Psalm 1: 1-3
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 And 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.
We all want to be blessed of God and that is what God wants also. That is why he gave us this passage, so that we would know how to be blessed. The first verse tells us three things to avoid if we want to be blessed. The second verse tells us one affirmative thing to do and the third verse illustrates the effect of the blessing on us which results from obedience to the first two verses.
In a nutshell, this passage tells us to turn away from the ways of the world and turn towards God. In plain language it means we should spend more time pursuing God than pursuing the world. Turn off the TV every now and again and spend that hour reading your Bible. Don’t take your advice (counsel) from the world, look to the word and mature Christians. Don’t do the things the people of the world do. That is what is meant by do not “stand in the path of sinners.” God is telling us not to be on their path. Choose a different path. That does not just mean don’t sin. That is a given. But this passage is not talking about salvation it is teaching living in the blessing. So God is telling you not to do the things the world does because it is not leading to blessing. The blessing is in God and in his word. Spend some time reading the word or reading a book by a Christian. Listen to a TV preacher right in the middle of the week. Delight yourself in His word and you will be that tree that is planted near the stream. It is taller and stronger than other trees. It bears more fruit and its fruit is sweeter. Moreover, this tree does not lose its health and vitality. All it takes is to start spending more time actively pursuing Jesus and less time in the world.