Psalm 1 – What it Means to be Godly4 min read

(Open your Bible and read Psalm 1)

Throughout the Psalms, there is a significant amount of encouragement, and most resort to them in times of trial. However, in this first foundational psalm, we see what it means to be godly. And so we must realize the difference between serving the Lord and serving sin before we can ever move on to being encouraged.

The Godly

Firstly, being godly demands knowing what separation means. All our desires of the flesh, giving into the temptation of sinners, and all our tendency to glorify self – we must destroy them. Unless we know the importance of being separate from the flesh, we will never be fully useful for God, because the closer we are the flesh, the farther we are from the spirit – and that is a devastating thing. Our calling is perfection (Matt 5:48); do we respond?

However, not only must we know what we’ve been saved from but what we’ve been saved to. What we have been called to is found in the pages of God’s Word. Do we delight in Scripture, and do we constantly meditate on its truth? If we don’t how can we be considered godly? When we neglect His Word, we neglect God; and that’s a dangerous choice. All have a focus that guides their life, and that focus must be on Him.

Those who have this focus and have responded to His call will bear fruit. They will be as a tree planted by rivers of water, a tree that will be fruitful, because it has a constant supply of food. In the same way, when we focus on the Lord and resort to His living supply of water, we will bear fruit; for it is when the branches abide in the vine that life is productive.

The Ungodly

The first thing we see with the ungodly is that there is a clear distinction between them and the godly: “The ungodly are not so…” We as believers are separate. We have been freed from the bondage of sin so that we could be made alive to God. And it must mean a lot to Him, because we are bought with His own precious blood! Purity and separation must mean much to us also.

Then the ungodly are described as a chaff which the wind drives away. The chaff is the unwanted part of the grain; it was something that farmers used the wind to get rid of, because it very easily blew off. In the same way, the ungodly are unstable and have no foundation to their beliefs; when majority belief changes, so do the ungodly. This has been seen with the acceptance of sin, evolution, and such; those who flock to those beliefs are ungodly, because they lack foundation. The Lord hates this attitude. He desires those that are either hot or cold, never lukewarm (Rev 3:15,16). Let’s be decided on our foundation.

Finally, we see that the ungodly have no righteousness. When they stand before the Judge, they will be without excuse, and for eternity they will be absent from the glorious person of Christ. This should be great incentive to serve for the godly, for why would anyone desire to contradict the Lord when the implications are so clear?

The Lord Knows

The Lord knows the way of the righteous, and He knows the way of the ungodly. All are accountable to Him. But it goes deeper than that; this not only means accountability, but it means as sons of God we have an unexplainable bond with the Lord Himself. Leviticus 26:11,12 “And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” This was the same promise to Israel if they were faithful, and it is the same promise to those who are willing to commit their life to Him. Being His people should be precious to us; after all, we were bought by blood.

But while we live eternally with the Father, the ungodly will perish. Were we not seen as ungodly also when we were without Christ? He is the only reason we will not perish, and He offers salvation to all, not just us. Therefore, should we not be seeking to win sinners for Christ considering their fate?

In conclusion, may we have the attitude of Christ. Let us never go to the ungodly for counsel, but to His Word. Let us never walk in the way of the sinners, but the way of Christ. Let us not sit in the seat of the scornful, but in the seat of the merciful. God has called us from a corrupt world to serve Him, and it is through Him we stand. Before looking into the other psalms for encouragement, may we grasp this important truth and live godly in Christ Jesus.