pausing in the first psalm: the walk of ungodly counsel (part 2)

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. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 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 ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalms 1; KJV)

As we established yesterday, Psalm 1 begins by identifying the life of a “blessed” person – a person who is highly favored in the eyes of the Almighty Father and set apart from those that are “unblessed”. Interestingly enough, to better define what this means, the psalmist proceeds to tell us specifically what a blessed person DOES NOT do… where they do not walk… what path they do not take.

“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.”

Let's meditate over the backward progression that is outlined in this first passage. Here we are introduced to the paths, the places, the perceptions of those that are unblessed by God… the many that will be doomed to destruction. These are the ungodly, the sinners, the scornful. It is interesting to see the journey that this unblessed person will follow in contrast to the journey of a blessed individual. However, in the interest of time, today let's only discuss the first progression listed - the first "do not" that we must understand in order to walk securely in God's favor: 

"Blessed is the (wo)man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly."

This is the unblessed woman who walks in the counsel of an ungodly world. Meaning, she is willingly receptive to viewpoints based on humanistic philosophies and ideas. Note: this unblessed woman may or may not claim a mystical sense of spiritualness in her life; but when it comes down to it, she has no genuine ties or relations to the Redeemer. Rather, her values and beliefs are based solely on common sense and the "wisdom" of what she thinks to be true rather than what God says is righteous. Her standard of morality is upheld by instincts, feelings, hunches, ideas. Right and wrong are determined only by opinion through self assessment, reflection, deliberation and rationalization of her own experiences - all of which are centered around what meets her needs and what she thinks will make her happy.

The unblessed woman walks eagerly toward all forms of enlightenment and/or a promise of balance - usually offered in bulk by the god-like, living idols of the wayward leaders/celebrities/role models of the day. If she does claim to be a Christian, she is lukewarm and loving it. She is a "by title only" believer that wishes to find her inner peace, but is in no way desperate to know the one true Savior intimately.

She takes much time to educate herself in all forms of self-improvement and enrichment, but unfortunately fails to measure her life according to God's word. In fact, she finds God's law to be bothersome, cumbersome, challenging, difficult, debatable, and maybe even a little boring. She rationalizes that surely her own scope of reasoning is dependable enough to expose the criteria needed for godly living. She isn't a bad person, after all. So trusting her sensibility over what may or may not be a biblical approach, she misguidedly keeps one or two warm, fuzzy "feel good" verses in her pocket and formulates "the rest" as she goes.

It doesn't matter how popular this unblessed woman may or may not be in her church. It doesn't matter how giving she is to charity, how loving she is to family, how successful she is in life. Without Christ guiding her ways, her counsel is wickedness. And though she does not consider herself lost, nor wishes to be credited as ungodly, she continues to stroll along comfortably in the company of others like her... all choosing and defending their own way... all living their own lie... all denying God while seeking after their own levels of pleasure and worldly satisfaction.

"Blessed is the (wo)man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly."

We must each ask ourselves: Who's counsel am I keeping? Who's views and opinions do I default to? Who's wisdom do I depend upon? Am I walking down the narrow and just path of the King of kings? Or am I strolling comfortably in my own ways... in my own reason?

Ladies, in our quest to be blessed by God, I encourage you to consider this matter very seriously. Ungodly counsel is not the counsel we should keep... especially our own ungodly counsel! God's ways are higher and greater and wiser than ours. So, we must ALWAYS strive to follow His path first and obediently submit our will over to Him.

I challenge you to take an honest look at your life. Determine if you are progressing closer to the Savior or farther from His grace. Do you know Him intimately? Do you seek after His wisdom? Do you base your decisions on His truths? Are you living for His purpose? Are you walking in His ways and obediently following His counsel? In short, is your life centered around God... or you? Who is the Star in your story?

Consider this question very carefully: According to God's word, are you indeed blessed?

Tomorrow we will continue looking at the backward progression of the unblessed woman and consider what we must avoid in order to maintain God's favor. I hope you will join me in this important study!

Love you all!

~Victoria

© 2010 The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson