The first Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms and has been a favorite of the people of God down through the centuries. It is a powerful contrast between the righteous, those who know God, and the wicked, those who don’t know God and remain under God’s wrath. The first three verses describe the righteous – those who follow the ways of the Lord and are growing in Christ. Listen to God’s Word from Psalm 1:1-3:
1 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!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 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.
As we read these powerful and precious verses from the Psalms, we must first understand that the only way a person can grow in Christ is to first know Christ, the resurrected and living God. A person who doesn’t have a relationship with Christ cannot grow in the Spirit of God.
However, once a person has a saving relationship with Christ, then he or she can grow in Christ from God’s Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. God grows and guides us through His Word and the blessed man, the one who follows the Lord, is to seek the counsel of God’s Word, not the “counsel of the wicked.”
The righteous follow the Lord and His path; not “the path of sinners.” We read this in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will set your paths straight.” We are to follow the straight paths of the Lord, not the crooked paths of sinners.
As we grow in God’s Word, we will delight in His Word and the Psalmist says we should “meditate on it day and night,” knowing that “man does not live by bread alone, but every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3
And finally, the righteous, as they grow in Christ, will be like a “tree firmly planted by streams of water.” They will grow in the fruit of the Spirit; “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 They will grow more in Christ-likeness and that is the blessing and joy of every Christian, to be more and more like our Lord.
Are you growing in Christ? How blessed is the man who is growing in Christ!
May God bless you with His grace, love and truth!