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“Blessed is the Man”
Blessed is the Man
Wade Lee Webster
For several weeks we have been considering the attitude that we are to have in worship (John 4:23-24). To analyze and adjust our attitudes we have been examining the beatitudes of the Bible. This week we will consider Psalm 1:1-2: “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.”
Blessed is the man who DEPARTS. The man being praised in this psalm departs from the ungodly, from sinners, and from the scornful. He doesn’t walk with them, stand with them, or sit with them. Please note the progressive, or better yet, digressive direction of these verbs - walk, stand, sit. First, you walk with the ungodly, then you stand with sinners, and finally, you end up sitting with the scornful. The blessed man of this psalm departs from their counsel, their course (way), and their contempt (scorn). We have to develop this man’s attitude or we can’t adore God acceptably in worship. We can’t fellowship the wicked all week and then worship God acceptably on Sunday. We can’t listen to the scornful all week and then honor God on Sunday.
Blessed is the man who DELIGHTS. The man being praised in this psalm delights in God’s word. The Hebrew word translated as delight refers to pleasure, longing, desire, and joy. The blessed man hungers and thirsts for God’s word (Mt. 5:6; 1 Pet. 2:2). He desires it more than physical food (Job 23:12). God’s word is his joy (Acts 2:41). It is the rejoicing of his heart (Psa. 19:8). He desires God’s word more than gold (Psa. 19:10). He seeks it as one would seek silver or hidden treasure (Prov.2:3-5). We have to develop this man’s attitude to adore God acceptably on Sundays. We can’t delight in worldly things for six days and then flip a switch on Sunday. We must delight in God’s word daily to be ready to worship on Sunday.
Blessed is the man who DELIBERATES. The man being praised in this psalm deliberates on God’s word. He isn’t deliberating to decide if God’s word is true or not. He knows that it is (Psa. 119:160; John 17:17). He is meditating on it to glean all that he can from it. He wants to understand God’s will (Psa. 119:27; Eph. 5:17). He is meditating on God’s word because He doesn’t want to miss what God is telling him (Mt. 22:29). We have to develop this man’s attitude to adore God acceptably on Sundays. Shallow study during the week leads to shallow worship on Sunday. To deepen our worship we have to deepen our study of God’s word.
As we get ready to worship this week, let’s follow the blessed man’s example of departing, delighting, and deliberating. If we will develop this man’s attitude, then our worship will be much more likely to be in spirit and in truth.
