Psalm 1
1)“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.
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.
4)The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
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.” (Psalms
The source, way and outcome of the godly and wicked
Introduction
This psalm serves as an introduction and summary of the whole book of psalms, all 150 of them, or we can say the five books in the psalms. It sets forth the way of blessing and cursing or damnation. It helps us to understand the two main categories of people in the world, the godly and ungodly or the righteous and the wicked or the saints and the sinners. That is what the whole book of psalms is about. Much of it is wisdom literature, and although we find different types of psalms, like psalms of praise, or of complaint or prophecy and so on, the psalms help us in our devotional lives. They give us words to pray when we have no words, and it helps us to identify with the saints in ages gone past. They help us see we are not alone in our difficulties and fears, and failures.
In this psalm, we see the way of blessing set forth. We know where the path of happiness and joy is found, lasting happiness. The constant pursuit of all men is the pursuit of happiness. That is why many greet each other at the beginning of every year with “happy new year.” I like to tell people when they greet me with a happy new year, “blessed new year”, because the word happy to me has less meaning than blessed. I pray that you will find blessedness this year and not mere happiness. We often think when things go our way or when we don’t have many trials or when we have enough money when we are given gifts, and when we experience comfort, we have happiness. But to be blessed means something different. To be blessed means you have happiness that transcends your particular circumstances. Being blessed means that no matter your circumstances and situation in life, you have lasting joy.
This psalm and the Bible help us find the way to lasting happiness, blessedness, and fullness of joy. Psalm 1 directs us to the source of blessedness, the way of blessing and the outcome of blessedness. Early in my Christian walk, I memorised this psalm, and I believe by God’s grace, He has helped me internalise it and make it my way of living. As a result, I have experienced the benefits of doing what is commanded here and the fulfilment of the promise we find in this psalm. And today, I want to encourage you to obey the way of blessing outlined in this psalm if you haven’t done so yet, and if you have, I want to encourage you to keep obeying until the day you die!
INTERETHNICMISSIONS 