Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

Welcome to part 1 of a two-part series on Psalm 1. I had way too much to say, so I broke up this study into two posts.

Years ago I did something I NEVER thought I would do. Sin didn’t snatch me by surprise – it wooed me, courted me, beckoned to me. I didn’t dive into sin, but walked step by tiny step, compromise by compromise. Until I was swallowed whole. If I had walked away – ran – when the first alluring step appeared, then you wouldn’t be reading about one of my greatest failures.

In our own lives, we choose victory or defeat; lies or truth: holiness or helplessness. Righteousness can rest on a single “yes” or “no.” We can turn our backs on sin. We can choose to be blessed. One step away from evil, one step toward blessings. Isn’t that wonderful? King David knew this well.

In Psalm 1, the poet-King David teaches us two things: move and plant.

First, we’ll talk about moving: Don’t stand, don’t walk, don’t sit. (Sounds like a fad exercise program, doesn’t it?)

Don’t stand around talking with sin; don’t walk down the road with sin; and certainly don’t sit down in its seat and make yourself comfortable. Move! The blessed man doesn’t walk, stand, or sit with ungodliness. He avoids trouble where he knows he can find it. It sounds obvious, but your mind goes where your body goes.

We walk not, stand not, and sit not. We can move toward sin, or away from it. Movement is an active choice – it requires our conscious will. Our heart beats without our say so because it’s automatically controlled by our brains. Not so with our legs – we choose to walk in the park, stand in line at the grocery store, or sit down for dinner.

Notice King David didn’t write:

Blessed is the man who doesn’t get shoved into the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor trips into the path of sinners,

Nor falls flat on his duff into the seat of the scornful…

Psalm 1 says that the person who walks not, sits not, stands not isn’t just righteous, but “blessed.” Our righteous choices to move toward or away from trouble has happy consequences. Our God covers us with blessings.

Let’s look deeper. How can we guard our ways so we are blessed?

Walk not in the counsel of the ungodly. Ladies, we must guard our hearts against people who have power to influence us. Even godly friends sometimes give us ungodly advice. Have you ever told your friend about an argument with your mom, and your friend devises the perfect nasty comeback for you? Compare advice from well-meaning people to the Bible. God’s will is laid out in the Bible, and His will for you in our modern age will not contradict His written word. And in matters where your decision has weighty consequences, get advice from more than one believer. There is wisdom in many counselors.

Seek counsel from godly people whose lives reflect the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. The Bible says we will know genuine believers by these qualities. Matthew 7:20.

So if you wouldn’t go to a podiatrist to have your car repaired, then show the same common sense when receiving counseling or unsolicited advice.

Don’t stand in the path of sinners. We could also interpret this as “don’t walk in the manner, habit, or way of sinners.” We covered protecting our hearts, but now let’s look at protecting our eyes. Standing in the path of sinners can take the obvious route: friends or family who lead us away from God. We may have come to our senses after adolescence and moved on from worldly friends. Now we encourage our children to make godly friends and discourage negative friendships.

But in what subtle ways do we stand in the smooth path of sinners, a path beaten flat and hard from many feet and many years? What ungodly influences are we allowing into our homes?

Here are a few simple ways to step off the path of sin:

1.  Sometimes we need to turn off the tv. Once your mind captures an image, it’s there for life. And it pops up at inconvenient times. So often I’ve been in church, dutifully listening to a sermon, when a movie scene I watched years ago interrupts thoughts that should have been focused on God.

And a negative influence isn’t necessarily sinful of itself. But if it leads to unholy thoughts, envy, jealousy or whatever, then it’s a negative influence on YOU. We know to beware of sex, extreme gore, and profanity – it’s the not so obvious themes that get past us. So if HGTV makes it look like Home Sweet Home needs a visit to Home Goods, then don’t watch it. My family can tell you how much I enjoy home makeover shows on HGTV, but sometimes I have to give it a break. Don’t let unrealistic comparisons nudge you toward discontentment.

We should also be aware of how disrespectful media portrayals of fathers and husbands present our children a skewed view of these honorable roles. Little girls and boys need real examples of godly men. When little minds are bombarded with shows of bumbling, irresponsible buffoons, we have to fight harder to raise boys to be responsible husbands and dads. And we have to fight harder to raise girls who will settle for nothing less.

Story is powerful. Every culture has stories that pass down information, history, even survival skills. Story hasn’t lost any of its potency. Sure, our kids know that these cartoons, sit coms, and dramas are fictions, but story has power. If media is influencing our hearts away from God’s truths, then turn off the tv.

2. Sometimes we need to put down the book with the steamy bedroom scene. I listened to a compelling audio book recently. My heart was swept up in the character’s heroic, self-less work with the poor and needy in Sudan. My eyes moistened when her husband and baby died in a tragic accident and she wept over their broken bodies. And the tightness in my chest softened when her friend revealed that he, too, had feelings for her. They kissed. There were no trashy scenes in the book. It was a sweeping read. But then the characters, who were by this time a pastor and his wife, brought open sin into their fictional church. The author was depicting a “modern” church changing with the times. Ladies, God’s word doesn’t change. I felt a few twinges about turning off the audio book, but off it went and I returned it to the library.

We women can be especially guilty of living vicariously through romance novels. We need to guard the eyes of our minds so that we don’t sin against the Lord and steal the joy of a relationship with a real, flesh-and-blood man who looks suspiciously like our husbands.

3. Sometimes we need to turn off the radio. The legacy of some musicians is a litany of promiscuity, profanity, and drug abuse. We don’t need our thoughts dragged into sin with the beat of every drumstick. Music is powerful. God designed it for the human heart and He created first and foremost for us to worship Him. I’m not saying that we should only listen to Christian music because I enjoy a variety of genres.

But music is God’s first and what we listen to should honor Him. My six-year-old son, Luke, has moderate autism. Luke’s two-year-old brother has far surpassed him in language skills, yet Luke is captivated by music. His favorite songs are melodic hymns like Matt Maher’s 10,000 reasons and Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Luke truly embodies the words of Hans Christian Andersen: “When words fail, music speaks.” Music speaks to my child in a language without words.

Music can be a sword in the hand of the enemy or a mighty weapon in our own. Let us wield it wisely in our homes.

Congratulations! You made it halfway through the longest-ever (probably not) devotional on Psalm 1. Click here to read part 2.