Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Above is Psalm 1 and there is a reason I am sure this is the first of one hundred and fifty psalms. It is a wonderful six verses jam packed with wonderful stuff. It is also the basis for one of my favorite songs of all times from Casting Crowns: Slow Fade.
Happy or blessed is the man who meditates on God’s law day and night and this is where their delight is. We have found a delight in knowing and doing God’s law. This is great news. But there is something in this psalm which is really the basis for all of the gospel. It is our grounding and where we turn for our council and advice.
We are happy or blessed if we delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night. But did you see where this psalm begins?
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. Did you catch that?
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. First he is walking in the counsel of the wicked. He is waling with people he should not be and is getting advice from them. Then he stops and stands with them, and hangs with the sinners. Now I can hear what you are thinking, “Jesus hung out with the sinners.” Yes that is true but He did not walk with them seeking their counsel. He walked with them accepting them where they were, not being sucked into where they were or what they were doing. Then after stopping to stand with the sinners, this man sits in the seat of the scoffers. He sits down and acts just like them and derides people for doing the right thing. He has gone from walking, to standing, to sitting. He has slowly faded into acting the way he does. As Mark Hall says in the teaching video on Slow Fade “you don’t just wake up and decide to sin, you fade into it, slowly and then that day you wake up and wonder how you got there doing what you are doing, because it was a slow fade.” We seek advice and counsel from the wrong people and we will justify everything we do. It is a slow process. But if we are grounded in the delight of the love of the law of the Lord, then we can be like Jesus and walk with the sinners and eat with them and be with them, because they are not the place we seek counsel or look for advice, because that comes from the Lord!
So do not walk with the wicked, stand with the sinners or sit with the scoffers unless you are grounded in Jesus and then go and help others to know the love and mercy we have been given and where their delight can be.
aSacredRebel 