The following notes are from my recent devotional study of Psalms 1:1-3 on God's Blessed Man (or Woman). Hope they will lift you spiritually as they did, and do, me.
Introduction to the Book of Psalms.
Psalms is the Praise and Hymn book of the Bible. Hence, Let us praise Him in song. The word Praise is found over 150 times in the 150 Psalms. It's the hymn book of the Jewish Nation; also it was used by the early Church as such (1Cor.14:26; Eph.5:19; Col.3:16.
Luther said, "It is the Little Bible"; and Jerome: "It's the Bible within the Bible."
There are 150 Psalms, 2,461 verses, and 43,743 words. (KJV)
Psalms covers a full range of emotions; therefore, there is a Psalm for every condition.
Psalm 1:1-3
(1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
Comments.
1. In verses 1-3 we have the second Adam depicted. In verses 4-6, the first Adam.
2. The Man Christ Jesus is the "Blessed Man."
3. God wants to bless our lives, but we must be blessable. (Warren Wiersbe).
4. The man of the world walks, stands, and sits; whereas, the man of the Word sits, stands, and walks. Our stand and walk is a result of where we're seated. "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." We are always to begin from our sitting position! Like Mary, from a resting posture.
5. When Peter fell he: "followed afar off" (walketh); "stood at the fire" (standeth); "sat down among them" (sitteth).
6. The blessed man walks, not in the council of the ungodly, but after His (God's) commandments.
7. David delighted being "in" the law, not "under" it.
8. David only had the 5 books of the Law to delight in; we have 66.
9. God's Word is his meditation, not only throughout the day, but during the night season. "Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word."
10. This tree by the rivers of water was not wild. It was put there by God, chosen and placed there on purpose by His good pleasure. If it's not of God's planting, it will be rooted up.
11. "Rivers," not river of water; those blessed of God are not dependent upon one source. We, like the tree roots saturated with the waters, are to be soaked in the scriptures.
12. A precious cross-reference on the power of the Word in our lives is in Job 14:7-9.
13. Isaiah speaks of the blessed man and these rivers of water. "And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land"; (See also John 7:38). Has my life gone dry? "for the rivers of waters are dried up." (Joel 1:20)
14. Our fruit is seasonal, but our leaf is continual. God's blessed man (or woman) is an evergreen tree. You can always find shade under their leaf, no matter how hot things get. And there is never any fear it will disappear as Jonah's.
15. He may not prosper materially but he or she will always prosper spiritually; compare verse 3 with Joshua 1:8.
16. The sad conclusion for the man or woman of the world is in verse 4, "The ungodly are not so." Poor carnal souls, it just ain't so with them, says the Lord.
My prayer is that the Good Lord will bless these thoughts to your head, heart, and soul. AMEN and AMEN! (rds)
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