Do we sometimes sit in the seat of scoffers ?

During my Bible reading yesterday I was reading Psalm 1. As I read some thoughts came to me that in more ways than one convicted me. In verses 1-2 it says

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
[2] but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
(Psalm 1:1-2 ESV)

As I read this I thought do I walk in the council of the wicked or sit in the seat of scoffers. Is it possible that I am guilty of these things? The notes in my ESV Study Bible say that the terms wicked and sinner are equivalent. There were people in Israel who were refusing to live by the covenant and a godly person should refuse to follow the pattern of these "wicked" people.

This led me to meditate on how I at times become dissatisfied with the way things go in my church. I might even say at times I have "scoffed" about things. So what then does it mean for one to scoff or to be a scoffer? The dictionary defines scoff as: "to speak derisively; mock; jeer", "imply behaving with scornful disapproval toward someone or about something". Aha! Gotcha because at times I do scoff at things that I don't think are done as I would like or preached as I think they should be or done in a style that makes me happy. The key to all of that is it is all about me and I have been a follower Jesus Christ long enough to know that it isn't all about me. It is all about Christ and the people whose efforts I may scoff at are doing what they believe God has called them to do.

Please do not misunderstand me here. If someone is presenting false teachings that is a whole different story. The problem is when I let me into the mix too much then things start to go seriously bad. The first words of Psalm 1 say "Blessed is the man" then it gives the conditions for that blessedness. I want to be blessed by the Lord. If that desire of mine is good and true then I have to meet those conditions. When I scoff at others diligent efforts to help me and others better worship, know, love, and understand the God of the universe, I fail miserably to meet those conditions. I think, because we are by nature totally depraved sinners, we all sometimes sit in the seat of scoffers. When we do I think we need to, as I did after reading and meditating on this scripture, ask God to grant us repentance and help us to grow beyond being selfish and making things all about me. Something else interesting to think about is that the antonym of scoff is praise.

Verses three to six in Psalm one finish telling us about the man who is blessed and those who are wicked, it says,

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
[4] The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
[5] Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; [6] for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
(Psalm 1:3-6 ESV)

I want to be the tree that yields fruit. If that is truly my desire then I need to shun the ways of the wicked and break my self of scoffing, for the Lord knows the ways of the righteous and the wicked. The righteous get to be the tree, the wicked perish. My righteousness is found in the blood of Christ, I can't lose it but I can fail to honor and glorify that gift of righteousness by scoffing instead of praising. By the grace and mercy of God in Christ may I become much better at praising than I have recently been at scoffing. I pray this for myself and for other born again believers who find themselves at times "sitting in the seat of scoffers". May we all practice the great advice given in Psalm 1 verse two where it says, "but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night".


Yours in Christ's amazing love, Bob Best.