Scholars believe Psalm 1 and 2 were written together, possibly by David. And, there’s no denying that we are living Psalm 2 in the world right now. There have been ebbs and flows of Psalm 2 throughout history, and history repeats itself, and we now find ourselves in Psalm 2 again, where nations plot vain things and the power brokers of the world rise up to hold their global summits, as these unelected self-appointed rulers scheme and confer together against Yahweh and His anointed King.
But Psalm 1 gives us the key to living prosperous and blessed lives in these end times, where things in the world only deepen and increase from now on in, until Jesus returns.
Psalm 1 and 2 were written together and therefore with good reason are meant to be read together. If we do not live a very real way from Psalm 1, we will not endure Psalm 2.
This is how we need to model our lives right now in these times we’re living in:
- Ps 1:1, “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,”
This is very clear, DO NOT receive ungodly counsel. There are people in the world who are sharp with knowledge, logic and understanding in the ways of the world, but they are ungodly people, and we need to be very careful how we consume information and ideas that inform our thoughts and opinions, because the bible is very clear in verse 1, that “the man who walks in the counsel of the ungodly, is NOT blessed”.
Carrying on with v1, “Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;” Do not even hang out where sinful people hangout. The only reason for any Christian to be mingling with sinful scornful people is soul winning, other than that the bible is clear on this, it’s black and white in Psalm 1:
- The man who walks in the counsel of the ungodly, is not blessed.
- The man who stands in the path of sinners, is not blessed.
- And, the man who sits in the seat of the scornful, is not blessed.
Walks not, stands not, or sits not – anywhere around anything that is not from the Lord. God sets very high standards here. Ungodly does not even necessarily refer to sinful or godless people here, it can refer even to people where God is just not of preference in their lives. Even good people can be ungodly, where God is not number 1 in their lives.
If we take ANY council from anyone ungodly, we can go ahead and scrap Psalm 1.
- Ps 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.“
Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:20 says, “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.” Paul emphasizes this twice, because WE NEED to walk in a Spirit of understanding with such depth and clarity, even more so in this hour, and we do not get that from ungodly people, we get that from God’s Word, when we delight in his Word and meditate on it day and night, and from Godly counsel, from people who are sharp with knowledge, logic, and understanding, but in the ways of God.
- Ps 1:3, “He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.“
When we get the first two verses of Psalm 1 right, we become like trees planted by rivers of water, and we bring forth fruit in season, and our leaves never wither (we never lack in anything to the ends of wherever our influence reaches – blessed coming in and blessed going out), and whatever we do, it prospers, regardless of what is going on in the world around us.
Psalm 1 here refers to the Word, and a great parallel to this is Psalm 91 that refers to the Spirit. Word and Spirit, we need to be deep in both those places, if we are to endure the nations raging and plotting a vain thing against Yahweh and His anointed King.
The bible is very clear on a shaking and a sifting coming. And this shaking and sifting does not refer to the world, this refers within the church. We need to be deeply rooted in God’s word. We need to be living Psalm 1. If we do not do well on verse 1 of Psalm 1, we are certainly not doing verse 2 well, and therefore will most certainly miss the mark and have NO SHOT whatsoever at verse 3. It’s very important to know that. Verse 3 is the fruit of verses 1 and 2 in our lives. These passages are fully available in God, but we need to be walking it, no excuses. It’s black and white: Blessed is the man… And this is ALL for His Glory. We are blessed for His glory. When we are blessed, He gets the full glory. God is not glorified, when we are being sifted as chaff.
Prayer
Lord, we thank you for Your word, and thank you that we can call ourselves blessed, and we are a [company/family/people] who walk in a fear of the Lord and meditate on what is good, noble, true, and praiseworthy. Lord, I pray that You would get glory through our lives.
I pray that we’d all be so deeply rooted in Your Word and Your Spirit that when the shaking, and the nations raging, and the persecution happens, we have everything we need to endure, and that we’ll be trees planted by the river, and we’d be blessed in everything we do.
Teach us how, Lord, to bear fruit in every season. Teach us how to have roots so deep, we are unshakable. Let us be never withering. Let us be blessed going into this last hour described in Psalm 2. While the nations rage, we just be blessed, bearing fruit in every season, never withering in the name of Jesus, no leaf withering, life in our families, life in our finances, joy and peace in our homes. Blessed and fruitful in all seasons in Jesus’ mighty name, AMEN.
