Christ in Me

BLESSED IS THE MAN

Psalms 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man that walketh not after the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”

There are many ideas in the world today about what it means to be blessed. Many will tell us that great riches are the way to blessing, and also proof that one has been blessed. It is with this idea that many go to great, and often, illegal lengths to gain great wealth. Many families have been broken, and many lives completely destroyed in this way. But as we look into the lives of some of the very wealthy people we know, many times we can find only loneliness and emptiness after they have achieved their lofty goals. Surely this is not what it means to be blessed.
Some will tell us that great fame is the proof of being blessed. It doesn’t really matter how you get famous, as long as everyone knows your name. Again, many of the celebrities we know about leave behind them a terrible trail of broken hearts, families, and promises. We can see a quickly growing number of people in jails and prisons today who have spent their time trying to make a name for themselves for all the wrong reasons. Again, this cannot be the way to blessing.
In these verses lies the key to being a person that is greatly blessed; because they are blessed by the Lord. The first qualification is that one does not follow ungodly counsel. God is the standard by which all things are judged good or bad. The Bible tells us in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” If we want to be truly blessed, we must follow godly counsel!
The second qualification is that we do not live in the same fashion as the unsaved and ungodly. Remembering that the first qualification is not to follow ungodly counsel, we will live our lives differently from those who would give it. To “stand in the way of sinners” is to conform to their world view. Instead, the Bible tells us in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” To be truly blessed by God, we must have a mind that has been transformed by the Word of God. This requires study and meditation of Scriptures.
The third qualification is that we do not sit in the seat of the scornful. This means to “dwell in the seat of a judge.” We all know people who judge the actions and intents of everyone around them. We also all know someone who looks at every Christian and passes judgment on them just for the fact that they say they are Christians. These people are simply looking for reasons to hate others. Instead, we should live a life of love towards those around us. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 tells us that love is long suffering, kind, and humble, does not envy others, seeks to help others, and is always present.
Finally, the person most blessed by God is one who delights in God’s Law, and meditates in it constantly. If we want the blessing of God upon our lives, we must know what pleases and displeases Him. We must know what He likes, and what He hates. We must know how He wants us to treat others. We must know what He expects of us. Simply put, we must know the mind of God. This is impossible to do without much study of His Law. Many excuses can be given why one does not have time to spend in God’s Word and God’s work. Everyone today is busy. But we always make time to do the things we love to do; those things that give us pleasure.
All of us would like to be blessed. The question is, do we want it bad enough to follow God to true blessing and purpose in our lives?