“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 meditate day and night. 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.” (Psalms 1:1-3)
Thrice happy he, who shuns the way
That leads ungodly men astray;
Who fears to stand where sinners meet.
Nor with the scorner takes his seat.
The law of God is his delight;
That cloud by day, that fire by night.
Shall be his comfort in distress,
And guide him through the wilderness.
His works shall prosper—he shall be
A fruitful, fair, unwithering tree,
That, planted where the river flows,
Nor drought, nor frost, nor mildew knows.
Not so the wicked—they are cast
Like chaff upon the eddying blast;
In judgment they shall quake for dread,
Nor with the righteous lift their head.
For God hath spied their secret path.
And they shall perish in His wrath;
He too hath marked His people’s road,
And brings them to His own abode.
James Montgomery
1771–1854
