Psalm 1
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Lord instructs us not to be like those who are Godless, but to find our delight in Him. The expression, “walk” signifies the trajectory of our life characterized by our personal attitudes and behavior. We can evaluate a person’s character by the way they behave, speak, dress, and their occupation, interests and passions.
Although only God truly knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, we all have personal traits which characterize our life. The characteristics of our lives is derived from the content of our hearts. Our words and actions come from the core beliefs and convictions held in our heart. We speak and act out of the things which fill our heart (Matthew 15:18-20).
The person who is truly blessed, “delights” in the law of God, and is constantly thinking about the interests of God in their heart. Our personal battles with sin and the problems we face in this world, will only be won as we understand and trust in God’s love for us, and genuinely believe God’s way is the only and best way for us to live.
To do this, we must meditate on God’s word, which means to think deeply about the things of God we read in the Bible. The word of God is our soul’s daily bread, the spiritual water to cleans and refresh our heart, and the light that dispels the darkness within us.
God is the creator and lover of our souls. He is our Redeemer and has demonstrated His perfect love, mercy, and kindness toward us through the greatest act in history, by giving us most precious possession, His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. God delivered Jesus over to judgment and punishment for our sins, so that we could be reconciled to God, adopted as His children, and inherit the benefits of heaven.
The deceitfulness of sin within us, deceives us by trying to make us think that the way of blessing is to fulfill our desires without God. That we know what will make us happy, and what we think is best for us. Yet, the fact is no one knows with certainty what will ultimately make us happy or what the future holds.
There are many cases in life, where our expectations are disappointed after fulfilling a desire, and the future is uncertain with unforeseen events which get in the way of our plans and ambitions. Accidents affect our health, economic events impact our finances, relationship issues and responsibilities conflict with our plans, and unforeseen factors rally against us with brute force and impartial inconvenience, throwing us off course and wreaking havoc in our lives.
But the Lord promises that those who trust in Jesus, who delight and consistently meditate on His word, will be blessed, regardless of personal circumstances and events. Those who actively trust in Jesus will be like trees firmly planted by streams of water, always having a supply of His Spirit to lead them in the ways of God (John 4:13-14), and develop our character to increasingly reflect the character of Jesus, who is the definitive example of how God originally created us to be.
But the essential habit we must form to delight in God and His law, is to talk to God daily. He is our daily bread, and like the manna in the desert, God in His perfect wisdom and understanding has instructed us to seek Him daily, and continually turn our minds to the things of God. In this way, through prayer and devotion to His word, our hearts will be transformed into His likeness
We are influenced and transformed in the core of our being by the things we love and worship. Our lives will inevitably demonstrate, by our words and actions - who we love and worship.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
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"The Heavenly Vision", also known as "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus",
written by Helen Howarth Lemmel (1918).
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