March 16th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

Today we will be looking at Psalm chapter one! I hope that you had a chance to read the posts on Hebrew poetry, understanding figurative language and “I love to play Mikhtams on my Gittith” (I am very proud of that post title), which gives a quick rundown on some of the terminology unique to the Psalms. Now that we have covered the background information, we’re on to the thesis statement!

I’m not just trying to give you a flashback to 5 paragraph essays and term papers from your school days – Psalm one really operates as the thesis statement and the introduction to the entire book of Psalms. So, let’s study it together, shall we?

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers. Psalm 1:1

As discussed before, verse one is an example of Hebrew poetry where every line “rhymes” not in sound but in meaning. In this verse, not only does each line approximate the meanings of the others, but they also build on one another.

First off, who are the “wicked,” “sinners,” and “mockers?” The word for “wicked” in the Hebrew is used in parallel in the Old Testament with almost any description of sin and evil. The “wicked” are people who are described throughout the Bible as those who oppress, exploit, and murder others. The wicked are dishonest, violent, pervert justice, and hate the Lord and His people; they have done wrong, are still living in their sin, and intend to continue in it. The word for “sinners” carries the idea of one who sins habitually. “Mockers” is self-explanatory – one who mocks, scoffs, scorns.

That idea of habitual sin and intent to continue in sin is really important. We dealt with this back in our look at David’s sin with Uriah and Bathsheba in the post “A broken and contrite heart.” As fallen human beings, we will always deal with sin until the very end of our lives. The critical aspect that separates the sin of the “wicked” from the “righteous” is how it is dealt with – true repentance and a turning away from sin in humility before God, or delight in sin, a desire to keep engaging in it, and mockery of what is good!

This verse describes increasing involvement with this kind of brazenly sinful person – first one might walk by and take notice of them, then stand and have a casual conversation, moving to the place where the person is sitting in their company in close association.

Those who are “blessed” (John MacArthur defines “blessed” as having a “deep-seated joy and contentment in God”) will not delight in their sin or closely associate with those who do. Rather,

…his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2

The word for “delight” means pleasure, desire, wish, or pursuit. In my words, I would describe this as the focus of your life that influences everything else. What is the “blessed” person delighting in? The law of the Lord! He delights in knowing the Word of God in order to know God!

This idea of meditating on it day and night is so beautiful. The Hebrew word for “meditate” literally means to murmur, to mutter, to whisper. The Key Word Study Bible notes that “it is possible that the Scriptures were read somewhat audibly during the process of meditation.” In the ancient world, people would memorize and meditate on Scripture by murmuring it to themselves under their breath. This blessed person is repeating Scripture to himself constantly, filling his mind with the Truths of God’s Word. Knowing God and His Word is the singular pursuit and passion of his life. [We discussed the difference between Biblical meditation and meditation in Eastern religions in The Renewing of Your Mind.]

What is this person in constant pursuit of Truth like?

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, [the NASB says "firmly planted"]
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:3

This is a life full of real life! A life that will bear spiritual fruit and will not wither.

The New Testament reveals this same idea of the righteous bearing fruit and being firmly rooted. Matthew 7 talks about true followers of Jesus Christ being recognizable by their fruit. I really don’t know much of anything about tree identification – If you took me in the middle of winter to see an unidentified fruit tree, I wouldn’t be able to tell an apple tree from an orange tree. But when those trees bear fruit, anyone can tell them apart – apple trees grow apples, orange trees grow oranges! If we really know Jesus Christ, if knowing Him and His Word is the delight of our lives, we will bear obvious fruit.

What kind of fruit are you bearing? If you took me to an orange grove in the off-season and tried to fool me by sticking some apples in the branches, I just might fall for it. But come harvest time, those oranges hanging bright and heavy on the branches tell the truth. You might know all the right words, gone to church your whole life, and maybe have done such a long list of “good things” that it would impress the Pope, but true followers of Jesus will bear recognizable fruit. Galatians 5:19-23a contrasts the “fruit” that the Holy Spirit produces in a person’s heart and life with the “fruit” of the sinful nature:

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

There is also the possibility that you truly know Christ, but your life is producing little to no fruit to speak of.

In John 15:4-5, Jesus says,

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Lack of fruit is a serious symptom that you are not firmly rooted in Him, soaking up His presence. Perhaps the delight of your life is in the wrong place. Perhaps you have sat down with the wicked and allowed sin into your life. If you’re in that place, getting back to delighting in God and abiding in Him is hard to imagine.

The first thing we have to do is to truly repent of our sin – to agree with God that what we have done, the priorities of our life, the thoughts in our heads, the desires in our hearts are wrong and violate His nature. After doing this, true repentance involves turning away from our sin – purposely removing it from our lives – and returning to God as our Sovereign and holy Lord. We discussed this idea more fully in A Broken and Contrite Heart.

What next? We have to fill our minds with Truth! Soak up the Word of God! Just as Psalm 1:2 describes a true pursuit of and delight in God’s Word producing a life of joy and contentment in God which will bear good fruit, Colossians 2:6-8 puts side-by-side the idea of living in Christ and being firmly rooted and built up in Him with the importance of guarding what fills your mind.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Fill your mind with God’s Word. Meditate on it – chew on it constantly! This isn’t a once-a-week thing, or even 15 minutes a day. Psalm 1:2 says that this firmly rooted person delights in God’s law and meditates day and night. The Holy Spirit will use the Word of God to teach us, correct us, and train us to think and act in accordance with His nature.

As we will discuss more in the next Psalms post, these people who are “like a tree firmly planted” in contrast with the wicked give us an introduction for the rest of the Psalms. Want to be a “tree” kind of Christian? Delight in God and His Word.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32