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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; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 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. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will 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 wicked will perish. (Psalms 1:1-6)Finding The Great Pleasure
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 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)
The word 'blessed' in Hebrew has two meanings, 'barak' which means to be blessed, and 'esher' which means happy or happiness and is said that was used in this chapter. The word 'esher' came from the hebrew verb 'ashar' which means to be straight (Reference: A).
David began his song or prayer with this - defining to us what real happiness is, and where to find it. He said, happiness or pure joy is with those who chose not to walk with the wicked, not to stand in the way of the sinners, not to sit with the scoffers. It is not with those who only sees the wrong in the person or in a situation and talk about it; it is not finding comfort with other people BUT he is telling us that we could have it when we find delight in the word of God.
Delight is defined as having great pleasure according to Merriam-Webster. So, it simply implies that we could be blessed if our greatest pleasure is in the word of God. Also, not only in knowing the word of God but in meditating on it night and day. David connects these thoughts with the linking word 'AND', making it inter-connected with each other. This means that finding great pleasure in the laws of God or in His word, you are also to meditate on it - read, understand, study, find time not only whenever you want to but as much as you can (day and night).
Delight is defined as having great pleasure according to Merriam-Webster. So, it simply implies that we could be blessed if our greatest pleasure is in the word of God. Also, not only in knowing the word of God but in meditating on it night and day. David connects these thoughts with the linking word 'AND', making it inter-connected with each other. This means that finding great pleasure in the laws of God or in His word, you are also to meditate on it - read, understand, study, find time not only whenever you want to but as much as you can (day and night).
Fruitful Life
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. (Psalm 1:3-4)
This verse tells us the result of the first two verses. Being soaked in the word of God results in bearing fruit - good fruit. Day by day as we turn the pages of the Bible, the Holy Spirit would never fail to remind us of how loving and faithful and at the same time just and righteous God is. And so no matter the season, our leaf will not wither, we will be flourishing and our leaves are everlasting.
Weak Foundation
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; (Psalm 1:5)
David describes the way of a wicked as a chaff - the covering of rice grain. This is the exact opposite of verse three. A person who chooses the other way, is weightless, worthless, multi-directional. Whenever the wind blows and wherever the wind will take them, there they'll be. They have no firm ground, no solid foundation.
The Righteous For The Unrighteous
for the LORD knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:6)
Psalm 14: 2-3 tells us, 'The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.' These verses were used by Paul in Romans 3 when he talked about how equal we all are - unrighteous. Yet, we will all be named righteous if we genuinely believe and put our faith in Christ Jesus whom God presented as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of blood. Jesus who rose from the dead and ascended to the heavens, proving that He is Son of God; living the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died for the sake of us all.
Therefore, we are all bought by a price we never really deserve yet today, if you have believed and truly received Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then we are seen by our Father as how he had seen Jesus - righteous.
So if we really wanted to be blessed—to find happiness and feel the purest joy— then we should learn what is a blessed life is and how it should be done. Remember that the Lord is never far, we just fail to acknowledge Him for we don't really know who God is.
Brothers and sisters, let us open this book (Bible) not only because we want to get something from it but because this is what we should do and, seek for the Holy Spirit's guidance every time we read it.
Photo by: Duncan Torres
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