It is not uncommon for certain people, even within the body of Christ, to treat the Law of God as something to be dreaded. It is likened unto the chore nobody wants or the plague from which to recoil. This is evidenced by a number of factors: the unwillingness of some to attend services more than once a week, the complete absence of the Word of God at home, and the willingness to place almost anything ahead of God and his people.
However, in the face of this, the Bible places a great emphasis upon the individual who is truly blessed and how that person lives. Notice the writing of the Psalmist: “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” (Psa. 1:1-2). There are a number of attitudes listed in these two verses which will apply to the truly converted one.
He walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. The faithful man does not spend his time listening to those who have no care or concern for God or His Word. Rehoboam took unwise counsel from men who had no inclination toward God and it cost him the majority of his kingdom (1 Kin. 12:1-20). We are to walk in the counsel of God, not of men (Jud. 20:18; Acts 20:27).
He does not stand in the way of sinners. One who follows God does not follow the path of the ungodly. From cover to cover, God teaches against making the ungodly among your “circle of friends” (Jam. 4:4; 1 Pet. 4:1-4). This is not to say that we can have no fellowship outside Christ, else how would we ever convert one? But to look after our own souls, such relationships should be guarded ones at best.
He does not sit in the seat of the scornful. The word “scornful” means “to mock, scoff, have in derision” (Strong). We are not to be scornful people toward anyone, but especially toward God and his Word. Peter wrote, “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Pet. 3:3-4). We must not have such an attitude toward God nor listen to those who exhibit such an attitude toward the Word of God.
The faithful Christian does not live in such a way as to allow any of these influences to control his life. Rather, the Psalmist writes that his delight is in the Law of the Lord and he meditates upon it day and not. One who truly loves God delights in His Word (Psa. 119:97, 105). He finds joy, comfort, peace, and encouragement from it. Because of this, he spends time meditating upon it. The word “meditate” means to muse upon, or to ponder. This is not an occasional reading of random passages, but a concerted effort (day and night) to know and understand the Law of God.
The psalmist concludes the thought by stating, “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” (Psa. 1:3). The Christian that delights in God’s Word and spends his time learning from it and thinking about it will be able to live a life of acceptability before God. Those words will then guide his decisions and actions and everything he does will prosper because he has done it in the right way, with the right focus, and the right heart. Let us always delight in, and meditate on, God’s Word.