Psalm 1 – The Progression of Man

Psalm 1 – The Progression of Man

Psalm 1:1-6 (ESV)

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The first psalm gives us an interesting look at progressions. Our lives consist of a series of progressions. We even call them the “ages” of man: newborn, toddler, adolescence, teenager, adult, elderly. (There are many other lists, but this one makes sense to me.)

Each age is a progression. This psalm gives us some insight into both positive and negative progressions. It begins with the negative. The psalmist starts by describing things that a blessed person would not do.

The sequence is as follows: walk, stand, sit. When you apply this sequence to the life of a follower of Christ it demonstrates how one might fall back from their commitment they made. Paul describes the Christian life as “running the race.” With this in mind, let’s look at the steps given in Psalm 1.

When we stop running, we begin to walk. This seems to be relatively harmless. We get weary, we just want to get our breath. However, when we slow our pace we become more vulnerable to the counsel of others that do not have our best interest in mind. Some of these voices may be the reason we slowed down in the first place. It is always dangerous to leave the jetstream of the Holy Spirit.

Once we have broken stride we become even more vulnerable to other influences. The psalmist calls them “sinners.” We begin to stand. Standing indicates lack of mobility. If you are not moving forward in your walk with Christ you become more vulnerable to temptations. This halted state can then lead us to just “sit down” among the scornful. The Hebrew word for scornful is “loots”, which means, “make mouths.”

You’ve seen this. Sometimes one will stand behind a person and mock them by acting as though they are speaking. They are scoffing them. I have seen this far too many times when people begin to drift away from their relationship with the Lord. They begin to mock the very ones that desire to see God’s best fulfilled in their life. You do not arrive at this place quickly. It is a progression, and it begins by simply slowing down the pace at which you pursue the Lord.

The good news is, there is a way out. The psalmist then follows with another progression; a positive one: delight, meditate, plant, fruit. If you feel your passion for the Lord has waned from where you once were in your relationship with Him, the path back is simple. Even if you have never slowed your pace of pursuit of the Lord, the progression will keep you seeking harder than ever.

It begins with delighting in the Word of God, the Bible. Not only do you delight in reading it, you begin to meditate on what the Lord has said. Meditation is not some far Eastern cult practice. Christian meditation on scripture is where you simply consider what it says, and then allow the Holy Spirit to reveal how it applies to your life. The simple definition of meditate is, “to engage in contemplation or reflection.” It doesn’t require any special training or equipment, or even location. Just give yourself some room and time to think about what the Bible says about you.

When you develop the habit of reading and contemplating scripture you will become planted, or established, in the things of God. This will give you renewed strength and stamina to resume “The Race” for the Kingdom. Once you are back in the jetstream of the Holy Spirit, running with the Lord’s Wind, you begin to bear fruit. It really is that simple.

Regardless of where you are in the progressions mentioned above, realize that God is ready to meet you with grace to pursue Him. It is only by grace that we can run, and it is only by grace that we even know the Lord. Resist the temptation to stop running. If you find yourself off course, walking, standing, or even sitting, God’s grace is still available for you.