According to Psalm 1, the "blessed" man is the one who rejects the counsel of those who are opposed to God's Law, and rather delights himself in thinking about His commands day and night.
Of such a one, the Psalmist says confidently, "whatever he does shall prosper (Psalm 1:3)."
This sounds wonderful. This sounds like the way things should be. It appears that the image set before us is that of a Prospering Christian, obedient to the Lord and successful in life. Sign me up.
But something about this bothers us.
We secretly, but not vocally, wonder about the multitude of examples both in Scripture and in our own experience that seem to prove the exact opposite.
Whatever he does shall prosper? Really?
Do Godly Christian men and women never experience any sort of failure or loss? Of course they do. To suggest otherwise would appear to be a denial of reality itself. Faithful, God-fearing Christian men and women experience all sorts of disappointments every day: loss of health, loss of relationships, loss of business, loss of jobs, loss of friends, loss of possessions, loss of respect.
Whatever he does shall prosper? Can that possibly be right?
To escape the conclusion that the Psalmist is exaggerating (or worse, simply wrong), two possible alternative interpretations may suggest themselves to our mind.
1) Maybe the Psalmist simply means "spiritual" prosperity. Surely the soul of the obedient believer prospers, even during adverse circumstances. But something about that seems a bit dishonest with the text. The Psalmist doesn't say "spiritually prosper" but rather seems to be much more inclusive with the words "whatever he does."
