When the book of the Psalms (named "Praises" in the Hebrew) was assembled, it seems the editor placed this brief psalm at the beginning as a blessing for what was to come just as he placed the 150th Psalm at the end as a doxology of praise.

As for the reason for doing this, Matthew Poole explains, "This Psalm was put first as a preface to all the rest, as a powerful persuasive to the diligent reading and serious study of the whole book, and of the rest of the Holy Scripture taken from that blessedness which attends upon the study and practice thereof."

We all want to be blessed by God. We ask, what must I do to receive God’s blessings. We want do’s, not don’ts. But here in verse 1 we are given three don’ts. We dislike restrictions. We may ask, why can’t I do it my own way! But here it is in black and white spelled out for us – God’s three don’ts:

1. Don’t walk in the counsel of the wicked. We want to serve God, but sometimes we allow our feet to walk to places where we shouldn’t be, or we walk by areas of temptation. We need to be careful where we walk.

2. Don’t stand in the way of sinners. We may ask, "How can I get in trouble by just standing? I’m not doing anything wrong!" But by associating with those who are continuing to practice sin, their influence is affecting our inner spiritual self. We are becoming numb to sin. And our presence is a tacit approval of their behavior. Of course, this doesn’t mean we stay secluded behind the four walls of the church building. How will anyone hear the gospel message if we are never their friend? But we must be careful that we don’t find that we start enjoying being around sinful activities.

3. Don’t sit in the seat of the scoffers. Sitting, relaxing, taking it easy, are all good in their time, but too often we get complacent. We would rather sit watching television than sharing our faith with our neighbors. We would rather sit by the river fishing than go to church. We’re too tired to get up from the easy chair to do God’s work.

Notice that these three don’ts are progressive in nature. We begin by walking toward sin, then we stand there for a while, and finally we are so comfortable that we sit down to make ourselves at home. The key to a successful Christian life is to be in the world and minister to the world but not get sucked in by the world. Instead of listening to the counsel of the wicked, we should be proclaiming the light and the salt of the gospel. Instead of standing like sinners, acting like sinners, and talking like sinners, we need to be speaking the good news. Instead of relaxing with the scoffers and mockers, we should be pointing others to the God who loves them.

For those of you who still dislike a list of don’ts, I found these same negative commands for walk, stand, and sit, as positive commands in the Letter to the Ephesians. So here are the three do’s when it comes to walking, standing, and sitting:

Ephesians 4:1, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called" Ephesians 6:11, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 2:6, "And raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

How do we get to the point where we delight in God’s law? Have you ever reached a mental block in your Bible study? Have you sometimes found reading the Bible boring, especially the Old Testament parts that have of lot of genealogy? I firmly believe every Christian should find God’s word exciting. If we’ve lost that excitement, how do we get it back? The number one way to truly delight in God’s word is to . . . discipline ourselves to get into his word. I know we don’t like to talk about discipline or forcing ourselves to do what we don’t feel like doing. But we will find something happening to us spiritually when we make a conscious effort to dig for God’s truth no matter how we feel. As we discipline our minds to study, an excitement comes. But the first step is to open the book and start. Notice that the psalmist tells us he meditates on God’s words day and night. As we spend time in God’s word, we will find that our sub-conscious mind mulls over what we have read. It becomes part of us. Throughout the day, certain scriptures may suddenly be made alive to us as God’s Spirit ministers to our soul.

Perhaps you’re not much of a reader. There are tapes available of the Bible being read in all kinds of translations. We can play these tapes throughout our day. We can also listen to Christian radio. In order to get excited about God’s word, we have to be exposed to it – hear it, read it, study it, and meditate on it.

Jamison-Fausset-Brown comments, "Meditation...is to reading the word what digesting is to eating. Without the slow and lengthened process of digestion, food would not nourish the body; without meditation, the Word read will not nourish the soul."

For those who are willing to spend time meditating on God’s word and delighting in it, four promises are given in this verse:

1. We will be firmly planted. When the storms come, we will not be swayed because our roots run deep. We will be stable in our Christian walk.

2. We will bear fruit. As we dig into God’s word, we will find Christ’s attributes growing in us. We will become kinder, and we will share our testimony with others. We will be steadfast and faithful.

3. Our leaf will not wither. This doesn’t mean we won’t grow feeble with age, but it does mean we will still have the zeal of youth. We will maintain our Christian walk with the same enthusiasm with which we began.

4. Whatever we do will be successful – not the way the world judges success, but the way God judges it. One of the reasons for this, I believe, is that as we obey God’s word and discipline ourselves to do his will, we feel good about ourselves – after all, this is what God created us to be. This causes us to be confident in all our endeavors. Confidence breeds success. Also, we have a helper, the Holy Spirit, who, when we fail, will lead us back toward the road to victory.

God knows us and directs us into his way. There is only one path on which we must travel. It may have potholes, it may take twists and turns, but God knows the way. He has already chartered our course. It is he who will guide us and show us the way.

If we wish to be blessed of God, we need to spend time meditating upon God’s word. Barnes gives us this advice for how to learn to meditate on scripture:

1. Do it habitually and intentionally

2. Set apart suitable portions of each day to read and meditate

3. Do it during intervals at work or moments of leisure during our day

4. Do it in the wakeful hours of the night.

Let us be willing to spend time in God’s word and we too will find ourselves blessed beyond measure.