It doesn’t pay to get involved with the devil’s play.”
–D.C. Adkisson (Mal de Ojo)
“But Christ, God’s faithful Son, is in complete charge of God’s house. And we Christians are God’s house—he lives in us!—if we keep up our courage firm to the end, and our joy and our trust in the Lord.”
–Hebrews 3:6 (Living Bible)
——————————–
I know this is not Monday, and I know I wrote regarding this Psalm several years ago, but I felt led to look at it again and afresh. We live in a troubled time! There is no doubt about it. It seems like Satan and his minions are trying to take control openly. They used to primarily roam in the darkness, the shadows, and in certain locations, but now…now they openly flaunt their wickedness in the media, the halls of government, academia, and even the medical field.
The NKJV Study Bible, states this regarding Psalm 1, “The psalm is like a beacon of light piercing the darkness of a stormy night. It illuminates and points to the truth even when the falsehoods of our culture begin to cloud our thinking. The psalm affirms that there is one way to true life; to ignore this way is to foolishly accept death.” Let’s look at these vital verses a little more closely.
Verse 1, “Blessed,” in the New Testament the term means “Happy, to be envied,” and it is a term of joy. To walk in the way of the Lord is a joyful experience. This person has separated themselves from the evil world system. They “walk not” meaning more upon inspection. It means not to walk beside, standing with, or sitting beside wickedness. It is to not become yoked with any form of wickedness and evil. This is a person in the world, but not of the world, nor affected by the world.
Verse 2, What do we delight in? This person delights and finds enjoyment in the Word of God, not in the wickedness and schemes of the world. There is a definite separation between the believer and the person of the world. Meditation is a lost practice in the church today. Meditation can be translated “to mumble” or “to speak to oneself.” (NKJV Study Bible). Biblical meditation is focusing the mind on the Word of God.
Verse 3, A tree planted! A tree is valuable especially in the desert areas. All parts of the tree are valuable. It provides shade and rest, it provides fuel for fires (hmmm, the Holy Spirit), it is productive in bringing forth its fruit. The believer is always useful and productive to the Lord. I think more of the term “season” than I used to. There are various seasons in life, some are more productive than others, and some seasons produce other types of fruits. True prosperity comes from knowing and following God’s will.
Verse 4, speaks very plainly by itself. There is no nutritional value in the chaff. If that is true, why do we associated so much with them or want to be like them? Chaff is refuse, and is blown away. This is symbolic of the wind as the Holy Spirit dividing the grain from the chaff. There is no substance to the wicked or depth of character.
Verse 5, The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment–every knee will bow. He may strut around now, boasting and mouthing out his arrogance. But one day the ungodly will bow low before the King of Glory. The Holman translation (HCSB) puts it this way, “the wicked will not survive the judgment.”
Verse 6, There are two ways, that of the righteous and that of the ungodly. The Lord watches, protects, cares for, and promises eternal life to the righteous. He is very much involved with the walk of the righteous, who at the same time seeks to obey the Lord. The believer then is distinguished by obedience and turns away from harmful and destructive practices. Point blank–the Bible says, the way of the ungodly shall perish. Hope is for now, one day it will be too late for the ungodly.
In this evil time, hearken to the words of this Psalm. Grasp hold of the challenge Paul gave to Timothy and Titus to guard the truth and Peter’s proclamation to stand firm in the faith. Resolve to be like the armed warriors of Ephesians and having done all to continue to stand. Do not follow the unrestrained ways of the wicked, but be planted firmly in the truth of God’s Word!
——————————–
I know this is not Monday, and I know I wrote regarding this Psalm several years ago, but I felt led to look at it again and afresh. We live in a troubled time! There is no doubt about it. It seems like Satan and his minions are trying to take control openly. They used to primarily roam in the darkness, the shadows, and in certain locations, but now…now they openly flaunt their wickedness in the media, the halls of government, academia, and even the medical field.
The NKJV Study Bible, states this regarding Psalm 1, “The psalm is like a beacon of light piercing the darkness of a stormy night. It illuminates and points to the truth even when the falsehoods of our culture begin to cloud our thinking. The psalm affirms that there is one way to true life; to ignore this way is to foolishly accept death.” Let’s look at these vital verses a little more closely.
Verse 1, “Blessed,” in the New Testament the term means “Happy, to be envied,” and it is a term of joy. To walk in the way of the Lord is a joyful experience. This person has separated themselves from the evil world system. They “walk not” meaning more upon inspection. It means not to walk beside, standing with, or sitting beside wickedness. It is to not become yoked with any form of wickedness and evil. This is a person in the world, but not of the world, nor affected by the world.
Verse 2, What do we delight in? This person delights and finds enjoyment in the Word of God, not in the wickedness and schemes of the world. There is a definite separation between the believer and the person of the world. Meditation is a lost practice in the church today. Meditation can be translated “to mumble” or “to speak to oneself.” (NKJV Study Bible). Biblical meditation is focusing the mind on the Word of God.
Verse 3, A tree planted! A tree is valuable especially in the desert areas. All parts of the tree are valuable. It provides shade and rest, it provides fuel for fires (hmmm, the Holy Spirit), it is productive in bringing forth its fruit. The believer is always useful and productive to the Lord. I think more of the term “season” than I used to. There are various seasons in life, some are more productive than others, and some seasons produce other types of fruits. True prosperity comes from knowing and following God’s will.
Verse 4, speaks very plainly by itself. There is no nutritional value in the chaff. If that is true, why do we associated so much with them or want to be like them? Chaff is refuse, and is blown away. This is symbolic of the wind as the Holy Spirit dividing the grain from the chaff. There is no substance to the wicked or depth of character.
Verse 5, The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment–every knee will bow. He may strut around now, boasting and mouthing out his arrogance. But one day the ungodly will bow low before the King of Glory. The Holman translation (HCSB) puts it this way, “the wicked will not survive the judgment.”
Verse 6, There are two ways, that of the righteous and that of the ungodly. The Lord watches, protects, cares for, and promises eternal life to the righteous. He is very much involved with the walk of the righteous, who at the same time seeks to obey the Lord. The believer then is distinguished by obedience and turns away from harmful and destructive practices. Point blank–the Bible says, the way of the ungodly shall perish. Hope is for now, one day it will be too late for the ungodly.
In this evil time, hearken to the words of this Psalm. Grasp hold of the challenge Paul gave to Timothy and Titus to guard the truth and Peter’s proclamation to stand firm in the faith. Resolve to be like the armed warriors of Ephesians and having done all to continue to stand. Do not follow the unrestrained ways of the wicked, but be planted firmly in the truth of God’s Word!