So He will do what He has promised
Psalm 1:1-6 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; AND IN WHATEVER HE DOES, HE PROSPERS.”
“The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, or sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
In verse one: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,” there are those who may appear to be righteous and may look dignified and their advises or opinions may sound logical and right, but if it contradict the whole teaching of the Bible, which is God’s Word, don’t listen nor pay attention to their counsel.
“STAND IN THE PATH” and “SIT IN THE SEAT” is a metaphor with deeper connotations. It is wise to use our common sense. If the literal place is dangerous and will cause your spiritual life to be influenced by the world and the wicked, then get away from that place. On the other hand, if you will teach this literally, you will end up like the Branch Davidians of Waco and Jim Jones’ People’s Temple of Guayana, Jonestown. You and your followers will become fanatics.
“Nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers,” tells us that in any principle or idea that contradicts the whole teaching of the Bible, we should not agree to what these people stand for or what they sit upon.
These scoffers mocked Christianity because there are a lot of Christians who become fanatics. You don’t have to be a spiritual to detect a fanatic. A fanatic obviously and usually does not utilize his common sense. Religious cults use the name of Jesus too. They will quote verses from the Bible and then twist it to deceive people. These preachers are fleecing their followers. People have been deceived because they don’t read their Bible thoroughly.
Verse 2: “But his delight is in the law of the “Lord,” delight means the feeling of great pleasure, gratification, and joy. By nature man is a religious being because man has a spirit and one of the functions of the spirit is to worship. But it does not mean that because they worship or made sacrifices, they are seeking God. The Bible said that there is none who seeks for God. (Romans 3:11) Pagans or the Gentiles worship too but what they worshiped is not God but the demons. (1st Corinthians 10:19-20)
In the evangelical churches, there is no big deal that they go to church regularly although it is good and necessary to join and be a part of the body of the true believers of Christ. But all cultists go regularly to church too. And more sincere in doing so are the religious fanatics who are willing to kill and die for their belief. Now if we go to church for the sake of going to church but don’t have the desire to read His Word, it is just plain religiosity. If there is no feeling of delight in our hearts to seek for the truth, we are no different from the cultist.
“And in His law he meditates day and night.” You can only meditate what has been stored in your brain and in your heart. If you don’t study and store God’s Word in your mind by reading the Bible, you will most likely think or meditate on principles and ideas of the world and not God’s Word. Where else can you find God’s law? You can only find it in the Bible. The Scripture says that the author of the Bible is God. God has a promise to those who delight in reading the Bible and meditating on it day and night. What is His promise? God promises HEALTH and PROSPERITY.
“And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”
Verse 3 speaks of good health to those who are righteous in God’s eyes. The righteous are those who accept Christ as their personal Savior and Lord in their lives. They will be strong even in their old age for the purpose of declaring the righteousness of God.
Psalm 92:12-15 “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree; He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteous in Him.”
God’s purpose in giving a Christian long and healthy life is to declare His righteousness. That is evangelism.
Talking about prosperity, there are those who will reason out and say, “How about those people who are rich and are not Christians? They don’t read the Bible; they don’t meditate on God’s Word but why are they prosperous?”
Proverbs 23:17-18 “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of the Lord always. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”
Psalm 37:1-11 “Do not fret because of evildoers; be not envious toward wrongdoers, for they will wither quickly like the grass. And fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. And He will bring forth your righteousness as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in ABUNDANT PROSPERITY.”
To wait is to be on the watch for or to be in readiness or expectation, but another meaning of this word, “wait”, is also to work as a waiter. Thus, to wait for the Lord is to serve Him.
God has promised abundant prosperity and His name is on the line. It is up to us to do our part. Delight in His law and meditate on it day and night, and whatever your job or work, if you just do it honestly and sincerely, you will surely prosper.
GOD’S NAME IS ON THE LINE AND HE WILL DO WHAT HE HAS PROMISED.
Be very careful though because in all these, there is always a condition:
Hebrews 13:5, Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
John 2:15, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Luke 16:9, “Use your worldly wealth for the Word of God. With the power of the Holy Spirit live godly lives to be a witness for JESUS. Again I say; THERE IS ALWAYS A CONDITION. God will not allow us to be blest with good health material things and then will use it for the devil! No way!”
