Walk, Stand and Sit.

Psa 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. 
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. 

Psalm one is a psalm of David and is divided into two parts.
The first part are verses one to three and speaks of where the satisfaction and blessedness of a godly man is found, it speaks of his actions, and what blessings he will receive from the Lord.
Part two, verses four to six speaks of the ungodly man and the state of his character, it reveals that his eternal destination is in a different place which is not in the congregation of the righteous, but his end is to perish.

Blessed: The Hebrew word is 'esher, it means happiness. The exclamation could be, how happy!

“How happy is the man”.  English synonyms of the word blessed are Redeemed – Saved – Exalted – Resurrected – Glorified – Rewarded.
This certainly gives the believer something to be happy about.

The word “blessed” is a plural adjective and we can understand the multiple blessings that the righteous man receives, when he doesn’t walk in the way of the ungodly but walks in the ways of godliness.

E.g A. like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
     B. bringeth forth his fruit in his season,
     C. his leaf also shall not wither;
     D. whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 

Psa 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. 

In this first verse, we see three actions of a godly man, walking, standing and sitting.
We see first his walk of faith, not in unrighteousness, not in an ungodly manner. He does not listen to the counsel of  ungodly men but makes all his decisions according to God’s precepts.

Walking:

1.walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly

Once we walked in darkness, walking according to the course of this world.
 

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

But now we have been washed, by the washing of regeneration by the word and we have been renewed by the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

We are now in Christ, we have put on the righteousness of Christ and we are exhorted to walk in Him.

Col. 2:6-7  “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving”.

Not only are we to not walk in the counsel of the ungodly but we should be built up in Him and always be ready to stand in defence of the gospel.

1 Peter3:14,15  But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,

Ps 1:15 but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…

The godly man’s footsteps are directed by the Word of God, and not by the cunning and wicked devices of ungodly men. 

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

There are multiple scriptures that exhort us as Christians, to walk in a manner that glorifies Christ.
 

Micah 6:8 to walk humbly in the company of your God.”
Deuteronomy 8:6 “Observe the commands of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.”
Romans 13:13 “Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”

1 John 2:6 “The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.”
Eph 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 

Blessing and true happiness comes by walking in the way of God.

Standing:

nor standeth in the way of sinners,

The righteous man does not stand in the same manner as the ungodly.
As Christians who are sinners and are saved by grace, we must stand upright, we should neither stand in the way of a sinner, in the sense that our actions should never be such that we bring reproach to the name of Christ or that our actions be the same as the ungodly.
We have been changed, we are new creations in Christ and we are to stand in that grace.

Romans 5:2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Our standing in Christ:

Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the full armour of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."
Ephesians 6:13 "Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

Philippians 1:27 "Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel."

Philippians 4:1 "Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved."

Our standing in Christ is the thing that helps us not to stand in the way of sinners, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Blessing comes to us through taking our stand and walking in Christ and not succumbing to the ways of the world.
 

Sitting:

nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 

There are many scoffers and mockers in the world, those that treat the word of God as a joke or call it a book of myths.
There are many who ridicule Christians, those who would laugh at the thoughts of heaven or hell.
The Christian has learned better than that and does not sit in the same scornful, mocking seat of the ungodly.
His heart is cut when he hears the name of his Lord being blasphemed.
The mockers and scoffers are fools who do not realise how near to the gates of hell they are.

Psalm 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
 

2 Peter 3:3 knowing this first: that  scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
 

The believers sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him. This is where the blessed sit.
The more we sit at Jesus feet the more we will learn, the more we will gain strength to stand against the ways of the scoffers and the scornful.

Just to say a few words about the action of the righteous man that is not mentioned in this Psalm.

An action that is relevant even though it is not mentioned and that is laying down.

When the righteous man Walks, Stands and Sits in the right place, he truly is blessed.
He can lay down in peace.

“If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet” (Proverbs 3:24). 
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).
“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me” (Psalm 3:5).

In our text we are told of the blessing of doing the right thing.

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. 

In that wonderful Psalm of David, Psalm 23, we get an understanding of what it means to be blessed if we walk, stand and sit in the ways of the Lord.

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
 

However, we must not forget that our laying down must not in a lazy way.

“Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread” (Proverbs 20:13). 

“How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?” (Proverbs 6:9).
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:10-11).
“Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger” (Proverbs 19:15).

Whilst we can rest in the Lord, we must always be vigilant.
 

“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).

We must say with our Lord:

John 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
 

God still has His remnant to gather in and it is the commission of the godly man to be the ungodly man’s bible.

There is still time for the ungodly to repent and believe the Gospel.
                                   
                       

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