This Psalm defines the benefits of living one’s life in accordance with the Word of God. The person who lives in such a manner will be like a firmly planted tree which produces good fruit. This person will also prosper. His or her life will be blessed, and they will live a successful life.
This Psalm also indicates that those who choose to live their lives rightly before God should avoid the influence of those who are wicked. The righteous person should reject the ‘counsel of the wicked.’
Who are the wicked? They are those who choose to follow sinful pursuits. They are those who believe the world’s values and are given over to Satan’s influence.
The Bible says that Satan is the spiritual ruler of the earth. Satan rejects God and promotes sin. Therefore the world rejects God and promotes sin. The world will ridicule those who choose to live according to the Word of God.
Unfortunately we are all born with a sinful nature. Our natural desire is to sin, and we will be tempted to do so. However we must fight these temptations to sin and live rightly before God. It will be more difficult to resist temptation if we are continually exposed to those who advocate a for a sinful way of life.
We must therefore avoid bad counsel and focus on the Word of God, the Bible. If we anchor ourselves in the Bible, we will then be like a ‘tree planted by streams of water.’ We will not be uprooted and yield to temptations. We will yield fruit and prosper.
