Sunday, August 25, 2013

Psalm 1:1

I've been meditating on Psalm 1 - blessed to have it set to music.  Thankful to the Lord for the exhortation in His Word to use His Psalms.  As I 'said/sung' it to myself, I began to dwell on the words and thought I'd tear it apart:

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. 

The first thing that captured my attention was the WALK, STAND and SIT verbs.

Walketh - H1980 - Akin to H3212; a primitive root; to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively).  (Used 1545x in 1346 verses!)  Oh my!  A definite 'go' to word!

I was reflecting upon where not to walk - in the counsel of the ungodly.

Standeth - H5975 - A primitive root; to stand, in various relations (literally and figuratively, intransitively and transitively).  (Used 521x in 496 verses.)

Where are we NOT to stand?  In the way of sinners.

Sitteth - H3427 - A primitive root; properly to sit down (specifically as judge, in ambush, in quiet); by implication to dwell, to remain; causatively to settle, to marry. (Used 1081x in 975 verses.)

We definitely don't want to sit in the seat of the scornful!

Who are these people?  Ungodly, Sinners, Scornful.

Ungodly - H7563 - From H7561; morally wrong; concretely an (actively) bad person.  (Used 263x in 249 verses.)
  • H7561 - A primitive root; to be (causatively do or declare) wrong; by implication to disturb, violate.
Sinners - H2400 - Intensive from H2398; a criminal, or one accounted guilty. (Used 19x in 19 verses.)
  • H2398 - A primitive root; properly to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn.
Scornful - H3887 - A primitive root; properly to make mouths at, that is, to scoff; hence (from the effort to pronounce a foreign language) to interpret, or (generally) intercede. (Used 27x in 27 verses.)

Where or what are these ungodly sinful scorners offering?

Counsel - H6098 - From H3289; advice; by implication plan; also prudence. (Used 88x in 85 verses.)
  • H3289 - A primitive root; to advise; reflexively to deliberate or resolve.
Way - H1870 - From H1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively a course of life or mode of action, often adverbially. (Used 704x in 624 verses.)
  • H1869 - A primitive root; to tread; by implication to walk; also to string a bow (by treading on it in bending).
Seat - H4186 - From H3427; a seat; figuratively a site; abstractly a session; by extension an abode (the place or the time); by implication population. (Used 44x in 43 verses.)
  • H3427 - See ^ above (sitteth).
We are enjoined to NOT or NOR (H3808) before each action (walk, stand, sit) - I find it interesting the sequence - one goes from walking to standing to sitting.  Makes me think of this verse:

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

While searching - a few more exhortations:

1Ti 6:11  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 

1Co 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 

So what is not?

H3808 - lo; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abstract negation); by implication no; often used with other particles.  (I was somewhat hesitant to see how many useages - 5164x in 3951 verses). Its used 3x in this particular verse.  No don't go here, no don't, no don't.

And what do we get if we obey?

Blessed - H835 - From H833; happiness; only in masculine plural construction as interjection, how happy! (Used 45x in 42 verses.)
  • H833 - A primitive root; to be straight (used in the widest sense, especially to be level, right, happy); figuratively to go forward, be honest, prosper.
Prosper, and whatever he does shall prosper, and whatever he does shall prosper.

Obedience has its rewards - not for the sake of gain as if we're playing some cosmic 'game' with the Lord - I'll do a, b, c and God will bless me.  No, its not about material gains or anything temporal, its  about the eternal rewards and the manifestation while we walk in this earthly sphere.  Desiring to give a proper estimate of Him.

As I prepared this post, I was struck with the thought, God has been so good to me.  There have been seasons where I've had to deal with the ungodly, sinners and scornful; however He's given me strength in and through those seasons and has sheltered me.  Plus, for the most part, He's arranged it so I don't have to be subjected to it often or for very long.  Enough so I 'run' to Him, to keep me ever pressing into Him for His protection and guidance.

Its worth the time to review some of the 'blessed' verses - 26 matches are in Psalms alone, with 8 in Proverbs.

Job 5:17  Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

Now I'm 'nibbling' on all the references for blessed and what that entails...ah another post for another day!

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