1. 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.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditates day and night.

3 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.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.  (KJV)

As I start my quest of detailing my philosophy of life to my children over the next one hundred and fifty days, I will be exploring one psalm a day of the one hundred and fifty Psalms.  Psalms one provides a great starting point for this journey, since it introduces the way, a godly person should live his or her life on their earthly journey.  There are only three characters in this psalm: the Lord, the ungodly and the righteous person.  The Lord is the one that gives the law, the righteous is the one that loves his law and meditates on it day and night, and the ungodly is the one that rejects the law of the Lord.

The first step in developing a belief system must start with the simple question of what my core values are and how did I arrive to the point of making these my core values.  It is interesting that the very first two verses of this psalm states that “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 meditates day and night.”  These two verse point the something that should be known to mankind and that is the law of the Lord.  In this psalm the Lord is the law giver, he is the judge, and the protector of the righteous.  So, the very first Statement I must make in writing about my philosophy on life is the fact (the foundation) of my belief statement is that the Lord is the creator of both heaven and earth and has given us a Law to follow.  Where can this law be found?  In man’s heart and in God’s words to man (the Bible).

The second question is what or who am I.  In this psalm man is described as either walking with the wicked or meditating on the law of the Lord (the path of the righteous).  It is interesting that this Psalm gives us a way to walk.  Our walk or way seems to determine what or who we are.  So, what is man?  A creature created by God who has the gift of choose.  The law of God was simple to Adam and Eve as Eve stated it the serpent: “And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”  However, the counsel of the wicked changes God’s words: “And the serpent said unto the woman, you shall not surely die for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.”  And as the story goes in Genesis chapter three, we realized that this was the fall of man.  “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons.” (ASV) As Paul writes in Roman five verses 17 through 19:  For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus Christ. So then as through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous. (ASV) So with first decision to disobey God by Adam the sinful nature was passed upon all mankind.

With this sinful nature being a part of all mankind is there a correct way to live and if so, how can we live together?  This psalm addresses this path as the law of the Lord.  But it not only a law to know but to be mediated upon.  Life is very complicated.  And because of the sinful nature that exist in everyone we must follow David’s advice of mediating on God’s law both day and night. 

As I was growing up one of the pictures that was in many Christian homes was an old man praying for his meal with a Bible next to him.  Growing up I witness my grandparents finishing the evening by reading the Bible before bedtime.  It is amazing how busy our lives have become that the simple pleasures of hiding God’s Word in our heart have lost it importance, The truth I want to leave my children is the importance of hiding God’s Word in your heart and mediating on it all day long. 

Life is not easy.  However, I start the day out knowing to answers of two of the major questions.  Yes, God exist and is in control, and yes, I know I am a sinner saved by grace.  Other questions that we will face in life can only be answered by mediating on God’s Word daily.  This daily mediating on God’s Word will let the convicting power of the Holy Spirit that helps my sinful nature grow closer to God.  My goal in life is to be like David, a man after God’s own heart.