In the Psalms we learn that walking with God can only happen through obedience to His will in the way of righteousness. When we look at Psalm 1, we are given a wonderful picture of the way of righteousness. In the first verse we see that the blessed man is the one who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. “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” (Psalm 1:1).
When we think about what it takes to walk in the counsel of God instead of the wicked, we can look at great figures of faith such as those listed in Hebrews 11. These individuals stood fast to their faith and their walk with God. As the Psalm progresses we see that the righteous man finds “his delight in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1:2). As Christians, we are not bound by the Law of Moses which has been nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). But we are under the Law of Christ (Philippians 6:2). If we walk in the light of His word then we are walking in His law and thus we have fellowship with Him (1 John 1:6-9).
When a person truly seeks to follow the way of righteousness then “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). Matthew, the inspired New Testament writer of the Gospel account, displayed this principle for us:“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34).
God has given us His word which is contained in the Bible so that we can walk in the delight of the Lord. However, there will be those who will choose to walk down the wide path of destruction. These people usually have no foundation for life; they wander around aimlessly from day to day. They will follow the masses of people who are the ungodly of this world, and as a result they will be lost for eternity. The Psalmist would say it like this: “The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away” (Psalm 1:4).
There are many people who are floating around from church to church in the denominational world “chasing every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14), but fail to study for themselves the way of the Lord. All people who choose to be ungodly “shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (Psalm 1:5). We must remember that God only gives everlasting life to those who believe in the Son (John 3:16). This belief constitutes a rebirth and a change from the old you to a new you in Christ (John 3:5, Mark 16:16, Colossians 3:12-17). All others that do not obey His will, will die the second death (Revelation 20:14).
As all people live, all people will die; then comes the judgment. Believe the message of the Bible wherein God has shown us the way of the righteous. The last verse in Psalm 1 concludes this way: “For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:6). If you are reading this and you are not a Christian, hear and believe the Apostle Paul: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).