The Psalm, which contains only six verses, speaks volumes. I'm sure most are at least familiar with it, but let's refresh our memories anyway by reprinting here in the KJV.

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.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 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.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

This Psalm summarizes the fact that there are only two paths in life for everyone. We either follow after God or we follow after the world and stand opposed to God. It really is that simple.

David's first comment is that the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, will eventually not join with sinners as a group, and will not become like them in the way they act. Notice the progression there. To "walk" in the counsel of the ungodly is to adopt patterns and "wisdom" of the world. In today's politically correct world, it is verboten to speak against specific sins. In fact, many within the Charismatic Movement/NAR are often the first to refer to Christians who question their teachings as being "judgmental," "Pharisaical," "hypocritical" or worse. This is done for one purpose and that is to shame people into silence. It is the exact same M.O. the world uses in its attempt to silence Christians.

In fact, if you look at the type of "Christian" often invited on daytime talk shows, it is normally not someone who opposes ecumenism, or is not afraid to speak out against sin. The people who are invited on these shows ultimately end up using Christian verbiage as they too often agree with those who are diametrically opposed to God's standards.

The bulk of the New Testament is from men like Paul, Peter, James, John, and others, who understood the dire need to teach, to correct, to reproof, to even mark and separate from those teachers who teach falsehoods. It happened then and those writers told us it would happen today. So the authentic Christians who has the temerity to question a teaching (no matter how humbly he or she offers their concerns), is often ultimately ridiculed for their judgmental attitudes toward Christian leaders.

So David warns that the person who does not follow the way of the world's thinking, choosing obedience to God instead, is the person who is blessed because of it. Of course, being blessed is God's definition, not humanity's. Being blessed does not mean persecution will not happen or that people will stop ridiculing or even shunning you if you speak truth.

The individual (Christian or not), who chooses to begin listening to the world, will eventually find him/herself in the position of siding with that world. There's a lot of that going around today. The Bible clearly states that to be friends with the world is to be an enemy of God (James 4:4). Why? Simply because the world's system is completely opposed to God and His ways.

Verse 2 of Psalm 1 provides the clear opposing view of being friends with the world. It is to delight in the law of God. Notice the world "delight." How many things do you actually delight in? Your spouse? Your children? Specific foods? Vacations in certain parts of the world?

Everyone has their own delights and it is not something that a person necessarily takes time to create for themselves. These delights just happen and grow. As a kid, I delighted in vanilla soft serve ice cream. I saw people delighting in chocolate soft serve ice cream and for the life of me, I was flabbergasted than anyone could like chocolate ice cream, much less delight in it. Over the years, there have been other things I've delighted in, some I fanned into a flame, while others eventually went to sleep never to rise again.

I loved building models as a kid. Figure kits were my favorite. When I became an adult, I tried many times to get back into modeling but try as I might, it has never been as relaxing for me as an adult as when I was a kid. As an adult, I have a very critical eye and I'm my worst critic when it comes to modeling. Others might look at it and appreciate all the work that went into it, while all I can think of is the frustration of trying to eliminate seams and painting it so that it looks "real." Consequently, I have boxes of unbuilt models in my garage that I keep telling myself I will built and paint one day.

But David is talking about something that should be part and parcel of every Christian. We should literally delight in reading, studying, and memorizing God's Word (His Law). The evangelist who spoke at our church...