More of Psalms One

Photo courtesy of scockxchng/ba1969

In Let's Get Started Into the Palms, we took a close look at the man who walks in the council of the ungodly, stands in the way of sinners, and sits in the seat of the scornful. Psalms 1:1 (KJV) begins with the promise, "Blessed is the man". I like being blessed! Don't you? If we don't follow the plans and the purposes of the ungodly, if we don't submit to the ways and means where sinners walk, and if we don't join ourselves to those who disdain and mock the Way of the Lord, God promises to bless us with multiple blessings!


Now let's bring a contrast to the ungodly, scornful sinner...


"But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." (Psalms 1:2 KJV)


This is the description of the man who is blessed. Jeremiah said, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and the rejoicing of mine heart (Jer. 15:16 KJV)."  A blessed man is happy! I could jump ahead to Psalm 119 and give a listing of the benefits in delighting ourselves in the Word. But I'd like to forge into the New Testament Epistles and establish the case for doing so.


No prophecy, not one word of the scriptures is of any private interpretation (2Pe. 1:20). The men who penned the Word wrote as they were moved on by the Holy Spirit (2Pe. 1:21). All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God (2Tim. 3:16). Therefore the Word, the Law of the Lord, is profitable to for us. It's good for doctrine, reproof, correction, and for instruction in the way of righteousness (2Tim. 3:16). The knowledge of exactly who God is and God's plan for humanity is contained in the Scriptures from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.


We're blessed today to have the Holy Bible, the written Word of God. When David penned the words of Psalm 1, he didn't have sixty-six books at his fingertips. He didn't have much more than the writings of Moses to delight himself in. Yet David was able to exclaim, "Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord!"


God's Word, the Scriptures, the Holy Bible should be the daily bread for every Christian believer. How much more should we delight in the Scriptures we have so readily available to us today? How much more should we make it a point to meditate in the Law of the Lord day and night? I ask you, is your delight in the Word of God? Do you take time to read and study such a God-given treasure to humanity? Does the Law of the Lord give you joy, causing your heart to rejoice? If it does, then my friend, you are blessed!


Next time we'll get into the details of the multiple blessings for the one who doesn't walk in counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners, sit in the seat of the scornful, but whose delight is in the Law of the Lord. Until then, God bless...

Let's Get Started Into the Psalms

A journey into the depths of The Book of Psalms offers us a bountiful supply of topics which touch on nearly every human experience. I started digging deeper into the Psalms while completing an intensive study on the topic of prayer. The Book of Psalms is known as the prayer book of the Bible. The Psalms were written as hymns to be used in the Jewish temple. The Psalms were also to be used to teach the people about the God they served. Let's get started...


Psalm 1 can be considered a preface psalm. The differences between the godly and the ungodly are laid out clearly. The godly are blessed, and the ungodly aren't. The final verse of Psalm 1 states the whole message of Christianity in a nutshell...


"For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish (Psalms 1:6 KJV)."


Psalm 1:1 begins with great promise, "Blessed is the man." The word blessed comes from the Hebrew 'esher. It's a plural word, meaning multiple blessings or exceeding happiness. Now that's good stuff! Who doesn't like such a promise of blessing! But hold on, our promise turns to the negative rather quickly. Let's look at verse 1...


"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."


The verse rapidly dives into the counsel of the ungodly, the way of sinners, and the seat of the scornful. Take note of the grading, or steps, of sin given here. We start by walking in the counsel of the ungodly. We move ahead to standing with sinners. Then we reach the point of sitting with the scornful. How can this be?


Humanity goes from bad to worse when it chooses to live in sin. We start by thinking we want to be like everyone around us. We begin listening to the voices of those around us. "Go ahead, do it. You'll feel good." The sin is more practical than habitual at this stage. One gets careless and forgets God. It becomes easier and easier to give in to the temptation as we mover farther and farther away from God. We would do well to heed the advice of Proverbs 1:10 (KJV), "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."


When sinning becomes habitual, we've moved to the next stage. We're standing in the way with sinners. We're sinning by choice. Sinners standing in the way will call out for us to "Cast our lots in with them (Proverbs 1:14)." Again, we must heed the advice given to us in Proverbs 1:15 (KJV), "My son, walk thou not in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path."


Well, if we don't turn away from our sin, we'll get to the point of sitting in the seat of the scornful. We've reached the position of not just being sinners, but willfully calling out to and teaching others to sin. We disdain the commandments of God. We no longer have a fear of God. And to think all this started with a little temptation! Proverbs 1:22 tells us that the scorners delight in their scorning.


Don't give up hope! God calls out to us. He calls for us to repent, to turn away from sin, to change our hearts and our lives. If we will do so, God gives us this promise, "Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you (Proverbs 1:23 NKJV)."


I promise to get back to the positive and the promise of multiple blessing next time. Feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Until then, God bless...

Digging Into the Psalms

photo courtesy of stockxchng/ba1969

Two years ago I started an epic journey into the book of Psalms. I made it a point to read one psalm every day. In doing so, I've read the Psalms four times in the last two years. My eyes have been opened to many nuggets of pure gold contained in the ancient verses.


I began another leg of this journey of adventure on January 1st. While trying to get back into the groove of writing/blogging, I been throwing around the idea of blogging my experience of this journey through the Psalms day by day. Some days are, well, nothing exciting, just another Psalm reading. Other days are equivalent to getting knocked out of my chair by the golden truth the reading exposes!


Today's Psalm reading was Psalm 60. I won't start with it though. I want to go back to Psalm 1 and begin with there in my next blog post. I want to invite and encourage any interested to join with me on this journey. My hope is you'll be enlightened and blessed as you take this trip with me into one of the most engaging books in the Holy Bible.


I encourage you to join in with your comments, feedback, disagreements (I'm really opening myself up now!!), and just good conversation. God bless...