Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Here is an uplifting thought from the Inspirational Study Bible.
The heart is the center of the spiritual life. If the fruit of a tree is bad, you don’t try to fix the fruit; you treat the roots. And if a person’s actions are evil, it’s not enough to change habits; you have to go deeper. You have to go to the heart of the problem, which is the problem of the heart.
That is why the state of the heart is so critical. What is the state of yours?… The state of your heart dictates whether you harbor a grudge or give grace, seek self-pity or seek Christ, drink human misery or taste God’s mercy. No wonder, then, the wise man begs, “Above all else, guard your heart.”
David’s prayer should be ours: “Create in me a pure heart, O God.”
And Jesus’ statement rings true: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Note the order of this beatitude: first purify the heart, then you will see God. Clean the refinery, and the result will be a pure product.
(From The Applause of Heaven by Max Lucado)
Appendix / Bibliography
Lucado, M. (1997). Life lessons from the inspired word of God: Book of Psalms (p. 14). Dallas, TX: Word Pub.
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