 |  |
#4.
The blessings of consistency (Psa. 1: 1).
pp. 77 - 79
We have called the blessing recounted in Psa. 32:, the "blessing of confession",
and that found in Psa. 34: 8, the "blessing of confidence". We now turn to a third
aspect, which we find in the first book of the Psalms--"the blessing of consistency."
"Walk", in the Scriptures, indicates a way of life. To "walk worthy" of one's
calling is the ideal set before every believer. We read of "walking after other gods"
(Deut. 8: 19), of "walking in His ways" (Deut. 28: 9), of "walking uprightly"
(Psa. 15: 2). Speaking of Enoch and his righteousness, the Scriptures record: "And
Enoch walked with God" (Gen. 5: 22). In the N.T. we read of a walk that is in "newness
of life", a walk that is "by faith", a walk that is "in the spirit", and a walk that is "in
love".
And now we come to the subject of the present article. We open the Psalms, and in
the first verse of the first Psalm, the opening sentence of the whole book, we read:--
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly."
As an example, from Scripture, of the negative side of this verse we may take
Ahaziah, King of Judah:--
"His mother's name also was Ahtaliah the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the
ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was the counselor to do wickedly. Wherefore
he did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab: for they were his
counselors after the death of his father TO HIS DESTRUCTION. He walked after their
counsel . . . . ." (II Chron. 22: 1-5).
The blessedness of Psa. 1: 1, however, is not limited to walk. There is a progression.
First there is the walking; then the standing; and finally the sitting. "Walking" has in it
the idea of movement, of progression. "Standing" suggests resolution, the taking up of a
position. We read of standing "to minister", of standing "in the Lord's counsel", of
standing "in grace". And here in Psa. 1: 1 it is "standing in the way of sinners". The
blessing of the Lord that maketh rich is not for those who either walk or stand in evil
ways. Neither is it for those who sit in the seat of the scornful. "Sitting" often indicates
some aspect of rule or authority. "Lot sat in the gate of Sodom" (Gen. 19: 1); "Thou
satest in the throne judging righteously" (Psa. 9: 4).
Psa. 26: has a good deal in common with the opening verse of Psa. 1::--
"I have walked in mine iniquity" (verse 1).
"I have walked in Thy truth" (verse 3).
"My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord" (verse 12).
"I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers" (verse 4).