I want to look today at Psalm 1. This Psalm has a warning and a promise. The warning describes the downward journey of a person who would rather listen to the chorus of this world rather than the word of God. While the promise is for the righteous only.
At first, a person begins by listening to the advice of the ungodly. They refuse to listen to God’s word, but rather listen to the counsel of unbelievers. This is just the beginning of their treacherous path. The downward spiral continues as the person stands and considers the lifestyle of the sinner. They halt and look longingly at the way that the sinner lives. With only the counsel of the ungodly, they do not hear that there is a better way. The person has reached the bottom when they continually collude and join with scoffers. They are hostile to God and ridicule the righteous. They are an abomination to the Lord (Prov 24:9). The psalmist’s warning is this: the more you take your spiritual guidance from unbelievers instead of God, the more you will look just like them.
How can we, the followers of Jesus Christ, avoid this downward spiral? Delight yourself in the word of God (Ps 1:2)! Read the Scriptures so that you can recall them at all times. You will grow spiritually and bear much fruit (Ps 1:3). The promise for all believers of all time is that if they will meditate continually on God’s word and obey it, they will grow spiritually, and live a faithful life unto God.