"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. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."
This psalm describes a man blessed of the Lord-a happy man-a man whom God can approve. He is distinguished by an entire freedom from the taint of evil in every form. He has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor has he sat down in the seat of the scornful. " But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law cloth he meditate day and night."
The purity of the law meets a perfect reflection in his heart; its unbending strictness brings no cloud of condemnation over his soul-it is his delight; his un wearying study; his constant solace; his meditation day and night.
It is personal righteousness which is here described; personal, absolute freedom from evil or sin, and personal de light in righteousness or holiness. " The righteous Lord loveth righteousness:" and this psalm describes the man whom He can approve. It is quite true, that a believer standing in the power of the Lord's grace might, in a very qualified degree, answer to the description of this psalm; and David, or an Old Testament saint, might, in a very qualified sense, appropriate the language; but the psalm goes much further than this, and contemplates the man, who in Psa. 40 says, " Lo I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."
Verse 3 presents a picture of the unclouded prosperity that belongs to this man. He is planted by the unfailing springs of life and joy; his actings and ways are like the perfected fruit of a tree in its proper season; no blight nor symptom of decay is ever to touch his beauteous form-" his leaf shall not fade;" and perfection is to mark his every purpose and act-" whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
The reverse of all this has hitherto been manifested, in Christ, to the eye of man; but His resurrection from the dead, and His exaltation to the right hand of God, give the sure pledge to faith that all the blessedness that belongs to righteousness shall one day be seen to be His. Blessed is it to think that this Man of Sorrows shall be the inheritor of all this joy, and that the principles of God's righteousness will assuredly at last be universally applied.
How melancholy, in the contrast, is the portion of the ungodly! " The ungodly are not so." In the judgment they will not stand; and in the congregation of the righteous-for there will be a congregation of the righteous-sinners will not be gathered; but the very " WAY of the wicked shall perish."