based on the LGG Study, Set Apart – Living a life for God’s Glory
Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6 / SOAP Psalm 1:1-3
How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,
Psalm 1:1-3
or stand in the pathway with sinners,
or sit in the assembly of scoffers.
2 Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands;
he meditates on his commands day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by flowing streams;
it yields its fruit at the proper time,
and its leaves never fall off.
He succeeds in everything he attempts.
Are you more influenced by God or the world? Or, to phrase it as Bibleref.com puts it – are you “governed by God” or by your “evil passions”? Our focus passage reveals the life of one who chooses to walk in the ways of God but to fully appreciate the depth of how blessed this person is we must also explore verses four through six.
The Godly
governed by God
- Blessed
- Pleasure
- Meditation
- Strong/firm
- Fruitful
- Successful
- follows after God – not the wicked
- Does not “stand with sinners”
- “those who choose to do wrong”
- Is not joined “with scoffers”
- “those who mock God, or the righteous, or oppose whatever is virtuous”
The Ungodly
governed by self/evil passions
- Wicked
- Sinners
- Scoffers
- Worthless
- “the husks of grain that are tossed into the wind and blown away”
- Under judgment
- “sentenced to eternal punishment”
- Excluded from the blessing
- Facing destruction
Choosing to Live Under the Influence of God
The choice seems like a “no-brainer” but in reality we all deal with, or at the very least have battled, the desire to follow our own passions whether they are good or bad. God’s Word makes it clear, as seen here in this Psalm, that choosing God is the far greater choice, offering benefits in this life and in the one to come, as Paul wrote to TImothy in 1 TImothy 4:8. When we choose to live under the influence of God we choose immeasurable blessing but when we choose to live under the influence of our own evil passions we are headed for destruction.
As we saw in the previous post, meditation on God’s Word is part of living under God’s influence. His Word is actually what leads to the all that the Psalmist lists as the outcome of the godly life. For it is from His Word that we know His blessings and we find pleasure, strength, fruitfulness, and success when we follow after His Word. It is His Word that protects us from the sins that seek to entangle us and from the paths we should not follow or from sitting in opposition to God’s virtuous ways.
So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
Romans 8:6
Because meditation on God’s Word is central to the application of the Godly life it is important to what meditation means in this context. It is not an emptying of the mind but rather it is a filling of the mind with Scripture,1 It requires more than a quick 15-minutes a day. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying a quick read of the morning or before bed or even at lunch isn’t a wonderful and profitable thing but truly filling your mind with Scripture demands more than just quickly reading or listening to it. It means thinking about it, dwelling on it, learning more about God, self, and others from it, and practicing it in all of life – in Christian surroundings or in the darkness of the world. It means Sunday to Sunday, at work, at home, in the neighborhood, with friends or family, when your kids are around and when they’re not. It means morning , noon, and night living with an awareness of the Word and living out its wisdom.
Today’s Prayer
Father, help us to align our lives – our time, our company, our words, and our choices – with Your ways rather than the world’s. When we encounter the wicked surround us with Your protection but also cause Your grace and mercy to flow out from us toward them, as we remember that before You saved us – we too were numbered among them. When we are in the paths of sinners makes us lights and beacons of hope so that they might turn from their evil passions to Faith in Christ. When we find ourselves in the company of those who mock Your Word and ways may we be quick and lovingly bold with the Truth of Your Word and silence their scoffing. And Father, please guard us from attitudes of hate or unkindness toward those who follow their own passions rather than You – help us not to see ourselves as better than them but as blessed by You as the Psalmist so eloquently describes.
The More You Know
Walking in the Spirit or the Flesh
1Meditation defined: Worthwhile meditation does not require a person to empty his or her mind. Scripture does not support the idea of self-emptying in meditation—godly meditation means filling the mind with Scripture. To meditate on Scripture involves pondering what the Bible teaches about God’s character. It involves thinking deeply about what His Word teaches about ourselves and others. As we meditate, we cherish the promises and precepts we find in the Bible, we heed its commands, we confront our sins and confess them, and we conform our thoughts to God’s thoughts. Bibleref.org/Ps 1:2
Me From the Inside Out 