Psalm 1:1
Psalm 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.” KJV
There are so many people in our world today searching to find true happiness in life. If only they would turn to Psalm 1:1 their search would be ended. This opening verse to the book of Psalms contains the key to being truly blessed and happy in this life. The first word in this verse, “blessed” is translated from the original Hebrew word ‘esher – which means happiness. This word is in the plural form in this verse so it would read something like “happinesses” in the Hebrew. The reason why the psalmist used the plural form of the word was to emphasize that the blessed, happy man of Psalm 1 was blessed and happy in more ways than one. With this in mind we could paraphrase the verse like this, “Oh the happinesses of 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.” Now that sounds like one happy and blessed man, but how did he become so happy and blessed and how may we?
The Blessed man of Psalm 1 is blessed because he refuses to do three things. He refuses to walk after the counsel of the ungodly or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful. But what do these things mean anyways? To walk after the counsel of the ungodly is to order your steps in life based upon counsel or advice that is contrary to God’s word and law. Hence the word un-godly. To stand in the way of sinners doesn’t mean to block them from passing. It means to plant your feet or become established in their path or course of life. It is to live the way they do. To sit in the seat of the scornful is to take up residence with them and join them in scorning and mocking the ways and things of God. The Blessed man of Psalm 1 refuses to do these things.
Notice that there is a progressive connection between the walking, standing and sitting in this verse. The man who walks after the advice of the ungodly will, as a result, stand in the way of sinners and will, as a result, sit in the seat of the scornful. The opposite is true for the man who will not. These things follow each other in a progression; the first one inevitably leads to the last one. Don’t believe me? Read through Genesis 3. How did man fall into sin? One day a serpent entered the garden of Eden and gave ungodly counsel to Adam and Eve. He gave counsel contrary to God’s word. They walked in that ungodly counsel and as a result they stood in the way of sinners. They planted their feet on a course of rebellion and ate the forbidden fruit. When God came down to the garden that day, He found them sitting in the seat of the scornful. Look at Adam’s scorning against God in vs12, “The woman whom thou gavest me, she gave me of the tree…”
How is a man happy or blessed for not doing these three things? Look at the last sentence in Psalm 1 to find out. “The way of the ungodly shall perish.” (Psalm 1:6). The blessed man of Psalm 1 is blessed and happy because he doesn’t perish with the wicked. Their path is a path to hell. Charles Spurgeon wrote that the seat of the scornful is very near to the gate of hell. We could flip Psalm 1:1 around and read it like this, “Oh the miseries of the man who walks in the counsel of the ungodly and stands in the way of sinners and sits in the seat of the scornful.” The man that goes down that path has a multitude of miseries because he ends up in hell with all those who reject God. The blessed man turns away from the counsels of the old serpent and the wicked and turns instead to the Lord to hear His counsel only. We will see this in Psalm 1:2. What counsel are you ordering your steps after today? Godly or ungodly counsel? The difference between the two is eternal blessedness or eternal misery.
For further study on this verse see: (Proverbs 1:10-18; 19:27, Psalm 81:11-13, III John 1:4)