Showing posts with label Psalm 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 1. Show all posts

Friday, March 22, 2019

Firmly Planted


I find it encouraging and instructive to read through the book of Psalms on a regular basis. The following are a few thoughts from Psalm 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” (v. 1, ESV).

There is a progression in this verse from walking to standing to sitting. A person can get increasingly comfortable with sin in their life if they aren’t actively pursuing righteousness. Christians need to be cautious when they start looking at the path of sinners. It is all too easy to drift away. “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night” (v. 2).

How many churchgoers can honestly say that they love God’s Word? How many actually spend time in it during the week? The person who doesn’t know the Word can’t delight in the Word, and can’t truly know if they are walking in the counsel of the wicked or standing in the path of sinners. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

“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” (v. 3).

The believer who is watered by the Word of God will prosper by bearing the right kind and amount of fruit in the right season. We are not identical seeds, but parts of a body with specific functions. “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23).

 “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away” (v. 4).

Rather than being deeply rooted and laden down with fruit, the unrighteous have no spiritual substance. They drift away into pursuits that may entertain them for a while, but one day will cause eternal regrets. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it… How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1, 3a).

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (v. 5).

Many of those who will not stand in the judgment are those who have already ceased to assemble with the Body of Christ on a regular basis. Today’s choice to skip the church gathering may become tomorrow’s choice to turn their back on the church entirely. “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).

“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (v. 6).

The one who started out by walking in the counsel of the wicked and standing in the path of sinners goes on to drift away on the wind and perish with the wicked. The consequences of carelessness and inattentiveness can be deadly. I pray that all those who claim to be Christians would pay attention to the path ahead of them and would turn back if they are starting to drift away. I also pray that all who are rooted and grounded in Christ will do everything in their power to warn those who are headed down the wrong path. Only God can change hearts, but He may well use us to stir the consciences of loved ones who need to wake up.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24).



© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.