Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” (KJV)
There is good advice in these opening verses of the first Psalm. It is a good practice to avoid the counsel of the ungodly. How do we know what that sounds like? Well, just go to the book of James in the New Testament:
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (James 3:17-18)
If you read that whole passage, the wisdom of the world, that is the ungodly, is full of envy. Envy causes anger and anger leads to strife. That’s because the ungodly are self glorifying, and that is the sin of Satan: pride. But the godly, the one who is blessed because he avoids the self-glorifying yack and smack and “what about me” attitude, is not selfish. His delight is in the law of The Lord. So what is this “law of The Lord?” If we look at what the Lord Jesus did and said, we will know what that law is, and is completely opposite of the way of the world. Totally unselfish.
“Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well: for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” (Joh 13:13-17)
Then:
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (Joh 13:34)
We are to serve one another unselfishly, and over and over throughout the scripture we see this from God The Father. Even His discipline is merciful because it brings us away from the “counsel of the ungodly.” All of the Apostle Paul’s letters were about this very practice and attitude of heart. Starting with Romans as he address the problem of fighting between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. Then, if we read the whole book of 1st John, we see the same thing.
“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” (1Jn 3:23)
God has given us mercy and salvation, also called grace. We receive that grace through faith in Christ Jesus, that is, we trust that his blood is sufficient to remove the guilt of our sin. We believe in Jesus Christ that He is faithful even when we are not. He IS the mercy from God The Almighty. If we really believe this then we in turn will give mercy and kindness to each other. That is what it means to follow Christ. That is what it means to be a Christian. It is not rituals and prayers and repeating creeds and songs and verses. Those things are not bad but serve to remind us that we are to serve one another in the love of God as Christ Jesus gave us the example.
Do we take delight in this “law of The Lord?” Do we look for the opportunity to do good to others? And do we do it for their sake rather than our own? That is what The Lord Jesus did, came down from glory to suffer and die for our salvation. He is the mercy of God!