When hiking down a path, have you ever come across a fork in the trail? At that point you have a choice. Do you decide to go on the path that veers to the right, or the one to the left? It might not make much difference, or it could make all the difference in the world. Some of our decisions are not too important, like what color socks to put on in the morning. Some, however, have eternal consequences. Today’s psalm focuses on the choice we make of which path we will take through life.
All people are separated into two groups ethically - the godly and the ungodly. These are the two characters in Psalm 1. They will each receive one of two rewards - either recognition and salvation from God, or damnation.
Our unknown author starts the psalm off right away warning us that we need to watch our associations with the ungodly (vs. 1). Association with those who practice sin will only drag us downwards. Close friends and associates have a profound influence on us, therefore we should not make the ungodly our closest friends and associates. They can, and usually will, drag us down. At the least we tend to become indifferent to God and His Word. Our good friends should help us draw closer to God, not hinder us. A strong believer needs to have a righteous walk with God, not allowing spiritual erosion to occur, not flirting with a wicked way of life.
The way to keep on the path of the godly is to keep ourselves in God’s Word, meditating on it day and night (vs. 2). A believer who is walking with the Lord will have joy when he is in God’s Word, the Bible. They will seek to read and study it when they can, meditating on His Words. Meditating is reading and then thinking about what you have read. To follow God closely we have to know what He has said.
God and His Word should be our source of spiritual nourishment. Then we will be like the fruitful tree that has been planted by a good source of water (vs. 3). Ungodly company will only pollute that source of water, stunting our growth. A tree or plant that has deep roots will not die during a dry season or drought. As Christians we can experience dry seasons. If we are deeply rooted in Jesus, however, we can still flourish.
When we abide with Christ we will bear fruit. Not everyone who calls themselves Christian really are. Godly people will bear good fruit, while the ungodly will bear bad fruit (Matthew 7:17-20). Verse 4 changes the focus of the psalm from the godly to the ungodly very abruptly. The psalmist is very emphatic in his statement, and the verse could easily be translated, “Not so the wicked!”. They are like chaff, without value and worth only to be discarded. They will not be approved by God’s judgment (vs. 5).
There are two paths that we can choose and take through life. One is God’s way of obedience to Him. The other is the path of rebellion and destruction. These paths will ultimately come to an end at the close of our life. The path we choose will determine where we will spend eternity (vs. 6). One will lead to eternal life. The other to eternal death. We need to make sure that we choose our path wisely. We need to consider our path!
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