Psalms 1:1
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.
1. Blessed. See how this Book of Psalms opens with a benediction, as
did the famous Sermon of our Lord on the Mount! The word translated blessed
is plural, and it is a controverted matter whether it is an adjective or a
substantive. Hence we may learn the multiplicity of the blessings which will
rest on those whom God has justified, and the perfection and greatness of the
blessedness they will enjoy. We might read it, “Oh, the blessednesses!” and
we may well regard it (as Ainsworth does) as a joyful acclamation of the
gracious man’s felicity. May the like benediction rest on us!
Here the gracious man is described
both negatively (verse 1) and positively (verse 2). He is a man who does
not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. He takes wiser counsel, and walks
in the commandments of the Lord his God. To him the ways of piety are paths of
peace and pleasantness. His footsteps are ordered by the Word of God, and not
by the cunning and wicked devices of carnal men. It is a rich sign of inward
grace when the outward walk is changed, and when ungodliness is put far from
our actions. Note next, he standeth not in the way of sinners. His
company is of a choicer sort than it was. Although a sinner himself, he is now
a blood-washed sinner, quickened by the Holy Spirit, and renewed in heart.
Standing by the rich grace of God in the congregation of the righteous, he
dares not herd with the multitude who do evil. Again it is said, nor sitteth
in the seat of the scornful. He finds no rest in the atheist’s scoffings.
Let others make a mock of sin, of eternity, of hell and heaven, and of the
Eternal God; this man has learnt better philosophy than that of the infidel,
and has too much sense of God’s presence to endure to hear his name blasphemed.
The seat of the scorner may be very lofty, but it is very near to the gate of
hell; let us flee from it, for it will soon be empty, and destruction will
swallow up the man who sits therein. Mark the gradation in the first verse:
He walketh not in the counsel
of the ungodly,
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Nor standeth
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in the way of
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sinners,
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Nor sitteth
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in the seat of the
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scornful.
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When people are living in sin they
go from bad to worse. At first they merely walk in the counsel of the
careless and ungodly, who forget God—the evil is rather practical than
habitual—but after that they become habituated to evil, and they stand
in the way of open sinners who willfully violate God’s commandments; and
if let alone, they go one step further, and become themselves pestilent
teachers and tempters of others, and thus they sit in the seat of the
scornful. They have taken their degree in vice, and as true Doctors of
Damnation they are installed, and are looked up to by others as Masters in
Belial. But the blessed man, the man to whom all the blessings of God belong,
can hold no communion with such characters as these. He keeps himself pure from
these lepers; he puts away evil things from him as garments spotted by the
flesh; he comes out from among the wicked, and goes outside the camp, bearing
the reproach of Christ. O for grace to be thus separate from sinners.
Sources:
The Holy Bible (KJV)
The Treasury of David By Charles H Spurgeon
Visit www.e-sword.net and www.ccel.org
Visit www.e-sword.net and www.ccel.org
| AM 3560 BC 444 | ||
| Blessed: | ||
| Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. | Psa 2:12 | |
| Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. | Psa 32:1 | |
| Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity… | Psa 32:2 | |
| … blessed is the man that trusteth in him. | Psa 34:8 | |
| O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. | Psa 84:12 | |
| Blessed are they that keep judgment | Psa 106:3 | |
| Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD | Psa 112:1 | |
| Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. | Psa 115:12-15 | |
| Blessed are the undefiled in the way… | Psa 119:1 | |
| Blessed are they that keep his testimonies… | Psa 119:2 | |
| happy is that people, whose God is the LORD. | Psa 144:15 | |
| Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help… | Psa 146:5 | |
| And all these blessings shall come on thee… | Deu 28:2-68 | |
| Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee | Deu 33:29 | |
| Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD | Jer 17:7 | |
| Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona | Mat 16:17 | |
| blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. | Luk 11:28 | |
| If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. | Joh 13:17 | |
| blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. | Joh 20:29 | |
| Blessed are they that do his commandments | Rev 22:14 | |
| walketh: | ||
| and they walked in their own counsels. | Psa 81:12 | |
| And Enoch walked with God | Gen 5:24 | |
| but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you… | Lev 26:27-28 | |
| as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam | 1Ki 16:31 | |
| If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit. | Job 31:5 | |
| My son, walk not thou in the way with them... | Pro 1:15 | |
| and go not in the way of evil men. | Pro 4:14-15 | |
| He that walketh with wise men shall be wise... | Pro 13:20 | |
| Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers | Eze 20:18 | |
| when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine… | 1Pe 4:3 | |
| counsel: | ||
| Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked... | Psa 64:2 | |
| O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly… | Gen 49:6 | |
| for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly. | 2Ch 22:3 | |
| and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? | Job 10:3 | |
| the counsel of the wicked is far from me. | Job 21:16 | |
| (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) | Luk 23:51 | |
| ungodly: or wicked | ||
| standeth: | ||
| My foot standeth in an even place | Psa 26:12 | |
| we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand | Rom 5:2 | |
| and having done all, to stand. | Eph 6:13 | |
| way: | ||
| but the way of the ungodly shall perish. | Psa 1:6 | |
| he setteth himself in a way that is not good | Psa 36:4 | |
| but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. | Psa 146:9 | |
| To deliver thee from the way of the evil man | Pro 2:12 | |
| The way of the wicked is as darkness | Pro 4:19 | |
| but the way of transgressors is hard. | Pro 13:15 | |
| and broad is the way, … and narrow is the way, | Mat 7:13-14 | |
| sitteth: | ||
| I have not sat with vain persons, | Psa 26:4-5 | |
| for I will keep the commandments of my God | Psa 119:115 | |
| I sat not in the assembly of the mockers | Jer 15:17 | |
| scornful: | ||
| and the scorners delight in their scorning, | Pro 1:22 | |
| Surely he scorneth the scorners | Pro 3:34 | |
| but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. | Pro 9:12 | |
| Judgments are prepared for scorners | Pro 19:29 | |
Sources:
The Holy Bible (KJV)
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by Canne, Browne, Blayney, Scott, and others about 1880, with
introduction by R. A. Torrey.
Visit
www.e-sword.net and www.ccel.org