PSALM 1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, and standeth not in the way of sinners, and sitteth not in the seat of scorners; But his delight is in Jehovah’s law, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he is as a tree planted by brooks of water, which giveth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf fadeth not; and all that he doeth prospereth.        Psalm 1:1-3

It is remarkable how the book of Psalms starts with the word ‘blessed’, and 150 psalms later ends with another wonderful word, ‘hallelujah’. We see at the end of the book of Job that God blesses the man Job when he repented and realized that he was nothing. God blessed him with more than he had before, and now the Psalms start with the same word, ‘blessed’. This ‘blessed’ describes the life of the godly man, and we know, that this Man we read of in the first three verses is our Lord Jesus Himself. He is that godly man Who, as a man when He was on earth, was totally dependant on God the Father.

Yet we see throughout the scriptures that other men were marked out in these three verses. Joseph is a classic example, and we need only to read the words of Jacob when he blessed his sons, what he had to say about Joseph: “Joseph is a fruitful bough; A fruitful bough by a well; His branches shoot over the wall.” (Gen 49:22) Such was that godly man Joseph. He was one who delighted in Jehovah’s law and meditated on it day and night, and therefore he was able to resist the temptation that came to him – see Gen 39:9. Joseph was also prospering, whether at Potiphar’s house (Gen 39:2) or in prison (Gen 39:22-23). God was with him, because Joseph honored God, and God promised that He will honor those who honor Him (1 Sam 2:30).

However, the psalm continues and describes the way of the wicked. As we have the start of the book of Psalms with the word ‘blessed’, the last verse of Psalm 1 reads, ‘perish’. Such is the end of the wicked and godless life. Again, we have numerous examples in scripture for us to learn from. We have the wicked man Haman in the book of Esther. His pride led to his destruction and sudden, miserable end. We also have those who were David’s enemies at the time Saul looked to kill him, and their way ended in destruction. There were Daniel’s enemies in Daniel 6 who sought to do him harm, and they perished by the very same animals that never harmed Daniel. So while we see the wicked prospering for a while here on earth, let us not be surprised or upset about this, because they will face the wrath of God, and the way of the wicked will perish. May the Lord encourage us to live godly lives, and sure it is not easy, but let us look to our Lord to guide us in every step that we take, and let us continually meditate on His Word for guidance, and then we will prosper in whatever we do, and the prospering will be to the glory of God, and not the glory of this world.