Walk, Stand, Sit (Psalm 1:1)

 

Walk, Stand, Sit

Psalm 1:1 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 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. 

4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 

6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish. 

Verse one contains a poetic progression. Walk, stand, and sit. Each is used in a negative context. The man who would be happy (blessed) does not walk, stand, or sit in the places mentioned. Let's take them one at a time. 

The Hebrew word for “blessed” means “happy.” Certainly we all desire happiness, and we will go to great lengths to attain it. Our prisons are full of people who have tried to attain it by illegal means. Infidelity, separation, and divorce often occur because one or both spouses are not “happy.” People steal, cheat, and seek to obtain “stuff” by less than honest means because they believe “stuff” will make them happy. Others drink in excess or take drugs to drown their sorrows or bring about some artificial happiness. We covet thinking that if we only had this or that, then we could really be happy. 

We read of people who have really made it big, and who, we believed, must have been very happy indeed. They are famous, rich, beautiful, and loved. And then comes the newspaper article, “So and So found dead in a hotel room from an overdose,” or, “So and So dead from self inflicted gun shot wound.” Why? Couldn’t they take all of the “happiness”? 

Walking involves forward movement. It means that we are involved in the counsel of the wicked. We take part in it. We follow it believing that it will make us happy, and often there is some immediate gratification, some fame or fortune, something we have believed will make us happy. It’s end is always the opposite. The happy man, the truly blessed man is the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. He is the one who turns from that way and thereby avoids the pitfalls of sin and rejoices over victory. 

One of the good things about age is being able to learn from the vast amount of experiences of your life. I am 71 years old and have many things in my past I am not proud of. Many times I have “walked in the counsel of the wicked,” often feeling overcome, as if I could do no other. I didn’t want to do this or that, but I did it anyway. It brought me immediate, albeit temporary, gratification.....and a lifetime of regret. The temptations still confront me in many areas of my past indiscretions, but now I find myself in control. I no longer walk in the counsel of the wicked when tempted and I am filled with lasting happiness each time I refuse that counsel. There is no immediate gratification followed by regret. There is immediate gratification from my victory over the temptation and continued happiness over the progress of my sanctification. 

The second in the poetic progression is “stand(ing) in the path of sinners.” Walking in the counsel involves following. Once you follow that counsel you become identified with the one giving the counsel. To stand in the path of sinners is to identify yourself as one of them. It always appears to be easier to “fall in line” with unbelievers on the wide path. It avoids ridicule and rejection from your unsaved friends and the world in general. However such compromise leads to destruction in every area of your life. It certainly does not bring about lasting happiness, but does bring about lasting sorrow. If you walk with them long enough, you will stand as one of them, and finally you will sit in their seat. 

A seat implies position and power, like the throne of a king or the office chair of a boss. You know, when you enter an office, that the person in the secretary’s chair is the secretary. So to, when you have identified yourself as a fellow sinner, you take the seat of that designation, and you boast (scoff) of your position! You scorn, mock, and deride those who are not follow along. You do this to justify your position, not because you’re happy, but because you’re guilty. 

Can you see the progression? First comes the temptation, “The counsel of the wicked.” It is followed by the sin itself, “The path of sinners.” And it culminates in false justification of that sin, “the seat of scoffers.” How happy is that man who avoids this progression! By contrast, how miserable is the one who follows it.