Although the Old Testament book of Psalms is classified as Hebrew poetry by Bible scholars, for Gentiles the psalms are counted as the wisdom literature of God along with Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes. In the book of Psalms God doesn’t have to give us any historical setting, develop any characters or provide plot lines. God can just pour out the unadulterated truth of God for us to feast on which is what he has done. The book of Psalms is all spiritual meat without the potatoes. If you were God and you were creating a book of 150 psalms which psalm would you put first? Would you make the first psalm a powerful one that summarized the entire book of God’s wisdom? Of course you would and God has done the same thing with the book of Psalms. Psalm 1 sums up the entire book of Psalms because it tells us exactly what we have to do to please God and live in his presence forever in heaven. God put on this earth to do exactly what Psalm 1 tells us to do. The answer to the question, “Why am I here?”, is contained in Psalm 1 so let’s break it all down.
Psalm 1:1 – Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
Always be mindful of any Scripture where God promises to bless you for your obedience. Be sure to obey whatever it is God commands you to do. I suggest you write down in a notebook every Scripture you come across where God promises a blessing for being obedient to his word. If you periodically review the promised blessings from God you will always keep your faith strong and bring your conduct more in line with God’s wishes.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
John 14:2-3 – (Jesus speaking) In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:6 – (Jesus speaking) I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Ezekiel 36:27 – I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
In Psalm 1 God promises to bless us if we do three things. First, we are not to do those things that the ungodly do which is simply another way of saying do those things that the godly do. What are the things that the godly do? The ungodly reject God while the godly accept God’s mercy and grace unto salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Second, we are not to do what the unsaved sinners do. As God’s children we are to confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness. Lastly, we are not to be contemptuous of God or deny his existence. Basically, God is saying he will bless us when we become believers and try our best to abide by God’s Word. What greater blessing can God bestow than to allow us to live in his presence in heaven for eternity?
Psalm 1:2 – But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
God blesses us when we love Him and when we express that love by also loving God’s Word and following that up by meditating (thinking) about God’s law continually. That’s why daily Bible reading and regular personal Bible study is so important to our continued spiritual growth. We should always strive to keep God’s uninterrupted blessings flowing in our lives. The best use of our lives and the happiest we’ll ever be is when we court the blessings of God. When we accept God’s grace unto salvation, witness for Christ and do good works we’ll receive the greatest blessings from God.
Psalm 1:3 – He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
Can you think of a better description of the blessings of God? I can’t. God is telling us if we accept his saving grace and study his word for knowledge, understanding and wisdom then this blessing is our promise. Let’s see; God promises anything we do will cause us to prosper. In the dictionary the word “prosper” is defined as succeeding or flourishing, especially financially. In addition, God says we’ll live forever. I don’t know about you but I can live with both of those scenarios. You don’t need any self-help books to be successful and happy. Strive to know God and obey his commands and you’ll live a successful and rewarding life beyond your wildest imagination. There is no true happiness apart from God.
Psalm 1:4 – The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
In the first three verses of Psalm 1 God tells us plainly the good things that will happen to us if we seek God’s saving grace and obey his commands. God is just, fair and reciprocal to saint and sinner alike. God is clear what will happen if we reject God. Those who reject God are called ungodly and when they die they’ll be taken to hell, a place they do not wish to go.
Psalm 1:5 – Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
All believers will one day stand before Jesus Christ at the bema judgement seat to receive their reward for works done in the body. Those who are not saved (the ungodly) will not be there for the bema judgment (rewards). Unrepentant sinners ( the ungodly) will not find themselves among the righteous children of God and therefore they won’t be going to heaven to live with God the Father forever. God does no allow sin or nonbelievers in heaven.
Psalm 1:6 – For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
God established the way of salvation unto eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When God gave each of us an eternal spirit at conception he gave us a part of himself. When our physical body dies our eternal spirit will go to one of two places. If we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior our eternal spirit goes to heaven to be with the Lord. If we have rejected Christ or failed to make a decision one way or the other then our eternal spirit shall perish. To perish in the spiritual sense means to be eternally separated from God. Nonbelievers will spend that eternal separation from God in the lake of fire where they will be in torment day and night for all eternity.
John 3:16 – (Jesus speaking) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 6:13 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Acts 4:12 – Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
In summary, Psalm 1 tells us those who are ungodly by not accepting God’s saving grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will, upon their death, be taken somewhere they don’t want to go (hell). These nonbelievers (the ungodly) will be resurrected bodily and have to stand in judgment before Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne judgment. All the ungodly who appear before Jesus at the Great White Throne judgment are condemned already and at some point they will be grabbed bodily by an angel of God and thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where they will be in pain and torment day and night for all eternity. A billion years is only a blink of the eyes in eternity.
Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9 – That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Hebrews 9:27 – And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
Think of your life as one big television game show. You get to keep what is behind either door number one or door number two. The Bible tells us behind door number one we have honor and glory as a prince of heaven and the son of God with untold riches beyond our wildest imagination. Behind door number two we have total separation from God and confinement in the lake of fire for all eternity in constant pain and anguish. The choice of door number one is obviously the better choice but you must make the positive selection of door number one before the show is over (your death) or you will wind up with door number two as your consolation prize by default. If you haven’t selected door number one by now what on earth are you waiting for? Make your pick right now before it’s too late! Accept God’s saving grace unto salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If you don’t know how to be saved google “sinner’s prayer” on the internet and follow the instructions. Listen, there are no replays or reruns on the game of life. You only get one shot to get this right so focus on the truth of God and accept God’s saving grace right now.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Romans 8:16 – The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
1 John 5:11 – And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
1 Timothy 2:5 – For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.
Let me give you a graphic illustration of the vast gulf that exists between your two possible choices in life. When the believer dies and goes to heaven they will experience an eternity filled with joy, happiness, wonder and amazement. The believer will always look back on their life on earth and consider it to be the only period of hell they will have ever known. On the other hand, when the nonbeliever dies without accepting God’s mercy and grace unto salvation they will go straight to hell for all eternity. Their life will be one of continual thirst, pain, torment and anguish. The condemned soul will always look back on their life on earth with fondness and remember it as the only period of heaven they will have ever known. I hope this illustration gets across to you the importance of the decision we all must make in this life. Will you choose heaven or hell? God is waiting for your answer. Choose rightly.