Devotion for Monday, 2 May 2011 Anno Domini

Devotion for Monday, 2 May 2011 Anno Domini

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.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalms 1:1-6)



The majestic truth presented in this first Psalm sets the standard for all of the other Psalms. It is of critical value to each one who seeks to follow in the steps of Christ, but especially so for the young lambs of Christ. It is delineated into two sections: 1) the Godly are described in the first three verses; and, 2) the ways of the ungodly, which are NOT the ways of God, are described in the last three verses. Every human heart falls into one or the other of these two categories for, when it comes to the Kingdom of God, it is without division.



“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.” This is a wonderful and powerful expression of DIRECTION in the life of a righteous follower of God. Walking the righteous pathway of God is one direction; walking the pathway of sin is another altogether. 1) The righteous person does not WALK and TALK with the ungodly and receive their counsel; 2) the Godly person does not pause and linger with the ungodly; and 3) the Godly person does not make himself at home with sinners. In Genesis 3, we learn of Eve going (walking) to the tree of which God had said not to touch or eat thereof. Perhaps she went out of mere curiosity. That curiosity led to greater temptation. She stopped (standeth) before the tree. She listened to the voice of Satan instead of God’s voice (she sat down here with the scornful, for Satan is a scorner of God’s Word), and she ATE of the TREE! Her direction was wrong from the beginning. Her delay before the tree was wrong! Her listening to the voice of the scorner brought death and suffering upon all mankind. She placed herself in the way of temptation and the fruit thereof was sin and death.



There came a season in the life of King David when kings went to battle. (2 Samuel 11). Though David was a king, he did not perform his duty. He remained in Jerusalem in the comfort of his court. At night, his mind was restless. He awoke and arose from bed. He walked on the rooftop at night, and he walked near the home of a beautiful woman whose private garden was in view from the terrace of the roof on which David stood. He saw Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, bathing – and he was tempted to commit adultery. After adultery came an illegitimate pregnancy, and after this came outright murder. Sin is a DIRECTION. It will take you where you did not plan to go, and it will reward you with a recompense you could never desire. David’s first error was not in performing his kingly duties. His second was arising from bed and going to the place of temptation. The rest is history, isn’t it?



Now let us examine the life of Lot, the nephew of Abram. Due to the increase of flocks and cattle, there arose a dispute between the herdsmen of Abram and those of Lot over the water sources. To avoid further dispute, Abram showed Lot all of the land in each direction (from Canaan) and told him to chose his place, and Abram would take the other. Lot look to the fertile plains of the Jordan over towards Sodom. He choose this part and we are told: “Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” (Gen 13:12-13). He pitched his tent TOWARD the wicked city of Sodom. Shortly thereafter, Lot was talking with the men of Sodom, then dealing with them, and finally moved into the city and became part of the society of Sodom. We see that he was sitting in the gate (as a judge) when the Holy Angels came to destroy the wicked place. Though Lot himself was saved, he lost his sons in laws, his wealth, and his two sons (Moab & Benammi - conceived through incest) were cursed as a race of people. Though we may be saved, sin bears a consequence!

We see that foolish and irresponsible self-exposure to temptation is the devil’s tool. The results are never wholesome. This is the way of the sinner. But the righteous man’s “delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night”. Because the root of the righteous are sunk deep into the rivers of waters, he shall always prosper and never suffer famine. Those deep waters of life are found as springs and channels of water beneath the surface.

“The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” There is nothing noteworthy about chaff. It is not the essence of goodness. It is discarded and blown away. It is not worth mentioning. That is the fate of the sinful. Though they believe that they have greedily taken the grain, they are only the shell of the grain. They are blown away at harvest. The ‘tribulum’ ( Latin for a 3-pronged pitchfork) cast the grain high into the air. This is unsettling to the grain as ‘tribulation’ will be to us. But it is absolutely the final blow to the chaff, for it is blown away and separated from the precious grain which falls directly back to earth. The ungodly have no name as Lazarus had. The rich man's name is not mentioned.

“Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” No man, taken in the very act of adultery against God (idolatry), shall be deemed innocent. He will have no words to utter of his innocence in that day. And we have no “congregation of the righteous” on the face of the earth today, for there are growing numbers of tares mixed with the wheat in all churches – and have ever been. But there shall exist such a congregation in Heaven. “For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” God cares not to know the way of the sinner. The sinner is LOST, but God is NOT lost. He knows the way of the righteous for it is His Way. Will you perish, or live?