“Blessed is the man -” (Psalm 1:1). When January comes around each year, I love to read and meditate on Psalm 1. The reason for this is simply that I want to receive God’s blessings. In this psalm, we are told how we can be blessed in 2007! It speaks about the blessed, or happy, man.
Danny BurnleyIn verses one and two, we find “the practice of the blessed man.” There is the negative side (v. 1) and the positive side (v. 2). First, consider the negative side. There are three things a happy man is to do in order to be happy:
1) He does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Counsel means advice. Proverbs 13:20 states, “He who walks with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” A blessed man does not listen to the ungodly, but rather he spends time with his Father. He discovers God’s will and then moves on the basis of God’s word. Counsel is fine; just be sure it is godly counsel.
2) He does not stand in the way of sinners. Yes, we are to love sinners and to reach out to sinners; however, a sinner will lead you away from God. Proverbs 14:12 states, “There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” One must be very careful not to be influenced by those who have forsaken God’s way (Isaiah 55:7).
3) He does not sit in the seat of the scornful. The scornful denies God, antagonizes the things of God, hates and opposes God. There are those who scoff at the Bible, the pastor, evangelists, deacons and the work of God. The Bible tells us to “mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17).
I have learned over the years that when someone is constantly negative around me and is always scorning someone or something in the church, I simply smile and say, “Have a good day,” and stay away from the scorner. What is God’s attitude? “Surely He scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly” (Proverbs 3:34). God opposes the scornful and He will scorn them.
There is also a positive side (v. 2). What is the happy, or blessed, man to do?
1) He delights in the law of the Lord. He finds joy in the word of God. It is a thrilling book. It is not boring but a delight. First John 5:3 tells us, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous.” When we delight in the Lord, we live in the Spirit and we discover love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control.
2) He meditates on God’s word. While I was pastor in Royston, Ga., years ago, there was a farmer in our church who owned a cattle farm. I discovered that when a cow “chews her cud,” the cow has several compartments in her stomach. She would eat the grass in the cool of the morning, and in the afternoon heat of the day, she would lie down under the shade of a tree and chew her cud. She would move back up the grass she had eaten in the morning, masticate it and go over it again. This is what we do when we meditate on God’s word. We do not grow by being busy but by meditating upon God’s word. We go over it again and again. God’s word becomes part of our life. “Blessed is the man – .”
Have a blessed year!