Psalms One
By Dr. Harley Howard- www.fotbc.org

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. 
This entire chapter could be entitled, "How to live a blessed life." This Hebrew word, blessed, is used as an interjection. An interjection is an exclamatory word that is used to express strong feelings. The word could be translated—How blessed! It is clear that the writer of this 1st Psalm knew by way of personal experience the very blessedness he wrote of. Therefore it is a fitting beginning to this great work of wisdom. This blessed condition, describes the true state of the one who fulfills what the Psalmist says in this chapter. It is important to realize that we cannot say that blessings are strictly categorized as those things related to material prosperity or of so earthly achievement, etc. We cannot regulate blessing(s) as something that is always separate from what we are and of what we seek for as if to say that if I don't have such and such, I am not truly blessed of God. For the genuine worshiper of God, he or she, is already blessed. We are blessed because of our relationship to God, no matter what the circumstances are and it is also true that if a person is NOT walking according to the will of God, then it is very fair to say that no matter what achievements or earthly prosperity one may have, he is NOT blessed at all. 
God categorizes those who are not blessed spiritually as ungodly. Our understanding of what it means to be blessed will be enhanced as you trek through this book. 

The word, blessed, also means happy. This word, unlike the English word happy, depends on the circumstances of one's life for happiness to exist. The Psalmist declares one to be truly happy because of one's standing with God and one's obedience to the word of God. 

This is one reason why so many modern day professed worshippers of God are so unhappy. They constantly try to find their happiness in things and others rather than in God and in His word. It is very interesting that the blessed state of the worshipper of God is described according to the things that he does NOT do, and that right from the start of the book. Three negatives are clearly pointed out in this Psalm and it is as applicable today as it was when the Psalmist wrote it. 

How blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly. 

Walketh, speaks of one's lifestyle. The verb indicates that whoever this person is, he is blessed if he is not walking as a habit of life in the council of the ungodly. What is the council of the ungodly. The word, council means:

The advice or the purposes of those who are hostile to God. 

We have to understand that the ungodly are living by an entirely different standard than we do as believers. In fact, their standard is hostile to God, opposite to the standard that we are worshippers of God are to live by. Whatever advice you receive from the ungodly is only reflective of that standard. Our lives as worshippers of God are not to be directed by ungodly standards and we are blessed when we reject such standards. 
What else constitutes the blessed state of the worshipper of God? He said: 

Nor standeth in the way of sinners. 

What does this mean? The word, standeth, has many meanings, but it basically means to take one’s position with. Standeth in the way, does not refer to blocking the path of sinners. Whereas, the council of the wicked is the ADVICE of the wicked, the way of sinners is the APPLICATION of the advice or council of the wicked to one’s own behavior.
 
The behavior and lifestyle of sinners is that which is void of divine direction. 

They scoff at the things of God. The progression of heeding the ungodly is downward. 

Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful

Next comes the one who sits in the seat of the scornful. First comes the danger of listening to the ungodly, then talking the side of the sinner, then sitting in the company of, or ASSEMBLY with the scornful, the mockers of God. What characterizes the behavior of the scornful is that they boast of their own accomplishments without glorifying God. 

Herein lies the trilogy of defeat: Advice, Application, Assembly.

These are all the means by which a worshipper of God must avoid if he or she is to experience the blessed state which we already are because of being in Christ Jesus.
The professed believer cannot be blessed at all who willfully violates God's truth while getting advice and walking in that advice from those, who by nature, hate God. Blessed is the man who does not walk in the state of mind which the ungodly cherish, much less that he should associate with the vicious life of sinners, or even delight in the company of those who scoff at worshipping God. Now the Psalmist goes on to show what is the worshipper's delight. 
2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 
Contrasted against the lifestyle of the evildoer, is the delight of the blessed man or woman. Delight is translated—longing, good pleasure, that in which one takes delight in. And what is that delight? It is the law of the Lord, it is the word of God, it is the holy scriptures. 
The law of the Lord, is the instruction, the wisdom of God that directs the life of the worshipper. 
One of the main reasons why people make decisions totally out of character of the worshipper of God is because their delight towards God's word has been set aside for the wisdom of the world. One of the reasons why we as worshippers of God should delight in the word of God is because of the superiority of God's word to all of worldly wisdom. 
1 Corinthians 3:18-19 
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise. 
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "[He is] the one who catches the wise in their craftiness"; (NASB)
This verse also shows me that one who is notorious for occasional glances in scripture has not the desire nor the proper attitude for meditation, nor reception from God. One must have his or her delight in the word of God for it to speak clearly to him or her. If the word is treated like a stranger, then it will treat you the same way. If you are so bogged down with this life, to the point that you believe that you need direction from everyone else than God, then why should you expect to hear from Him, since you show Him less respect that you would one who hates Him? 
Psalm 112:1 
Praise ye the LORD. Blessed [is] the man [that] feareth the LORD, [that] delighteth greatly in his commandments. 
Psalm 119:48 
My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. 
What will be the evidence that a man or woman truly delights in the word of God? 

"In his law doth he meditate day and night." 

First, meditation. What does it mean to meditate? It means to devise, muse, to ponder. As I said before, the one who meditates is a thinker, not a feeler. 
The one who meditates is one who ponders long and deep to understand truth, but not for intellectual reasonings alone, but because God's rule of life brings him delight. 
The verb indicates that this meditation is ongoing. The process of meditation is not complete to the one who delights in the instruction of God. You can never learn enough, apply enough, study enough, listen enough, teach enough, preach enough, or meditate enough to the point where you have arrived at the place where there is no more necessity to continue. 
Second, true delight is seen in the quantity of time spent with the word of God. The fact is seen right in this verse that quantity of time is important to the one who delights in God's rule of life. A perfect illustration of the night & day meditation is seen in Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 63:1-8. 

Joshua 1:8 
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 
Psalm 63:1-8 
1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.>> O God, thou [art] my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so [as] I have seen thee in the sanctuary. 
3 Because thy lovingkindness [is] better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. 
5 My soul shall be satisfied as [with] marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise [thee] with joyful lips: 
6 When I remember thee upon my bed, [and] meditate on thee in the [night] watches. 
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. 
8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. 

A proper delight and meditation of God's truth will produce steadfastness and fruitfulness. Look at verse 3.

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. 

The lover of God's truth will be as stable as a tree, firmly planted by the canal of water, being nourished continually, and that produces spiritual fruit, time after time after time, whose leaves or foliage, shall not wither and fall, or fade, and whatever he doeth shall make prosperous, bring to success. The tree is the worshipper, the water is the word of God which brings nourishment through the roots throughout the entire tree, producing fruit, which are the fruits of righteousness, which fruit will be prosperous and a blessing to all that partake.

4 The ungodly [are] not so: but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 

The ungodly are nothing like the blessed man. The ungodly man is the wicked man (hostile to God) and guilty of sin (against God and man). The ungodly are not fruitful, they are not nourished, nor are they stable against the trials and storms of life. They are like chaff—tumbleweed, the empty residue of wheat, totally useless and void of life. Worthless and as stable as wind that drives them.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 

The judgment spoken of here by the Psalmist refers to the judgment of the just, not for salvation, that was already done on thee cross, but the judgment of believers for their works. The ungodly will have nothing to do with the reward of the righteous. There is no righteous works of the ungodly to judge, so they will not stand in this judgment, nor, because they are sinners, will they be in the eternal gathering of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. 

The LORD has absolute knowledge of the path and manner of life of the righteous. This brings great confidence to me and to every believer in this life that God knows His own and He knows the walk and lifestyle of His own. Psalm 139:1-18, Nahum 1:7, John 10:14, 27, 2nd Timothy 2:19. The path of the wicked will be exterminated. God will destroy all those who refused to receive His love for salvation.