1-2 Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the  path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree 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 blows 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. Psalm 1 (From the New American Standard Bible)

The very first word of the 150 Psalms in the Bible is the word 'blessed'. Some versions translate it as 'happy' – but it means far more than that. It describes the tremendous position of a person in relation to others. We see this clearly in Psalm 1. How is the person in vs 3 described compared to people in vs 4?

He or she is compared to being like a firmly rooted and fruitful tree. The people in vs 4, however, are like chaff that the wind blows away when grain is tossed in the air. The one is a picture of stability and usefulness, the other a picture of nothingness. So what was it that the person in vs 3 did that made such a difference? (vs 1-2)

They made the conscious choice of not following the advice of people who had no problem with doing wrong things. They didn't hang around the places that sinners frequented and they didn't keep company with those who scoffed at religion and mocked God's standards. Instead, they made it their habit to think often and deeply about all that God has made known through people like Moses. To ‘meditate’ in the Bible didn't mean to empty one's mind – but to ponder intently over something. In this case, God's word as we have it in the Bible.

I think it's true to say that every person in life is on a journey. And, just as our physical journeys led to different destinations as a result of the roads we took, so too the paths people take in life will lead to different destinations. We see that daily in the lives of people around us. Some folk have solid and happy marriages, others go through break ups and multiple partners. Some work hard and make something of their life, others are lazy and drift with nothing to show. And what's true of the different outcomes in everyday living, is also true spiritually. Look at what the Psalm says in vs 5-6.

It speaks of a 'judgment', and of something called 'the assembly of the righteous'. We read something similar in the New Testament book called Hebrews where the writer says to Christians: “You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God - the heavenly Jerusalem - and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” (Hebrews 12:22-23)

When the apostle Paul preached in the city of Athens, a city that was full of idols, he urged the people to repent of their sins, including their idolatry, “because God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man (Jesus Christ) that He has appointed.” (Acts 17:31) Psalm 1 tells us that on that day no one who is wicked will be able to stand. But what is the good news this Psalm tells? (vs 6)

God knows the way of the righteous. Those who, as vs 1-2 described, have turned away from wickedness and the paths of unrighteousness are recognized and owned by God. This is what happens when men and women repent of sin and call upon the Lord Jesus Christ as saviour. So the challenge of this Psalm is that it asks us what we take delight in? Sinful things, or in knowing God? And what sort of people do we choose to be with? Whose company do we love? And it asks the question 'which way are you going? Is it the way that has God's blessing?