If you are going to learn to play the piano, one of the earliest lessons is that everything scales up or down from “middle C.” It doesn’t matter what the tune or the rhythm or the tune, every note is calculated from “middle C.” The first letter of the alphabet might seem like a more logical starting point, but for some reason middle C was chosen and remains.
In a similar manner, the Hebrew Hymnbook starts with the word “blessed.” And in the original it is not singular but plural. The blessings that follow obedience and right doing are many and multiple. Each “blessed” not one blessing but many.
As has been said, God does not dole out his blessings one at a time. He POURS them out by the bucketful.
Some have suggested the best translation is to be “happy,” but happiness is not as weighty as blessedness. When God is pronouncing the blessing, we need both hands to receive it.
What is the first blessed in the hymnbook?
Ps. 1:1 1Blessed 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;
Those who study psychology tell us that we should focus on the positives, and tread lightly over the negatives. But God did not choose that approach. There is no positive until He has clearly warned against three things. It is much like He is saying, If you want the blessings, DON’T do this, and DON’T do that, and DON’T do the other.
So the blessed one is marked by the things he DOESN’T do, the books he does NOT read, the places he does NOT go, the company he does NOT keep.
God is not pointing out the power of positive thinking. We need to get away from the bad before we can embrace the good. He says, we make life positive by the things we DON’T do, the things we avoid, the things that would negate the blessing.
What then are the DON’Ts? We might say, no dallying!
1) Don’t WALK in the counsel of the ungodly.
2) Don’t STAND (more relaxed) in the path of sinners. And
3) Don’t SIT DOWN (still more relaxed) in the seat of the scornful.
I wonder what kind of tune the Psalmist might have put to these words? It would be one that kept moving—AWAY from the ungodly; AWAY from the sinful; AWAY from the scornful that would make light of the sacred and tear faith to shreds. It is something to avoid at all costs.
It is as if the Psalmist says, “get moving, before it penetrates your heart.
Often the appeal of the scornful is lightness, a joke, a laugh. No wonder Paul said, “Flee youthful lusts.”
Now what is positive for the blessed one? Where IS his heart, his pleasure, his real delight? Verse 2:
Ps. 1:2 2But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
“Delight” is a powerful word. It is love combined with enthusiasm and genuine pleasure at something of real value. Just thinking about it makes the heart beat faster.
What is the object? What is the Psalmist’s “blessed” one delighting in? The law of the Lord.
Some people, hearing about “law” would immediately think negative. But that was not the Psalmist’s feeling; not at all! Was it about restrictions? It was all for GOOD! Yes, this law was the open door to real pleasure. It was the opening to everything heart could wish! Here was the possibility for obtaining real VALUE. Aspiration. Exaltation.
No wonder the psalmist could say,
Ps. 119:72 72The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.
And again:
Ps. 119:97 97Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
The law of God meant so much to him that he couldn’t stop thinking about it!
Remember God’s command to Joshua centuries before:
Joshua 1:8 8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
DO according to the law, and anticipate prosperity and “good success.”
Ps. 37:4 4Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Back to Psalm 1, what do we have? The same thought about meditating:
Ps. 1:2 2But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
Day and night. No time out. Verse 3:
Ps. 1:3 3He 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.
Meditating day and night is like being PLANTED by the river (symbol of God’s life-giving knowledge), where you get nourishment around the clock; where the roots of the tree (the mind of the blessed one) can take in water CONSTANTLY.
The result? Stupendous GROWTH! Including fruit in season, and no withering leaves.
And guaranteed prosperity.
Whatever he does shall prosper.
Suddenly, there is a loud crash of a cymbal that says, Wake up! There is another side to think about. And he describes the fate of the one who rejects the law:
Ps. 1:4–6 4The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Evil may dominate now, but ultimately the ungodly are as powerless against God as the chaff is before the wind. That is God’s description. And for this reason,
5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
God will be fair, and RIGHT. No chance for the ungodly to “stand in the judgment.”
Is the song ending on a sour note? Not at all. It is only the warning we all need.
6For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
The Lord KNOWS. And there are only two ways: the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked.
The narrow way, and the broad way.
The way to life, and the road to death.
It is a loud, dominant chord that says, God knows the WAY you go, righteous or ungodly, with or without Him. He knows the WAY you choose. No chance to fool Him. No chance to be anything but what you REALLY ARE.
So BE righteous, because the ungodly will perish. They choose their doom.
That is the sober, closing word of this first great hymn. A word to remember.
6For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.