Holy Bible

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. Psalm 1 The 1st Psalm, introductory J. J. Stewart Perowne, B. D. This Psalm seems to have been placed first in the collection because, from its general character and subject, it formed a suitable introduction to the rest. It treats of the blessedness of the righteous and the misery of the wicked, topics which constantly recur in the Psalms, but it treats of them as if all experience pointed only in one direction. The moral problem which, in other Psalms, troubles the ancient poets of Israel, when they see the evil prospering and the good oppressed, has here no place. The poet rests calmly in the truth that it is well with the righteous. He is not vexed with those passionate questionings of heart which meet us in such Psalms as the 37th and 73rd. Hence we may probably conclude that his lot was cast in happier and more peaceful times. The close of the Psalm is, however, as Ewald remarks, truly prophetical, perpetually in force, and consequently descriptive of what is to be expected at all times in the course of the world's history. In style the Psalm is simple and clear. In form it is little more than the expansion of a proverb. ( J. J. Stewart Perowne, B. D. ) The felicity of the godly man, and infelicity of the wick Thomas Wilcocks. Ver. 1. Teacheth a godly man. 1. To beware of the ungodly man's persuasions; 2. Of their order of life; and, 3. Of their society and company keeping.Ver. 2. Teacheth him by the contrary what he must do. 1. Take delight and pleasure in God's Word; because we do hardly profit by those things which we take no pleasure in; 2. Use all the means whereby we may be builded up in knowledge; for so generally do I take these words, "meditate day and night."Ver. 3. A promise annexed for our better encouragement, which expresseth God's wonderful goodness, and our dulness and heaviness, that have need of such spurs. By which also we may see the right use of God's promises, namely, to provoke us to all well-doings ( 1 Corinthians 7:1 ).Ver. 4. Doth not only contain judgments against the wicked, but also teacheth, yea, spurreth forward the godly, by beholding their punishments, to more heedy walking; and whereas the Holy Ghost resembleth the wicked to chaff tossed before the wind, it teaches us, that though the wicked think themselves glorious, and of long continuance, yet they are neither the one nor the other.Ver. 5. Teacheth that God, with His fan, will make a separation between the good corn and the chaff ( Matthew 3:12 ).Ver. 6. Teacheth this, that God is the only judge to allow and disallow; men must not therefore stand upon themselves, or other men's judgments. For what are we that condemn another man's servant? He standeth or faileth to his own master. ( Thomas Wilcocks. ) The godly man happy Sir Richard Baker. The Prophet will maintain a godly man, against all comers, to be the only Jason, for winning the golden fleece of blessedness the other, that he will make it good upon the heads of all the wicked; that howsoever they make a show in the world of being happy, yet they of all men are most miserable. ( Sir Richard Baker. ) The blessed man W. Jay. Happiness is our nature's end and aim, and David tells us here who finds it. He describes his character — I. NEGATIVELY. But all this is negative; and in a world such as this, and with a nature such as ours, no small part of religion consists in avoiding evil. Still, a negative religion is not sufficient. God's Word is, Cease to do evil, learn to do well. A man may "not swear," but does he "pray"? He may not rob, but does he relieve the poor? Therefore we have the blessed man described — II. POSITIVELY. "His delight," etc. It is so, whether the law be the moral law or the Word of God. Much more may we say this who have the complete Bible. Day and night, our thoughts ever follow our affections. ( W. Jay. ) The true Christian J. O. Keen, D. D. 1. He is set forth as a "man." Sin un-mans, reduces the volume and value of manhood, until it brings its victim to a revolting animalism. The Christian is restored by grace to true manhood. 2. As a "happy man." Happiness is the flower and fruit of piety. Misery, the natural child of sin. None are so happy as those whom God makes happy. 3. As avoiding unholy society. As oil will not mix with water, light cannot co-exist with darkness, so piety cannot live in the poisonous atmosphere of evil-doers. Where there is no affinity of nature there can be no sympathy and fellowship of spirit. The tropical plant will quickly die at the roots in the Arctic region; and the saint cannot pass over to the frigid zone of the worldling's society, but at the peril of his sainthood — his life. 4. As a student of Divine truth. Religion makes men thoughtful. He is a glad student. "His delight is in"; a diligent student. "Day and night." It is not a nine days' spell which novelty has thrown over him. He meditates ill it in the "day" of prosperity, and does not forget to do so in the "night" of adversity. 5. Under a beautiful and suggestive figure. "Like a tree." He does not grow up a Christian, he is planted as such. Religion is not natural, but engendered: — He is well positioned. "By the rivers of water." As a consequence he is "fruitful." No fruit in the life is a proof of no grace in the heart. He is always in "season." "There are special times for the manifestation of suitable graces. Liberality when riches increase. Humility when cheered by others. Patience in suffering. Resignation in bereavement. Faith in trial." He is "evergreen." "His leaf also shall not wither." The beauty of the believer is holiness, the communicated "beauty of the Lord our God." The sap of grace is always in circulation, hence his leaf does not wither. 6. Prosperous in all his undertakings. "There is no lack to them that walk uprightly. Godliness is great gain." 7. As divinely known. "Knoweth the way of the righteous" (ver. 6). His knowledge covers the minutiae of his life as well as the particulars of the road. This Divine knowledge is comforting, stimulating, faith-embolding, etc. Such is the inspired portrait of the "happy" or godly man. In contrast we have the "ungodly man." He is like "chaff," without worth, or use, or root; the sport of the wind of circumstances, passions, frivolities, worldliness, sensuality, etc., devoid of true manliness, decision of character, etc. Ver. 5 sets him forth as morally incapacitated to stand in the Court of Justice; and also as morally disqualified to associate with the holy. Both he and his way shall perish. ( J. O. Keen, D. D. ) A certain prescription for happiness L. A. Banks, D. D. There is a very beautiful story told of a king who, when he came to his throne a young man, had a silver bell made and placed in a high tower of his palace. Then the announcement was set forth that whenever the king was happy his subjects would know it by the ringing of this bell. It was never to be rung except when the king was perfectly happy, and then by no hand but his own, Days passed into weeks, and weeks into months, and the months into years; but no sound of the bell rang out either day or night to tell that the king was happy. At last the king, grown old and grey in his palace, lay on his death bed. His weeping subjects gathered around him, and he learned how through all the years his people had loved him; and then he was happy, and in his joy, with dying hands, he rang out the silver bell. How many years of wasted happiness because the king did not come to know and appreciate the love of his people! The little story may suggest to us a still greater loss in ourselves. Only the consciousness of God's love can make us perfectly happy. Many people go through life from childhood to youth, from youth to manhood, from manhood to age, and the lines of care deepen in their faces, and the silver bell of happiness never rings out, because all the while they are getting further from God, and there is no consciousness of that Divine love which alone can give perfect happiness and peace to the human heart. We have in this Psalm the thought of a keen-brained and spiritually instructed man as to what is required to make a happy man. We have here the testimony of a man of broad experience. David sets forth, at the beginning, that there are three things which it is important that we shall not do if we are to lead happy lives. The first of these is walking in the counsel of the ungodly. I do not understand that he intended to teach that to come under this head it is necessary for a man to seek out ungodly people and ask their advice as to how he shall live. The danger is far more insidious than that. The trouble is that ungodly people are always ready to speak their counsels of evil and lead others astray by them. Eve did not send for the devil to come and advise her, but he came of his own accord and spit forth his lying sophistries about the Lord. Many young men and women come to the city from Christian homes, expecting to live a frank Christian life; but in the boarding house, or the store or shop where they work, they are thrown into touch with ungodly people, who are ready at every turn with sceptical and insinuating remarks about the Church and about Christianity. Their counsels are for laxity of faith and conduct. Rev. W.L. Watkinson, in a recent sermon, recalls the fact that while we are careful to do our utmost to protect great buildings from fire and tempest, yet all the while those buildings are liable to another peril, certainly not less severe — the subtle decay of the very framework of the structure itself. The tissue of the wood silently and mysteriously deteriorates, and a calamity dire as a conflagration is precipitated. Many people think they are all right because they are not committing outbreaking sins, while the counsels to which they are listening, and the associations to which they are lending themselves, are really undermining all their spiritual strength. The fibre of will and conscience and feeling is secretly eaten away, and some day they awake to find they no longer possess the faith, the sensibility, and the resolution of other days. No swift and violent assault of world or flesh or devil has torn or stained them, but it has been like a moth fretting a garment. In the physical world sunshine is the sure antidote to the dry rot. So the only antidote to the counsels of the ungodly is to turn from them to the beams which fall from the Sun of Righteousness. Prosperous looking trunk. It was strongly made, and, although not very heavy, the speculators who examined its exterior concluded that it contained articles of value. One of them finally secured it for fifty-five dollars, and promptly prised it open, when he found within it only a disjointed human skeleton, which had probably been the property of some medical student. It is easy to understand the chagrin of the purchaser who, instead of gold and jewels, found only those relics of death. Multitudes have experienced a similar disappointment, but one infinitely more sorrowful, when they have discovered the real nature of the prizes which they gained by sin. There is still another place that a man if he will be really happy must avoid, and that is, "the seat of the scornful." God have mercy on the boy who has gone so far that he can make a joke of his mother's religion, that he can make a sneer about his father's God, that he can scorn the voice of God's Word that calls him to repentance! The sarcasm and cynicism and scorn of a sharp wit is often very fascinating to young people, but I assure you that the man who exercises it is never happy. It is a blossom which grows on a tree that is bitter at the heart. I have seen many scornful men and women, but I have never yet seen one who was happy. Well, we have been looking at some of the things one must not do if he is to be happy; let us turn to the brighter side, and see what one may do to ensure happiness. The prescription is given here, and is very plain. "But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night." But, you say, "How can I delight in the law of the Lord, and how can I begin to think about Him, if I am taken up with other things?" It is all very simple. You have been breaking God's law, and therefore you cannot delight in it. Stop breaking it. Turn right about and. begin to obey the law of the Lord, and then you will have a chance to delight in it. God has made happiness and obedience to go together. As you obey the Lord, and as you feel the warmth of His smile on your face, you will take delight in Him. All this is perfectly natural. The man who has committed a crime, and has broken the law of the land, and is fleeing from justice like a hunted animal or has been caught and is being punished, takes no delight in that law. But the man who obeys the law and finds its strong arm of protection thrown around him, and rejoices in its security, delights in it, and in the consciousness of the presence of the law he finds rest and peace And what a glorious result is assured from such delight in the law of the Lord: "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water," etc. What a beautiful picture that is! Ah, but, you say, "Does God live up to that? Do not many Christians have hard experiences, and trying difficulties like other people?" Certainly, the hot sun beats down on the tree planted by the river just the same as it does on the one that is planted on the gravelly, sandy upland. But the one by the river runs its roots down into the refreshing streams beneath, and when the upland tree withers and turns brown the tree by the river is as green as ever. Christians meet the troubles of life like other people, but if they give themselves up whole heartedly to do God's will, and delight in the law of the Lord, they have peace and content in the midst of the sorest trouble. You want happiness. There is only one certain prescription for happiness, and that is to obey God. ( L. A. Banks, D. D. ) The happy man D. J. Burrell, D. D. The opening words of this Psalm furnish its title Ashrey ha-ish , "O the happiness of that man!" If ever a man pursued happiness under the most favourable conditions, it was King Solomon; yet this was his conclusion of the whole matter, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." John Trapp said quaintly, "The Psalmist hath said here more to the point respecting happiness than all the philosophers; for while they beat the bush, he hath put the bird into our hand." I. AS TO THE CHARACTER OF THIS HAPPY MAN. "He walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly." We must needs be in the world — not dreamers among the shadows, but men among men. The world has need of us. The workshop and the office demand us. The secular cares of this world are, of necessity, upon us. But the secret of true happiness is moral nonconformity. Being in the world, we should not be of it. While our associations must needs be in some measure with the ungodly, their counsels, their ways, their seats are not for us. God's people go to their offices and their workshops just like other men, but their affections are not set upon this world; they are ever mindful of their noble birth, their Divine inheritance, their glorious destiny. II. HIS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE DIVINE LAW. The "Law of the Lord" was a Jewish phrase for the Scriptures. The happy man possesses a right estimate of the importance of the Word of God. 1. He is a reader of the Scriptures. Thomas a Kempis said, "I am never so happy as when in a nook with the Book." 2. He reads "with delight." We are much given in these times to a critical study of the Word. The way to appreciate the beauty of Murillo's picture of the Immaculate Conception is not to approach it with spatula and ammonia for purposes of minute analysis, but to gaze upon it until we are filled with the mighty thoughts that went surging through the soul of the master genius who painted it. 3. He meditates in them. St. renders the word "chattereth." So in these spring days we hear the sparrows chattering with their hearts full of the prophecy of bloom and fruitfulness. So glad and happy are the souls that meditate with delight in the Divine law. III. THE OUTCOME OF THIS HAPPY LIFE. Fruitfulness. "Like a tree." This life is rooted well. Its leaf shall not wither. The leaf shows the character of the tree. The man whose soul is full of truth and righteousness need not be saying perpetually, "I am a Christian," for his walk and conversation declare it. He bringeth forth fruit in his season. We shall be ever doing good as we have opportunity. There is an obverse to this picture. "The ungodly are not so." 1. As to his life — it is chaff. There is no profit in it. 2. As to his death — it is like a furrow in the sea. 3. After death, he shall "not stand in judgment." Most of us have been disappointed in our pursuit of happiness. There is, however, a right way and a sure way to pursue it. ( D. J. Burrell, D. D. ) The way of the righteous Monday Club Sermons. I. A STRIKING DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER OF THE RIGHTEOUS. Among the evil, as well as the good, there are classes and gradations. Here we have forgetters of God, overt and habitual sinners, and settled scorners. How graphically is the progressive tendency of sin here exhibited! Observe the indication we here have of the tendency of sin to fixedness. Walking, standing, sitting; wrong principles, then sinful habits, and last settled scorn. But the righteous man is not simply one who keeps aloof from the ways described. His character has its positive side. It is needful to discriminate with respect to the kind of delight the righteous man takes in the law. How much there is in the Bible of valuable history! Its truths and precepts kindle the intellect, feed the imagination, and commend themselves to man's natural sense of what is true and good. The delight of the Psalmist is, however, something deeper and other than this. It is delight in the law as God's law, and because it is His. It is the delight of a mind in sympathetic accord with it and with its Author. Even in the Old Testament saint there was much of this spirit. Here is the difference between a truly righteous man and one who is only outwardly so. The latter obeys slavishly, and against his own will. The former serves joyfully, and in love. The interest the one takes in the Bible is intellectual; that of the other is also practical and spiritual. II. A DELIGHTFUL PICTURE OF THE CONDITION OF THE RIGHTEOUS. "Like a tree." The tree draws a portion of its nourishment from the surrounding atmosphere, but relatively this is small. Vastly the greater portion is taken up with the moisture at its root. Hence where there is little moisture the life of the tree is feeble, its growth is slow, its fruit is uncertain, its leaf withers. So it is doubtless true that the godly man derives material for growth, usefulness, enjoyment, and moral beauty from whatever surrounds him. He learns from nature, society, books; he derives profit and adornment from studies, companionship, and experience; but for that which is highest and best, whether of comfort, attainment, or serviceableness to his generation, he is indebted to revealed truth. It is this which sustains his true inner life. In ver. 3 there is a change of figure. Of the righteous it is said, "and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." The meaning doubtless is that he shall prosper in all his godly doings; in the things to which the Divine will and word may prompt him; in 'those righteous undertakings by which he is distinguished. In other ages, if not now, it shall appear that nought of such labour was lost. It would be a mistake to understand, by the fruit here spoken of, external works only, or chiefly. The fruit of the spirit is "in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth." It is "love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." First of all, it is inward, then outward. It would be equally a mistake to suppose that the leaf, which does not wither, is the symbol only of the honour and beauty which crown the character of the godly. Doubtless it stands for this. But the leaf is also useful. And that, too, not only in the pleasure it ministers to the beholder's eye, or the shade it affords to the passing traveller. Its benefits may reach very far. "The fresh air we quaff from the hills has been purified and made healthy for us by the foliage of the trees, not merely those of our own country, but even the pines of Norway and the palms of India." And so the godly man is blessed in what he is and what he does. III. A CHEERING INTIMATION OF THE HAPPY END WHICH AWAITS THE RIGHTEOUS. As is so often the case in the Bible, thought abruptly passes from time to eternity. Indeed, to the eye of faith, these are one: the latter is but the continuation of the former. Naturally, therefore, the characters contrasted in the Psalm are now made to appear for judgment. ( Monday Club Sermons. ) The blessed man's likeness Joseph Parker, D. D. Notes on verses.Ver. 1. Ignorance is often bliss. All the characters mentioned here may have their excellence. The ungodly may be rich, the sinners convivial, the scornful brilliant, yet blessed is the man that has nothing to do with them. Blessed is the man who knows not the language or the masonry of the wicked.Ver. 2. The idea is that of the man who sees the law of the Lord in all nature, history, and life, and delights to trace it out. The "Law of the Lord" is Lot simply so much letter press, it is a life, a presence, a government.Ver. 3. Where God is there is no famine. The likeness to a tree is full of suggestion. A tree is permanent, fruitful, beautiful; its branches are for refreshment, its shadow is for rest. It responds to the sun and the rain. It waits for God, and puts forth life at His bidding. "Prosper." In no mean or narrow sense, but really and ultimately If you say that, as a fact, the good man does not always prosper, remember that you may say the same thing about God Himself.Ver. 4. Some ungodly men seem to be well established; they have more than heart can wish. But these are appearances only. At a distance chaff might be mistaken for wheat. The distinction is a vital one. To know where the wicked are, you must know where the wind is — the wind of popularity, success, Divine visitation.Ver. 5. There is a judgment, a true and final test of character. Where are the ungodly of the last generation?Ver. 6. Mark the three characters. The godly, ungodly, the Lord. The question is not what is the relation of the godly and the ungodly to each other; but what is that of each to the Lord? Are you blessed? Are you merely transiently happy? What is your fruit? ( Joseph Parker, D. D. ) The blessed man Joseph Parker, D. D. 1. He is partly described by negatives. We begin with children by teaching them what they must not do. The man who "walketh in the counsel of the ungodly" is not a happy man. Nowhere in the devil's territories can you find the happy man. Men who have run the whole round of so called enjoyment unite to say, "If you want to be happy, avoid our footprints." And yet it seems as if every young man must go and try for himself. He will not take the experience of others; or follow the directions of the "caution board." 2. He is partly described by what he should do. God does not destroy our powers, but turns them in a right direction. How can we be happy? Study. He who thinks grows. Meditate in the "Law of the Lord." We are not a Bible reading people. The old-fashioned people in the Church were. Note the consequences of this "delight in the Law of the Lord." Beauty. Righteous men should have beauty of character. "Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." When we fail the fault is ours, or if it be not, then the failure is for the sake of the success it shall lead to. "The ungodly are not so." The sinner has a brief day. It may not seem so now; but God says, he is "like the chaff." But we should not seek happiness as an end. Seek goodness, and the happiness will come. ( Joseph Parker, D. D. ) The character of the pious and profane Expository Outlines. I. A CERTAIN COURSE DESCRIBED. Here is a two-fold gradation implied, the one relating to the characters referred to, and the other to the intercourse maintained. II. A SACRED EXERCISE DESCRIBED. "In His law doth he meditate." The godly man delights in the Law of the Lord for many reasons. 1. Because it enriches his mind. 2. It cheers his heart. 3. It sanctifies his nature. III. AN ENCOURAGING ASSURANCE GIVEN. "He shall be like a tree." Note the connection between loving the Scriptures and spiritual prosperity. IV. A SOLEMN CONTRAST DRAWN. The ungodly are like the chaff. Chaff is a thing that is — 1. Unsightly. There is nothing to excite pleasurable emotions in the ungodly. 2. Worthless. Chaff cannot be turned, even in our inventive age, to any beneficial purpose. 3. Light and unsubstantial. There is no stability in the ungodly. They are tossed to and fro with every wind of temptation; and, being influenced by caprice rather than principle, no confidence can be placed in them. The Psalmist adds, "therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment." To "stand" is a forensic term, and denotes "to stand acquitted," and with those who live and die ungodly such cannot be the case. V. A CONCLUSIVE REASON ADDUCED. "For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish." ( Expository Outlines. ) The refusals of godliness Sir Richard Baker. But negatives in this case could not be denied; for if he had left out negatives, he had left out a great part of the worth and praise of godliness — for a godly man cannot always run in smooth ground — he shall sometimes meet with rubs; he cannot always breathe in sweet airs — he shall sometimes meet with ill savours; he cannot always sail in safe seas — he shall sometimes meet with rocks; and then it is his praise that he can pass over those rubs, can pass through those savours, can pass by those rocks, and yet keep himself upright and untainted, and untouched of them all. Besides, negative precepts are in some cases more absolute and peremptory than affirmatives: for to say, "That hath walked in the counsel of the ungodly," might not be sufficient; for he might walk in the counsel of the godly, and yet walk in the counsel of the ungodly too; not both indeed at once, but both at several times; where now this negative clears him at all times. And may it not also be a cause of using negatives, because it seems an easier way of showing what a thing is, by showing what it is not, than by using only affirmative marks; especially where a perfect induction may be made. ( Sir Richard Baker. ) Things marred by ungodliness Sir Richard Baker. We must yet go further, and the next word we come to is ungodly, and now certainly we shall have a full negative, for ungodliness is the herb that marreth all the broth, it poisons all the company that it comes in, — not only walking, a thing in itself indifferent, but even counsel, a thing in its own nature most sovereign: they are both marred by this one ingredient of ungodliness. Walking in counsel had been a safe proceeding, if the ungodly had not given it; standing in the way had been a lawful calling, it' sinners had not made it; sitting in a chair had been an easy posture, if scorners had not framed it; but if the ungodly, or sinners, or scorners have any hand at all in our actions, have anything to do in our doings, both safety, and lawfulness, and ease, and all are utterly overthrown. ( Sir Richard Baker. ) The counsel of ungodly men Sir Richard Baker. But have, then, ungodly men counsel? One would think it were want of counsel that makes them ungodly, for who would be ungodly if he had counsel to direct him? Certainly, counsel they have, and wise counsel too; that is, wise in the eye of the world, and wise for the works of the world: but wise in the sight of God, and wise for the works of godliness, they have not; and in that kind of wisdom ungodly men are your greatest counsellors — greatest in the ability of counsel, and greatest in the busying themselves with counselling. The poison of asps is under their lips. It serves not their turn to do wickedly in their own persons, but they must be drawing others into wickedness by poisoning and infecting them with wicked counsel. ( Sir Richard Baker. ) Stages in sin Sir Richard Baker. They which think it an ascent, conceive it thus, that he which walketh in the counsel of the ungodly is yet but wavering, as misled by opinion, and makes but an error; he that stands in the way of sinners, stands out with obstinacy, and makes a heresy; but he that sits in the chair of scorners is at defiance with God, and makes an apostasy. They who think it a descent do thus conceive it: he which walks in the counsel of the ungodly, delights and takes a pleasure in his sin; he which stands in the way of sinners, stands in doubt, and is unresolved in his sin; but he who sits in the seat of the scornful, sits down and sins but for his ease, as being unable to suffer persecution. They who think it an ascent, conceive that the ungodly are but beginners in ill; that sinners are proficients in ill; but the scorners are graduates and doctors of the chair in ill. They who think it a descent, conceive that the ungodly are opposite to the godly, and offend generally; that sinners offend, though actually, yet but in particulars; that scorners might be sound at heart, if they did not set themselves to sale, and sin for promotion. The ascent may be briefly thus: that walking expresseth less resolution than standing, and standing than sitting, but in sin, the more resolute, the more dissolute therefore sitting is the worst. The descent thus: that walking expresseth more strength than standing, and standing than sitting; for a child can sit when he cannot stand, and stand when he cannot walk; but the stronger in sin, the worse; therefore walking is the worst. Many such ways there are of conceiving diversity, either in ascending or descending; but it needs be no question which is the worse, because, without question, they are all stark nought: they are three rocks, whereof the least is enough to make a shipwreck; they are three pestilential airs, whereof the best is enough to poison the heart. This only may be observed, that howsoever the case alter with walkers and sitters, yet standers in the way of sinners keep their standing still; and whichsoever is first or last, yet they are sure to be the second. But is it not that we mistake the Prophet, and make his words a gradation, when, perhaps, he meant them for level ground? And for such, indeed, we may take them, and do as well, and then there will not be either ascent or descent in the sins themselves, but only a diversity in their causes; as that the first is a sin caused by ill counsel; the second, a sin caused by ill example; the third, a sin caused by the innate corruption of our own hearts. Or is it that the Prophet alludes here to the three principal ages of our life, which have every one of them their proper vices, as it were, retainers to them? — and therefore the vices of youth, which is the vigour of life, and delights most in motion and society, he expresseth by walking in the counsel of the ungodly; the vices of the middle age, which is the steadfast age, he expresseth by standing in the way of sinners; the vices of old age, which, being weak and feeble, is scarce able to go, he expresseth by sitting in the chair of scorners, and it is as if he had said, "Blessed is the man that hath passed through all the ages of his life, and hath kept himself untainted of the vices that are incident unto them." ( Sir Richard Baker. ) The way of sin dangerous Sir Richard Baker. But a godly man is wiser than so; though he know that the way is large and broad, yet he knows also that the press is great; a man cannot stand here, but he shall be shouldered and thrust forward in spite of his teeth. ( Sir Richard Baker. ) Walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. Companions Arthur Mursell. We are all of us naturally of such a social tendency that the influence of companionship is necessarily great. And this is so especially in youth. Moralists, like Cicero, have made friendship the theme of some of their purest teaching and counsel. Scripture tells us of Jonathan and David, and this Psalm gives a hint of the insidious gradations by which companionship attains its mastery over habit and character. Like a skilful angler "playing" a fish, so does a congenial associate attach us to his company. He draws the glamour of his power about us

Benson Commentary 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. Psalm 1:1 . Blessed is the man — The Hebrew words are very emphatical: Blessedness belongs to that man; or, O the blessedness of that man! Blessedness here means happiness. And the character of the truly happy man is described in this Psalm both negatively, in his abstaining from sin; and positively, in his practice of a most important duty, introductory to all other duties. It is then illustrated by a beautiful similitude, borrowed from vegetation; and, lastly, contrasted with the opposite character of the ungodly. In this verse we have the negative part of his character in three particulars: 1st, He walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. The word ?????? , reshagnim, here rendered ungodly, according to Aben Ezra, signifies inquietos, qui nunquam in eadem constitutione permanent, the restless, who are never at one stay; according to Isaiah 57:20 : “Those,” says Henry, “who are unsettled, aim at no certain end, and walk by no certain rule;” who may indeed be moral in their conduct toward their fellow-creatures, and outwardly unblameable, but live without a due regard to God and religion, which all unconverted persons do. Now the man that is truly pious, and therefore happy, doth not walk in the counsel of such; doth not lead his life according to their advice, or manner of living; doth not associate with them, give ear to their suggestions, or follow their example. This part of the happy man’s character is put first, because those that would keep the commandments of their God must say to evil-doers, Depart from us, Psalm 119:115 , and because wisdom begins in departing from evil. 2d, Nor standeth in the way of sinners — Of open and notorious sinners, to be picked up and gathered with them: but he avoids as much as may be the company of such, lest he should be insnared by them, and drawn by degrees into an imitation of their practices. He keeps at a distance from them, as he would from persons or places infected with the plague, for fear of the contagion. Or, standing in their way may imply a continuance in their manner of conversation. 3d, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful — Of those who make a mock of sin, and of God’s threatenings and judgments against sinners: who deride all wholesome reproofs and counsels, and scoff at goodness and good men. So that there seems to be a double climax, or gradation, in this verse, each following clause exceeding the former in two respects. For standing, or delaying, in an evil course, implies a greater degree of guilt than being occasionally entangled and induced to walk therein, and sitting denotes a more settled and resolved perseverance than standing. Again, the term sinners, in Scripture language, implies more wickedness than the word ungodly, and the scornful are the worst of sinners. Observe, reader, by what steps men arrive at the height of impiety. Nemo repente fit turpissimus: No one becomes very wicked all at once. They are ungodly first, casting off the fear of God, and living in the neglect of their duty to him. But they rest not there; when the services of religion are laid aside, they come to be sinners, that is, they break out into open rebellion against God, and engage in the service of sin and Satan: omissions of duty make way for the commission of crimes, and by these the heart is so hardened that at length they come to be scorners: they openly defy all that is sacred, scoff at religion, and make a jest of sin. Thus is the way of iniquity down hill; the bad grow worse, and sinners become tempters to others and advocates for Baal. Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1:2 . But his delight is in the law of the Lord — In the study and practice of it, as appears from the context. Having described the character of the truly blessed man negatively, in the preceding verse, he, in this, speaks of it positively. The law of God may be here understood of the whole doctrine delivered by God to his church, consisting of doctrines, precepts, promises, and threatenings, &c. or more particularly of the preceptive part of it, which is commonly called his law; and so this is recorded as the particular character of a good man, that he takes delight, not only in God’s promises, which a bad man may delight in, but even in his commands, which are unwelcome and disagreeable to the wicked. In his law doth he meditate — The word ???? , jehgeh, implies that he exercises a deep, serious, and affectionate thoughtfulness about it; and by this it appears that his delight is in it, for what we love, we love to think of. Day and night — Not seldom and slightly, but diligently and constantly. Thus the Psalms, “like the sermon on the mount,” says Dr. Horne, “open with a beatitude; for our comfort and encouragement directing us immediately to that happiness which all mankind, in different ways, are seeking and inquiring after. All would secure themselves from the incursions of misery; but all do not consider that misery is the offspring of sin, from which it is therefore necessary to be delivered and preserved, in order to become happy, or blessed.” Psalm 1:3 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. Psalm 1:3 . And, or For, he shall be like a tree, &c. — This is the proof of that blessedness of a good man which he had only asserted, Psalm 1:1 . He shall be fruitful and flourishing. By his meditations on the law of God, his graces and virtues shall be nourished and increased, and he shall be thoroughly furnished for every good word and work. The means of grace are those rivers of water near which the trees of righteousness are planted, and from these they receive supplies of strength and vigour, but in secret, undiscerned ways. That bringeth forth fruit in his season — That is, in the time of fruit-bearing; which, being applied to the good man, denotes either, 1st, His active goodness, that he seeks and improves all opportunities for doing good, exercising faith, hope, and love, piety and virtue, justice, mercy, charity, temperance, patience, meekness, long-suffering, according to the several occasions offered him: or, 2d, The issue thereof, the happiness resulting therefrom; that he shall have the fruit, or benefit, of his godly life in due time, and when it will be most for his advantage, possibly in some measure in this life, but assuredly in the life to come. His leaf also shall not wither — His blessedness is not short and transitory, as all worldly felicity is, but fixed and everlasting, like those trees which are continually green and flourishing. And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper — All his actions, being directed by the word, providence and grace of God, shall be crowned with success in one respect or another, (for even disappointments, losses, and afflictions, shall work for his good,) and with a blessed effect or end. Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Psalm 1:4 . The ungodly are not so — Their condition is far different; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away — Withered and worthless, restless and unquiet, without form or stability, blown about by every wind, and, at length, finally dispersed from the face of the earth, by the breath of God’s displeasure, and driven into the fire which never shall be quenched. Their seeming felicity hath no firm foundation, but quickly vanishes, and flies away, as chaff before the wind. Psalm 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Psalm 1:5 . The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment — Shall not endure the time of trial, which will assuredly come. It may be that God will arise, and judge, and punish them by temporal calamities, and that these will fill their consciences with horror, and cause their hearts to fail. But if not, if they escape these, it is certain they shall not stand, nor escape condemnation and wrath in the great and general judgment of the whole world. Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous — That is, in that society which shall consist of none but righteous persons. “At present,” as Dr. Horne observes, “wheat and chaff lie in one floor; wheat and tares grow in one field; good and bad fishes are comprehended in one net; good and bad men are contained in the visible church;” but let us wait with patience God’s time of separation. The husbandman will appear, with his fan in his hand, and will thoroughly purge his floor; the harvest will come, and the tares shall be gathered up, and bound in bundles to be burned; the net shall be drawn to shore, and, while the good fishes are gathered into vessels, the bad shall be cast away. In other words, at His command who is the governor of his church, and to whom the Father hath committed all judgment, the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and then not one sinner shall be found in the congregation of the righteous. Psalm 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 1:6 . For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous — As he searcheth the reins and the heart, and perfectly knows all his people, so he approves, loves, and delights in them, and in their conduct and conversation, and therefore will recompense them; but the way of the ungodly shall perish — All their designs and courses shall come to nothing, and they shall perish with them. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary 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. Psalm 1:1-6 THE Psalter may be regarded as the heart’s echo to the speech of God, the manifold music of its windswept strings as God’s breath sweeps across them. Law and Prophecy are the two main elements of that speech, and the first two psalms, as a double prelude to the book, answer to these, the former setting forth the blessedness of loving and keeping the law, and the latter celebrating the enthronement of Messiah. Jewish tradition says that they were originally one, and a well-attested reading of Acts 13:33 quotes "Thou art my Son" as part of "the first Psalm." The diversity of subject makes original unity improbable, but possibly our present first Psalm was prefixed, unnumbered. Its theme, the blessedness of keeping the law, is enforced by the juxtaposition of two sharply contrasted pictures, one in bright light, another in deep shadow, and each heightening the other. Ebal and Gerizim face one another. The character and fate of the lover of the law are sketched in Psalm 1:1-3 , and that of the "wicked" in Psalm 1:4-6 . "How abundantly is that word Blessed multiplied in the Book of Psalms! The book seems to be made out of that word, and the foundation raised upon that Word, for it is the first word of the book. But in all the book there is not one Woe" (Donne). It is usually taken as an exclamation, but may equally well be a simple affirmation, and declares a universal truth even more strongly, if so regarded. The characteristics which thus bring blessedness are first described negatively, and that order is significant. As long as there is so much evil in the world, and society is what it is, godliness must be largely negative, and its possessors "a people whose laws are different from all people that be on earth." Live fish swim against the stream; dead ones go with it. The tender graces of the devout soul will not flourish unless there be a wall of close-knit and unparticipating opposition round them, to keep off nipping blasts. The negative clauses present a climax, notwithstanding the unquestionable correctness of one of the grounds on which that has been denied-namely, the practical equivalence of "wicked" and "sinner." Increasing closeness and permanence of association are obvious in the progress from walking to standing and from standing to sitting. Increasing boldness in evil is marked by the progress from counsel to way, or course of life, and thence to scoffing. Evil purposes come out in deeds, and deeds are formularised at last in bitter speech. Some men scoff because they have already sinned. The tongue is blackened and made sore by poison in the system. Therefore goodness will avoid the smallest conformity with evil, as knowing that if the hem of the dress or the tips of the hair be caught in the cruel wheels, the whole body will be drawn in. But these negative characteristics are valuable mainly for their efficacy in contributing to the positive, as the wall round a young plantation is there for the sake of what grows behind it. On the other hand, these positive characteristics, and eminently that chief one of a higher love, are the only basis for useful abstinence. Mere conventional, negative virtue is of little power or worth unless it flow from a strong set of the soul in another direction. "So did not I" is good and noble when we can go on to say, as Nehemiah did, "because of the fear of God." The true way of floating rubbish out is to pour water in. Delight in the law will deliver from delight in the counsel of the wicked. As the negative, so the positive begins with the inward man. The main thing about all men is the direction of their "delight." Where do tastes run? what pleases them most? and where are they most at ease? Deeds will follow the current of desires, and be right if the hidden man of the heart be right. To the psalmist, that law was revealed by Pentateuch and prophets; but the delight in it, in which he recognises the germ of godliness, is the coincidence of will and inclination with the declared will of God, however declared. In effect, he reduces perfection to the same elements as the other psalmist who sang, "I delight to do Thy will, yea, Thy law is within my heart." The secret of blessedness is self-renunciation, - A love to lose my will in His, And by that loss be free." Thoughts which are sweet will be familiar. The command to Joshua is the instinct of the devout man. In the distractions and activities of the busy day the law beloved will be with him, illuminating his path and shaping his acts. In hours of rest it will solace weariness and renew strength. That habit of patient, protracted brooding on the revelation of God’s will needs to be cultivated. Men live meanly because they live so fast. Religion lacks depth and volume because it is not fed by hidden springs. The good man’s character being thus all condensed into one trait, the psalm next gathers his blessedness up in one image. The tree is an eloquent figure to Orientals, who knew water as the one requisite to turn desert into garden. Such a life as has been sketched will be rooted and steadfast. "Planted" is expressed by a word which suggests fixity. The good man’s life is deeply anchored, and so rides out storms. It goes down through superficial fleeting things to that Eternal Will, and so stands unmoved and upright when winds howl. Scotch firs lift massive, corrugated boles, and thrust out wide, gnarled branches clothed in steadfast green, and look as if they could face any tempest, but their roots run laterally among the surface gravel, and therefore they go down before blasts which feeble saplings, that strike theirs vertically, meet unharmed. Such a life is fed and refreshed. The law of the Lord is at once soil and stream. In the one aspect fastening a life to it gives stability; in the other, freshening and means of growth. Truly loved, that Will becomes, in its manifold expressions, as the divided irrigation channels through which a great river is brought to the roots of each plant. If men do not find it life giving as rivers of water in a dry place, it is because they do not delight in it. Opposed, it is burdensome and harsh; accepted, this sweet image tells what it becomes-the true good, the only thing that really nourishes and reinvigorates. The disciples came back to Jesus, whom they had left too wearied and faint to go with them to the city, and found Him fresh and strong. Their wonder was answered by, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me." Such a life is vigorous and productive. It would be artificial straining to assign definite meanings to "fruit" and "leaf." All that belongs to vigorous vitality and beauty is included. These come naturally when the preceding condition is fulfilled. This stage of the psalm is the appropriate place for deeds to come into view. By loving fellowship with God and delight in His law the man is made capable of good. His virtues are growths, the outcome of life. The psalm anticipates Christ’s teaching of the good tree bringing forth good fruit, and also tells how His precept of making the tree good is to be obeyed-namely, by transplanting it from the soil of self-will to that of delight in the law. How that transplanting is to be effected it does not tell. "But now being made free from sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness," and the fruit of the Spirit in "whatsoever things are lovely and of good report" hangs in clusters on the life that has been shifted from the realm of darkness and rooted in Christ. The relation is more intimate still. "I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit." Such a life will be prosperous. The figure is abandoned here. The meaning is not affected whether we translate "whatsoever he doeth shall prosper," or "whatsoever he shall cause to succeed." That is not unconditionally true now, nor was it then, it referred to what the world calls prospering, as many a sad and questioning strain in the Psalter proves. He whose life is rooted in God will have his full share of foiled plans and abortive hopes, and will often see the fruit nipped by frost or blown green from the boughs, but still the promise is true in its inmost meaning. For what is prosperity? Does the psalmist merely mean to preach the more vulgar form of the doctrine that religion makes the best of both worlds? or are his hopes to be harmonised with experience, by giving a deeper meaning to "prosperity"? They to whom the will of God is delight can never be hurt by evil, for all that meets them expresses and serves that will, and the fellow servants of the King do not wound one another. If a life be rooted in God and a heart delight in His law, that life will be prosperous and that heart will be at rest. The second half of the psalm gives the dark contrast of the fruitless, rootless life ( Psalm 1:4-6 ). The Hebrew flashes the whole dread antithesis on the view at once by its first word, "Not so," a universal negative, which reverses every part of the preceding picture. "Wicked" is preferable to "ungodly," as the designation of the subjects. Whether we take the root idea of the word to be "restless," as most of the older and many modern commentators do, or "crooked" (Hupfeld), or "loose, flaccid" (Delitzsch), it is the opposite of "righteous," and therefore means one who lives not by the law of God, but by his own will. The psalmist has no need to describe him further nor to enumerate his deeds. The fundamental trait of his character is enough. Two classes only, then, are recognised here. If a man has not God’s uttered will for his governor, he goes into the category of "wicked." That sounds harsh doctrine, and not corresponding to the innumerable gradations of character actually seen. But it does correspond to facts, if they are grasped in their roots of motive and principle. If God be not the supreme delight, and His law sovereign, some other object is men’s delight and aim, and that departure from God taints a life, however fair it may be. It is a plain deduction from our relations to God that lives lived irrespective of Him are sinful, whatever be their complexion otherwise. The remainder of the psalm has three thoughts-the real nullity of such lives, their consequent disappearance in "the judgment," and the ground of both the blessedness of the one type of character and the vanishing of the other in the diverse attitude of God to each. Nothing could more vividly suggest the essential nothingness of the "wicked" than the contrast of the leafy beauty of the fruit-laden tree and the chaff, rootless, fruitless, lifeless, light, and therefore the sport of every puff of wind that blows across the elevated and open threshing floor. Such is indeed a true picture of every life not rooted in God and drawing fertility from Him. It is rootless; for what hold fast is there but in Him? or where shall the heart twine its tendrils if not round God’s stable throne? or what basis do fleeting objects supply for him who builds elsewhere than on the enduring Rock? It is fruitless; for what is fruit? There may be much activity and many results satisfying to part of man’s nature and admired by others. One fruit there will be, in character elaborated. But if we ask what ought to be the products of a life, man and God being what they are in themselves and to each other, we shall not wonder if every result of godless energy is regarded by "those clear eyes and perfect judgment" of heaven as barrenness. In the light of these higher demands, achievements hymned by the world’s acclamations seem infinitely small, and many a man, rich in the apparent results of a busy and prosperous life, will find to his dismayed astonishment that he has nothing to show but unfruitful works of darkness. Chaff is fruitless because lifeless. Its disappearance in the winnowing wind is the consequence and manifestation of its essential nullity. "Therefore" draws the conclusion of necessary transiency. Just as the winnower throws up his shovel full into the breeze, and the chaff goes fluttering out of the floor because it is light, while the wheat falls on the heap because it is solid, so the wind of judgment will one day blow and deal with each man according to his nature. It will separate them, whirling away the one, and not the other. "One shall be taken and the other left." When does this sifting take effect? The psalmist does not date it. There is a continually operative law of retribution, and there are crises of individual or national life, when the accumulated consequences of evil deeds fall on the doers. But the definite article prefixed to "judgment" seems to suggest some special "day" of separation. It is noteworthy and perhaps illuminative that John the Baptist uses the same figures of the tree and the chaff in his picture of the Messianic judgments, and that epoch may have been in the psalmist’s mind. Whatever the date, this he is sure of-that the wind will rise some time, and that, when it does, the wicked will be blown out of sight. When the judgment comes, the "congregation of the righteous"-that is, the true Israel within Israel, or, to speak in Christian language, the true invisible Church-will be freed from admixture of outward adherents, whose lives give the lie to their profession. Men shall be associated according to spiritual affinity, and "being let go," will "go to their own company" and "place," wherever that may be. The ground of these diverse fates is the different attitude of God to each life. Each clause of the last verse really involves two ideas, but the pregnant brevity of style states only half of the antithesis in each, suppressing the second member in the first clause and the first member in the second clause, and so making the contrast the more striking by emphasising the cause of an unspoken consequence in the former, and the opposite consequence of an unspoken cause in the latter. "The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous [therefore it shall last]. The Lord knoweth not the way of the wicked [therefore it shall perish]." The way which the Lord knows abides. "Know" is, of course, here used in its full sense of loving knowledge, care, and approval, as in "He knoweth my path" and the like sayings. The direction of the good man’s life is watched, guarded, approved, and blessed by God. Therefore it will not fail to reach its goal. They who walk patiently in the paths which He has prepared will find them paths of peace, and will not tread them unaccompanied, nor ever see them diverging from the straight road to home and rest. "Commit thy way unto the Lord," and let His way be thine, and He shall make thy way prosperous. The way or course of life which God does not know perishes. A path perishes when, like some dim forest track, it dies out, leaving the traveller bewildered amid impenetrable forests, or when, like some treacherous Alpine track among rotten rocks, it crumbles beneath the tread. Every course of life but that of the man who delights in and keeps the law of the Lord comes to a fatal end, and leads to the brink of a precipice, over which the impetus of descent carries the reluctant foot. "The path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more till the noontide of the day. The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble." The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.