PONDERING... Psalm 1

Psalm 1 Summary: Lessons in Prayer from Psalms

Psalms 1:1-6  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; 2  but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  

     Blessed, which always implies goodness and/or true joy from God, is the one who does not go the direction recommended by the wicked, or follow the guidance of those who do not know God, or want to be with sinners (waiting in their path), or live fixed in their way of life, or participate in their denial and mockery of God, but loves and gets joy from the commands and the instructions of God found in His Word, the Bible, and he thinks about it, studies it, and chews on it all day. 

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

     He is continually fed by the Word and grows spiritually, yielding fruit, as a result, and he is sustained. He is always successful because He is always seeking God (God gives Himself freely to those who seek Him with all their heart). The standard of success here is God's, not the world's.

4  The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

     The wicked, those who do not follow after God and His Word, are not blessed like this. They are removed from God's use.

5  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;  6  for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

     Because of this, the lost will not be bold or fixed in their position on Judgement Day because their true characters will be revealed, nor will they be counted as among the righteous, or as one of the righteous because the Lord knows His and His way, (He goes there, or rather, is the there since He is the way of the righteous), but the way of sinners leads to Hell.

Two Thoughts:

1. If we believe this, why are we not happy? Why don’t we feel blessed?
2. What does this teach us about prayer?
   1. Pray the truth. Pray scripture. … How do we avoid just “heaping up words”, or rambling? Start with praying what we know is True about God, even if we’re not feeling this truth. Get perspective.