. The reality is that we are all wicked; we all deserve judgement.

Romans 3:23

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:10

(quoting another psalm, Psalm 14) There is no one who is righteous, not one.

That is why Jesus is so amazing, isn’t it? We all have sinned. We have all known what God wants and chosen to do the opposite. There is no one who is righteous. This psalm says there is no hope for any of us. The way of the wicked will perish. Who of us can claim to be righteous?

But Jesus took our sins on Himself. He paid the price. It is true: the way of the wicked will perish. Justice requires that. But Jesus took that punishment. He perished carrying the sins of the world. Justice was satisfied. Because Jesus paid the price for our sins, we can be forgiven. In God’s eyes, if we accept what Jesus has done for us, if we put our faith in Jesus, we become righteous.

2 Corinthians 5:21

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Our response is to say, “Lord, I love You. I love your ways. I love your instruction. I want to live Your way. I no longer want to just satisfy myself; I want to please You.”

Then this psalm becomes very real: Blessed is the person who is submitted to God; blessed in this life; blessed for eternity.

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